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Biography
A
research guide: books, articles, web sites, & videos
·
How to Find Books in the ODU Library: Search in the ODU Library Catalog.
·
How to Find Books in Other OhioLINK Libraries:
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Reference Books—A Selection
Reference
books provide a good starting point for your research. Reference items are
located in the Library’s Reference collection, behind the Reference Desk on the
top floor of Spangler.
Biographies
and Bio-bibliographies provide biographical profiles of the life and works of
individuals, as well as lists of works by subject, individual, titles of works,
etc.
Biography—General Sources
Cultural Groups—Biographies and Bio-bibliographies
History—Biographies and Bio-bibliographies
Literature—Biographies and
Bio-bibliographies
See also the Children’s Literature
research subject guide for biographical resources on children’s literature
authors.
Performing Arts—Biographies and Bio-bibliographies
Saints and Religious Figures—Biographies and
Bio-bibliographies
Science and Mathematics—Biographies and
Bio-bibliographies
Social and Behavioral Science—Biographies and Bio-bibliographies
Women—Biographies and Bio-bibliographies
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Use online research
databases to find any of the following biographical resources: ·
Biographical entries
in online encyclopedias and online dictionaries ·
Books and book
reviews ·
Articles in
scholarly journals, general magazines, and newspapers |
A. Online Reference Resources
To access the databases below:
Unless otherwise specified, click on Articles
in Databases from the ODU Library homepage. Then choose from the A-Z
index near the top of the web page (example: click on A for Academic
Search Premier) and select the database.
Full-text
of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Search for an entry on any individual; serves
as a good compliment to the Columbia
Encyclopedia.
To access from the library homepage: Click on Quick Reference, select
Encyclopedias, then Britannica Online.
Full-text
of the
To access from the library homepage:
Click on Quick Reference, select Encyclopedias,
then select Columbia Encyclopedia.
Full-text. Provides text from 429 reference books on
diverse topics—including many biographical resources.
Example: Search
in Chapter Title and type in dylan, bob to find substantial entries on Bob Dylan.
You will find entries in ebooks such as The ABC-CLIO Companion to the 1960s Counterculture in America, Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature,
and the Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War.
To access from the library homepage: Click on Books, and select Electronic Reference Books.
Full
text. Compiles reference resources for
all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to present. To search for biographies: Click on
Biographies under the Advanced Search options.
Updated quarterly.
Offers
information on authors and their works from reference works, books, and literary
journals, including plot summaries, author biographies, and author interviews.
Masterplots Complete 2000
Full-text. On-campus access only; when prompted, click
Open to access the file. Provides synopses of plays, character profiles, and
brief author biographies including lists of major works.
Full-text dictionaries and other reference books in one searchable
database. Includes literature guides.
Example: Find an entry on Saint Michael in The Oxford Dictionary of Saints by
searching for Michael, Saint.
To access from the library homepage: Click on Books, and select Oxford Reference Online.
B.
Recommended Databases to Find E-Books
Full-text ebook database. Search among 15,000 ebooks from multiple
disciplines, including reference books, other nonfiction, and fiction—including
biographies. Search by keyword, title,
or author.
Example: Find books about President Abraham Lincoln
by searching for Lincoln.
To access from the library homepage: Click on Books, and then select NetLibrary.
C.
Recommended Databases to Find Articles or Book Reviews
To access the databases from the ODU Library homepage:
Click on Articles in Databases,
then choose from the A-Z index near the top of the page (example: click on A
for Academic Search Premier) and select the database.
Contains
peer-reviewed journal coverage from more than 3,400 scholarly publications in
many academic areas of study. Updated
daily.
America:
History and Life
Includes articles on
individuals in the history and culture of the U.S.
and Canada to the present day.
Search Tip: Choose BROWSE Subject
Headings and type in the person’s last name. Click BROWSE and select your
individual if listed.
Citations
only. Comprehensive database for
information about Mexican-American topics, with coverage including articles and
books. Updated quarterly.
Includes articles on individuals. Search Tip: Choose BROWSE Subject Headings and type in the
person’s last name. Click BROWSE and select your individual if listed.
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Citations only. Article focus includes figures in the history of science, technology, and medicine, and
their influence on culture. Search Tip: Click on SUBJECT WORD and type in the person’s
last name. Then browse through the names and entries listed and select your
individual.
This
database contains biographical information on politicians, business leaders,
and many public figures.
To search for Biographies: 1) Select Reference from the
home page; 2) Select Biographical Information.
Contains millions of articles originally published in
magazines, newspapers, and journals.
To search : From the dropdown menu that says Multiple
databases select Humanities–ProQuest Religion.
Search Tip: Type in your keyword and then type biography.
Example: aquinas biography
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A portal to Internet
search engines and directories is available on the ODU Library’s Internet Search page. In addition, listed
below are web sites that may be of particular use to you in your information
search. Minimum recommended
criteria for evaluating websites: ·
Accuracy of the
information ·
Authority of the
person or group responsible for the information ·
When the information
was created and last updated For more
information, view Evaluating
Internet Sources & Search Tools on the
Internet Search page.
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Web Sites—A Selection
Sample Searches for finding Sites
Devoted to Single Individuals:
·
roosevelt
site:.edu – This limits your search to academic sites (.edu); department pages
& university projects
can
provide a wealth of information. But beware of personal web pages, which may
not be authored by someone with appropriate
knowledge of the subject.
·
einstein
biography site:.edu – This limits your search to academic sties
and helps focus on biographies.
·
“martin
luther king, jr” museum – Museums can often provide excellent
information online.
Be sure to verify museum’s actual existence and credentials.
Additional Possibilities:
Biography—General Sources
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A&E’s Biography.com
http://www.biography.com/
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In the First
Person: An Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Personal Narratives http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/index.aspx
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INFOMINE [links
to scholarly information on the Internet]: http://infomine.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/search
Search Steps: 1) Select Advanced Search; 2) Type in biography in
the top box;
3) Then (de)select the Subject Categories
in which you wish to search;
4) Limit the search to Resource
Access: Free ; 5) Click on GO.
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Nobel Prize http://nobelprize.org
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PBS Biographies http://www.pbs.org/history/history_biographies.html
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Spotlight:
Biography [“Exceptional” Americans] www.smithsonianeducation.org/spotlight/start.html
Artists—Visual and Performing
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All-Movies Guide http://allmovies.com
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All-Media Guide http://www.allmusic.com
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American Masters
(PBS) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters
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The-Artist.org http://www.the-artists.org
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The Classical
Music Pages [search by composer name] http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/classmus.html