I. Identification.
1. provides bibliographic citations (author, title, publication data) for information
sources (often, but not always, periodical articles), brief summaries of the
contents of the sources they cite intended to provide further guidance as to the
contents of the sources, and their relevance to the information seeker.
2. a compilation of current and historical facts -- narrative, statistical and graphic
(maps, country flags, etc.) -- on a wide array of topics usually published annually.
3. bound volumes of maps, often with accompanying textual and/or statistical
information covering the entire globe, or specific geographic regions
4. a compilation or list of related works (books, periodical articles, electronic
sources, etc.), providing bibliographic information (author, title, publication data)
about each of the works listed usually grouped together works by a particular
author or on a particular topic; can appear at the end of books or articles to
document sources used in the preparation of the book or article, or can be
published as stand-alone informational sources.
5. sources that provide personal data about and/or brief biographical sketches about
prominent individuals usually covering specific geographic areas (e.g., Who’s
Who in America) or professions (e.g., American Men and Women of Science).
6. in general, are books that provide word definitions, word origins, and word
pronunciations, provide example of proper word usage.
7. dictionaries that attempt to include definitions for every word in the language
8. dictionaries that do not attempt to be as exhaustive or all-inclusive as unabridged
dictionaries, but instead generally include only more commonly used words
9. dictionaries that focus specifically on tracing the origins and evolution in words
and word meanings.
10. also called thesauri, these dictionaries list or group together words that convey the
same meanings.
11. dictionaries that list and define words used in a specific discipline, profession, or
area of specialized knowledge.
12. dictionaries that list and define words, often newly coined ones, that may not (yet)
be considered part of the mainstream of the formal language
13. dictionaries that list and define words in languages other than English
14. dictionaries that match words in one language with their equivalents in another.
Usually, one of the languages is English.
15. dictionaries list equivalent words in three or more languages
16. a list of persons, or of businesses or other types of organizations that contain
standard information such as address or other contact information (possibly
including e-mail or home page address)
17. a book or set of books containing informational articles on a variety of subjects,
usually arranged in alphabetical order.
18. encyclopedias that include articles providing information from virtually every
field of human knowledge
19. encyclopedias that focus on a specific discipline or field of study
20. essentially a dictionary of geographic or place names that usually provide the
locations (i.e., longitude & latitude) for the places listed, and sometimes give the
origins of the place names
21. a compendium or compilation of facts about a subject or group of related subjects
22. document the literature in specific disciplines or subject areas, provide
bibliographic citations to information sources (often, but not always, periodical
articles)
23. a book of rules or instruction on how to accomplish a task or perform a series of
related tasks or activities
24. feature selected quotations or famous sayings on a wide array of themes and
topics, or they can focus on specific authors (i.e., Shakespearean quotes),
disciplines (i.e., business-related quotes), themes (i.e., political quotations), or
nationalities or cultural groups (i.e., quotes from African Americans).
25. statistical data found in a variety of reference sources (almanacs, encyclopedias,
atlases, handbooks, etc.), but numerous sources also exist that are devoted solely
to statistical information, often either published by a federal, state, local, or
international governmental agency, or are based upon statistics issued by various
governments.
26. as the name implies, is an annual publication usually containing a compilation of
facts (usually presented textually, graphically, and via statistics) pertaining to the
events of the previous year.
II. Matching Type A. Match the type of information needed with the appropriate
source(s)
TYPE OF INFORMATION NEEDED
TYPES OF REFERENCE SOURCES TO USE
1. Basic or Essential Facts
a. Dictionaries
2. Information about People
b. Atlases, Gazetteers, individual Maps
3. Word Meanings, Word Origins, Word
Pronunciation, etc.
c. Almanacs, Handbooks & Yearbooks,
Manuals, and Statistical Sources
4. General Reviews or Overviews of
Topics
d. Encyclopedias
5. Geographical Information
e. Biographical Sources
6. Addresses, Phone Numbers & Other
f. Dictionaries of Quotations
Types of Locational/Finding Information
7. Lists of Information Sources on a
Subject
g. Bibliographies, Indexes & Abstracts
8. Quotations, Famous Sayings
h. Directories
III. Matching Type B. Examples of Various Types of Reference Sources. Match the title
of the Reference Source to its Type.
Type
Title of Reference Source
1. Abstract
Mexican-American Biographies: a Historical Dictionary
2. Almanac, General
Dictionary of Anthropology
3. Almanac, Subject
Macmillan Visual Dictionary: Multilingual Edition
4. Atlas, General
Statistical Abstract of the United States
5. Atlas, Subject
Historical Atlas of California
6. Bibliography
Bibliography of African Art
7. Biographical Source--General
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
8. Biographical Source--Specialized
Encyclopedia of Associations
9. Dictionary, Unabridged
American Men and Women of Science
10. Dictionary, Abridged
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
11. Dictionary, Etymological
Dictionary of Business Quotations
12. Dictionary, Synonyms / Thesaurus World Almanac
13. Dictionary, Subject
Adoption: a Reference Handbook
14. Dictionary, Slang
Encyclopedia Britannica
15. Dictionary, Foreign Language
American Jewish Year Book
16. Dictionary, Bilingual
Cassell's Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary
17. Dictionary, Polyglot
Hammond World Atlas
18. Directory, Company
Information Please Business Almanac
19. Directory, Organizations
Who’s Who in America
20. Directory, Individuals
Oxford English Dictionary
21. Encyclopedia, General
Dictionary of Afro-American Slang
22. Encyclopedia, Subject
Roget’s Thesaurus
23. Gazetteer
Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer of the World
24. Handbook
Psychological Abstracts
25. Index
Readers Guide to Periodical Literature
26. Manual
Chicago Manual of Style
27. Quotation Sources, General
American Heritage Dictionary (college ed.)
28. Quotation Sources, Specialized
Dictionary of Word Origins
29. Statistical Source
Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory
30. Yearbook
Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue
francaise