Reed College Library Research Guide

Anthropology

Reference and Fact-Checking Sources



General

Oxford English Dictionary All thesis writers need a good dictionary!
Oxford Reference Online

Search or browse for names of people or places, definitions, and quotations.

Biographical


Ref. E176.A54 1999 or online.

Dictionary of American Biography


Ref. E176 .D55
Multivolume biography and bio-bibliography of Americans

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Ref. DA28.O95 2004
Multivolume biography and bio-bibliography from the British perspective.


Locates biographical articles published in thousands of reference books. A terrific time-saver, but not full-text; you still have to locate the reference book(s) cited in the index.


Geographic


CIA World Fact Book


Current maps of the world, regions, and individual countries. Includes contemporary social, political, and economic facts about each country.

Columbia Gazetteer of the World


Ref. G103.5 .C65 1998 (3 volumes)

An alphabetical listing of place names with quick facts about each locality.


Geographic Names Information System
(U.S. Board of Geographic Names)


Names of places and geographic features in the U.S. In addition to location, links to maps, aerial photographs, and watershed information are available.


GEONet Names Server
(U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency)

Names of places and geographic features outside the U.S.

PortlandMaps
(City of Portland)


Maps, aerial photographs, and recent social, economic, and demographic data on Portland neighborhoods.


To find other geographic information in the library collection, add the terms – Maps or – Atlas to your Reed library catalog search.


Statistical


World Almanac and Book of Facts


AY67 .W92 1913 – 2005 (most recent volume at the reference desk). Search full-text of current volumes of this and three other almanacs online.

Statistical Abstract of the United States


HA202 .U5 1900-2004/05
(most recent volume at the reference desk) or view online.

Historical Statistics of the United States from Colonial Times to 1970


Ref. HA202 .A385 1975 (2 volumes)

Lexis-Nexis Statistical


Online access to statistical tables from government agencies, international, and nongovernmental organizations.

TableBase


Brief statistical tables published in business and trade magazines or government documents.

International Data Base (U.S. Census Bureau)


A number of useful social statistics for 227 countries and areas of the world. Display to print or download a spreadsheet.

World Development Indicators


View or download data on population, social and economic conditions, and the environment.


Created by: Dena Hutto, Social Sciences Librarian