LibGuides: Information Resources for Strategic Communication: Finding Background Information

Reference Sources

Reference sources exist to provide background information on a topic. They may include dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, glossaries, and bibliographies, among many other things. The sources on this page can help you get background information for your research, explore facets of a topic, define terms, or brainstorm. For more in-depth research, please see the "Finding Articles" tab.

Why Use Reference Sources?

Reference sources can help you:

Explore a topic: find out what has been said about this subject, trends, issues, etc.
Identify and define unfamiliar terms or people in your reading
Find references to other books and articles on the subject
Find specific keywords to use in online searches

Finding Background Information: Selected Resources

The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods
The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy
The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society
The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication
The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects
The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication
The Routledge Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Marketing