LibGuides: Welcome to the FRCC Westminster Library Database Page: Reference Databases

Reference Databases

REFERENCE DATABASES

Need a definition for something, or a basic "Wikipedia-style" overview of a subject? The databases listed below are great for looking up the what/where/why/when of various topics. Click the "i" 🛈 icon to bring up information about a specific database.

Biography Reference Source This link opens in a new window Provides thousands of unique and reliable full-text biographies. In addition to keyword search, users can locate biographies by subject occupation, activity, nationality, gender, birthplace and more.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window This all subjects resource includes 3 million entries from notable subject encyclopedias, handbooks, etc. It also provides access to more than 1,000 videos, 500,000 visual aids, images, photographs and maps. 
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window Offers full text ebooks, periodicals, nearly 57,000 historical documents, biographies of historical figures, historical photos and maps, and more than 80 hours of historical video.
Legal Information Reference Source This link opens in a new window Providing exclusive online full text for more than 225 full-text publications and thousands of legal forms, with more content being added on a regular basis.
Poetry and Short Story Reference Source This link opens in a new window Full-text database containing thousands of classic and contemporary poems, short stories, biographies, essays, lesson plans and learning guides. It also includes high-quality videos and audio recordings from the Academy of American Poets.
Prescribers' Digital Reference (PDR) This link opens in a new window Delivers innovative health knowledge products and services that support prescribing decisions and patient adherence to improve health. 
Science Reference Center This link opens in a new window A comprehensive research database that provides easy access to a multitude of full text science-oriented content. This database contains full text for nearly 640 science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc. 
Small Engine Repair Reference Source This link opens in a new window Content contained in the database will be derived from the full set of small engine repair manuals from Clymer, who's repair manuals provide step-by-step procedures based upon the complete disassembly of the machine.
Mosby's Medical Dictionary This link opens in a new window Features over 56,000 authoritative definitions, quick-reference appendixes, a color atlas of the human body, and more than 2,450 full-color illustrations.

Why not Wikipedia?

So you start with Google and type in your topic. Inevitably the first result to pop up is Wikipedia. Your topic seems to be explained exhaustively in this online encyclopedia. The Wikipedia article includes links and references. What could be better? Then you remember that you cannot use it as a source. Why not?

Although Wikipedia is a good place to start your research, it is not a credible source that you should use to cite from. Wikipedia allows multiple users to edit, and it is not safe to assume that the facts presented there have been checked before publishing them. Wikipedia's policy does say that references should be used whenever possible, but the quality of these references is questionable, because people who are not experts in a field can update a page anytime to reflect whatever information they feel to be true and even back it up with heavily biased sources.

The biggest thing to remember is that Wikipedia pages can cite (or simply not cite at all) from ANYWHERE on the internet.

From a research standpoint, you want to be able to back up the information you're presenting in an academic paper with factual, verifiably correct information. This often means using sources that collect that type of information - like library databases!