Starting your research with subject encyclopedias will save you hours of research time later on by helping you define and refine the parameters of your research question.
Entries are written by scholars and reviewed by other scholars prior to publication, ensuring that the information is authoritative.
Essays in subject encyclopedias provide more than the facts; they also review how scholars have been interpreting and debating these facts.
Most entries include bibliographies or suggestions for further reading; typically, these bibliographies point to just a few key sources, rather than overwhelming you with a comprehensive list. Sometimes the bibliographies are annotated.
Entries may provide cross-references ("see also" suggestions), which will help you discover related ideas and concepts.
Entries provide specific terms and language to use when you later search databases for other scholarly material.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States by 
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements by 
Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture by 
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History by