Force & Diplomacy  Tags: force diplomacy history military_history war society conflict peace history_3229  

Reference Universe is a unique database that makes transparent both printed and online reference material that might otherwise remain hidden. It searches back-of-the-book indexes and article titles in thousands of encyclopedias and other reference works owned by Temple University Libraries.

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(Use the Reference Universe link instead of this search box if you are off-campus.)

Manage your citations with RefWorks, a tool that allows researchers to easily import, export, search, and create automatically formatted bibliographies online. Citations found via searches in library databases such as JSTOR and many other databases can be imported directly into RefWorks. No manual typing required. Bibliographies generated within RefWorks can then be exported into Word using any of dozens of citation formats (MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.).

Question: What value lies in a reference work? Why, for example, would a researcher bother to consult a scholarly encyclopedia?

Answer: Reference books (or tertiary sources) help researchers contextualize their topics and in turn begin to ask the right questions. Reference books set the stage for more efficient database searching; researchers cannot elicit relevant search results if they don't know which keywords (or search terms) to use. Articles in scholarly encyclopedias often contain bibliographies that lead researchers to the most respected/useful secondary and primary works on a topic. In short, reference books are a great way to begin your research.

• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy. c1996 [print]
• Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War. c1995 [print]
• Brassey's Encyclopedia of Military History and Biography. c1994 [print]
• The Captains of the Old World; As Compared With the Great Modern Strategists, Their Campaigns, Characters and Conduct, From the Persian, To the Punic Wars. c1852 [MOA Books]
• Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775-1995: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer. c1999 [print]
• Encyclopedia of Civil War Biographies. c2000 [print]
• Essays in Military Biography. By Charles Cornwallis Chesney. c1874 [MOA Books]
• The Mexican War and Its Heroes: Being a Complete History of the Mexican War, Embracing all the Operations Under Generals Taylor and Scott, With a Biography of the Officers. c1860 [MOA Books | print]
• Naval Officers of the American Revolution: A Concise Biographical Dictionary. c1988 [print]
• Nobles, Gentlemen and the Profession of Arms in Restoration Britain 1660-1688: a Biographical Dictionary of British army Officers on Foreign Service. c1997 [print]
• Webster's American Military Biographies. c1978 [print]
• Who Was Who During the American Revolution. c1976 [print]
• Who Was Who In American History: The Military. c1975 [print]
• Who Was Who In the Civil War. c1988 [print]
• Who's Who in Military History From 1453 to the Present Day. c1996 [print]
• Who's Who in World War II. Keegan, John. c2003 [netLibrary]
• Who's Who in World War II. Mason, David. c1978 [print]

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