Reference works are a great place to start your research as they provide quick, authoritative introductions to a topic. Common reference works include dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, atlases, almanacs, and style manuals, and contain useful information such as descriptions, definitions, statistics, lists, quotes, properties, and standards.
Information from reference works are commonly used in the following two ways:
Context: If you want to know more about a topic that you are researching, or even a topic that is completely new to you, you can use a reference book.
Supporting Arguments: Reference materials can be used to support facts or other arguments that you make in a paper or assignment.
Many of the library's reference materials are available online, so you can access them from anywhere and easily search for the information you need. We also have print materials in the Reference Section on the 5th Level of Douglas Library.
Use Omni to search the library's catalogue for books, articles, videos, maps, government documents, music, data sets, open access materials, and more. You can discover materials that are not available at Queen's but that you can freely request either within Omni or through interlibrary loan.