Books with background info are often called "reference books".
- Dictionaries can provide a quick definition and often some elaboration on the uses of the term.
- Encyclopedias provide background information on unfamiliar subjects, leading you quickly to key ideas and sources in developing your topic.
- Handbooks give an overview of the research that has already been done in a particular area.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library - hundreds of books in the social sciences, including the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology and the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Search the entire collection, limit to "Social Sciences", and look for "Topic Overview" articles (search limiter is on the right side)
- Many other specific "encyclopedias" of various kinds of psychology come and go in our ebook holdings. These are often one-volume works.
Also note:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5
New 2023: DSM-V TR Online includes related handbooks
Prepared and published by the American Psychiatric Association, this is the standard reference for the classification of psychological and psychiatric disorders. Indexes by symptoms, diagnoses, and diagnostic terms. REFERENCE RC455.2.C4 2013
Also browse the Reference BF section for other reference print books that may be useful.
Date Revised: Oct 2023
Not specified