Skip to Main Content

History 344: Resistance, Rebellion & Revolution in China, 1800-present

Getting Started: Subject Encyclopedias

Subject encyclopedias are important research and discovery tools to use during the very beginning stages of the research process. Consulting one or more subject encyclopedias will help you to:

  • Fill in the gaps in your knowledge regarding the person, place, event or ideas you are researching
  • Learn who the major scholars are and what the main research controversies have been for your topic
  • Identify books and journal articles that would be good for you to consult next

In other words, entries in subject encyclopedias are usually not appropriate to cite as sources in your research paper, but they will help you identify and understand those scholarly books and peer-reviewed journal articles that you ultimately will use and cite in your paper.

Many subject encyclopedias now are available online.  If you are accessing them from off-campus you must use the library links provided on this page, at which point you will be prompted to enter your Puget Sound user name and password.  Print copies of encyclopedias are located in the library's reference section on the first floor; they must be used in the library and cannot be checked out.

Online Subject Encyclopedia Collections

Each of these collections contains dozens of specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks.

Subject Encyclopedias for Chinese History