Background Information
Reference sources can be a great place to go for background information, definitions, and overviews of a particular topic. HPU Libraries provide access to a wide number of subject encyclopedias and sources in many areas. Not finding what you need? Ask a librarian!
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Credo Reference"Credo is a database of background content. It's full-text and can help you learn the basics of any topic. Start your research here to focus your topic, find keywords and people, and discover more in-depth books and articles"--Credo Reference
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Virtual Reference Library from GaleSearch individual or multiple online encyclopedias or dictionaries covering a wide range of subjects, from science to education to history.
News & Issues Databases
- Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Researcher via NC LIVE This link opens in a new window
In-depth coverage of some of the most controversial topics of our day in health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
- News & Newspapers in ProQuest This link opens in a new window
In addition to prominent and respected titles like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Financial Times, and others, News & Newspapers also offers curated regional, specialty and international news titles and collections for a wide spectrum of viewpoints and counterviewpoints over time.
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints covers todays' hottest social issues and includes published opinion essays, reference articles, infographics, news, images, video, audio, and more. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills and draw their own conclusions.
Article Databases
These databases will be be helpful to your research. Not finding what you need? Ask a librarian for help! You can also explore all of our databases through the Resources A-Z tab on the library homepage.
- Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Access to thousands of magazines, newspapers, and scholarly, peer-reviewed journals in a wide range of subjects.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
HathiTrust is a collaborative of academic and research institutions, offering a collection of over 17 million titles digitized from libraries around the world.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to historical coverage of scholarly journals in a wide range of disciplines. Coverage goes back to the first issue (some as far back as the 1800s), but does not include the most recent issues (usually last 3-5 years).
- ProQuest Central via NC LIVE This link opens in a new window
The ultimate cross-disciplinary research tool, ProQuest Central brings together 30 of our most highly used databases to create the largest single academic research resource available today.