Before you write your report, using reference resources and obtaining basic knowledge such as definition of terms / background of the subjects is helpful for your investigation.
When you do not find a term on the headwords, you may be able to find it in the “index”.
In addition, to compare some reference materials is important to obtain accurate knowledge.
Encyclopedias
You should refer to an encyclopedia first because it contains information of all kinds.
| Name・Link | Description | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Encyclopedia Nipponica | This encyclopedia is contained in the “JapanKnowledge Lib”. The contents in this encyclopedia are uploaded every month. | On-campus access only |
| Encyclopedia of Japan | “The Encyclopedia of Japan” is an encyclopedia regarding many kinds of things about Japan wrote in English. This encyclopedia is contained in the “JapanKnowledge Lib”. | On-campus access only |
| Encyclopaedia Britannica | “The Encyclopedia Britannica” is one of the most famous encyclopedia that received high academic evaluation. | Printed material |
| The Encyclopedia Americana | “The Encyclopedia Americana” is one of the biggest encyclopedia written in American-English. | Printed material |
Search for Reference Books
Each field has each specialized reference resources.
If you refer to appropriate reference materials, you can obtain more detailed knowledge.
| Name・Link | Description | Note |
|---|---|---|
| OPAC: Kobe University Library Catalog | With OPAC, you can search for Kobe University Library holdings. | – |
| Research Navi | “Research Navi” is a website to search for reference resources provided by the National Diet Library. | – |
| 辞書・事典全情報 | A reference book about reference books published in Japan. Contents are classified by subject. | Printed material |
| 日本の参考図書 | A reference book about reference books published in Japan from Meiji era. | Printed material |
| レファレンスブックス: 選びかた・使いかた | This book contains not only reference books but also resources on the web. | Printed materials |
| Guide to reference books | This book contains reference books especially published in the United States before 1993. | Printed material |
| Walford’s Guide to Reference Material | A reference book contains reference books published around the world. | Printed material |
Online Reference Resources
Some dictionaries and encyclopedias can be used on the web.
| Name・Link | Description | Note |
|---|---|---|
| JapanKnowledge Lib | A corpus of Japanese encyclopedia, dictionaries and so on. | On-campus access only |
| 知恵蔵（朝日新聞クロスサーチ） | 『知恵蔵』 is an online dictionary for modern terms. | On-campus access only |
| NetLibrary | “NetLibrary” is an e-book collection. This contains a lot of academic e-books. | On-campus access only |
| Wikipedia | “Wikipedia” is a free online encyclopedia. Each user can edit each article. | – |
| Citizendium | “Citizendium” is a free online encyclopedia. Writers(authors) are demanded to sign on articles they wrote. | – |