Collins Memorial Library: Economics: Getting Started

What's a tertiary source?

Tertiary sources are excellent starting points! They consist of information synthesized from primary and secondary sources. Examples include:

Almanacs
Chronologies
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Directories
Fact books
Guidebooks
Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary sources
Manuals
Textbooks

These resources give you succinct overviews of your topic, explain scholarly arguments, point out interesting questions, and refer you to especially key sources.

Sage Knowledge

Sage provides online Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Dictionaries that cover topics in the Social Sciences.

Sage Knowledge Online

Video Introduction to Economics

Economics USA: 21st Century Edition is a video instructional series produced by the Annenberg Foundation on micro- and macroeconomics comprised of 28 half-hour episodes.

Starting Points

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History by Joel Mokyr (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2005
International in scope and spanning all time periods of human history, The Encyclopedia includes 900 original articles by noted scholars from more than thirty-five countries. Articles range from entries on inventors, theoreticians, and industry leaders to overarching essays on markets, industries, and labor.
Business Statistics of the United States 2012 by Cornelia J. Strawser (Editor); Mary Meghan Ryan (Editor)
Call Number: REF HC101 .A13122 2012
Publication Date: 2012
A comprehensive and practical collection of data that reflects the nation's economic performance since 1929. It provides over 80 years of annual data in regional, demographic, and industrial detail for key indicators such as: gross domestic product, personal income, spending, saving, employment, unemployment, the capital stock, and more.
Guide to Economic Indicators by Norman Frumkin
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2006
Now revised and expanded, this widely-used desk reference provides quick and easy access to current and reliable data on the major statistical measures of the U.S. economy. Equally useful for students, general readers, economists, analysts, journalists, and investors, the guide provides concise, jargon-free explanations of the meaning, use, and availability of more than 70 macroeconomic indicators, including websites, recent trends, and current data.
Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Economic History by Thomas Carson
Call Number: REF HC102 .G35 1999
Publication Date: 2000
Comprehensive overview of the history of the U.S. economy. Includes issue essays, biographies, industry and geographic profiles, and definitions covering key events, movements, businesses and topics concerning this important curricular area.