Guides: Ethnic Studies: Encyclopedias & More

What are Reference Sources?

World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
This online directory of minorities and indigenous peoples grew out of Minority Rights Group’s encyclopaedic World Directory of Minorities. This Directory provides information on minorities and indigenous peoples throughout the world, including their rights and their historical, political or geographical context.

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Definitions of 600,000 words, plus the history of how those words have been used in the past.

Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia
Print: E77.9 .A72 1998
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
Examines the anthropological, sociological, historical, economic, and scientific theories of race and racism in the modem era.
Online Encyclopedia

Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of subject-specific encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, The Encyclopedia of Anthropology, The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, The Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, The UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, and more.
Oxford Reference Online: Premium This link opens in a new window
General reference resources, including encyclopedias, bilingual dictionaries, chronologies, and maps and illustrations.
Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Cambridge Histories collection including The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the America, The Cambridge History of African American Literature, The Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature, and more.
Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
Academic edition. Search by subject or keyword. In addition to topical essays, timelines, images, and videos, it provides links to full text journal articles and links to related websites.

Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
600,000+ biographies covering more than 525,000 individuals. Includes 170+ Gale reference titles, periodical information and multimedia content.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Basic information about an author or a playwright as well as literary criticism from journals. When you do a search on the author's name, the first tab of results will be a link to a biographical profile of his/her life and works, while the second tab will give links to literary criticism and other articles. Other tabs will lead to additional resources.

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present. Premium edition features over 15,000 interactive data maps and reports from the U.S. census and other sources.
ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
Formerly Lexis Nexis Statistical Universe, it searches statistical publications and tables by keywords, subjects, and categories. Find a Table searches full text. Find a Publication searches summaries of statistical publications, some with links to full-text. If full text isn't available, check LibrarySearch or google the publication name. See the Quick Start Guide for getting started. Also see Statistical Abstract (under related subscriptions dropdown menu).

Statistics by Topic A-Z Guide
For statistics on a wide range of topics in all fields arranged A-Z (crime, demographics, children, labor, etc.) this Middlebury Libraries Statistics Guide has links to both national and international resources.