How do I find Academic Dictionaries?
Answer
Although we subscribe to the traditional Oxford English Dictionary, there are also many subject-specific dictionaries you can use to help define terms and help develop your keywords for searching.
There are a few ways to find them at the CIIS Library.
#1
Many dictionaries can be found from our Databases tab on the Library website.
From the Database tab, use the drop down filter All Database Types and select Dictionaries
We highly recommend the dictionaries from Oxford and Sage.
#2
Search the Library Catalog using dictionary as a keyword.
From the Library website, select the Library Catalog tab at the top of the page.
This will take you to our Advanced Search. From there, type a broad keyword related to your topic of interest in the first search box.
For example, search for dictionary AND psychology, and not dictionary AND superego.
In the second search box area. use the drop down menu to the left of the search box and select Title (it should already default to this setting). In this search box type Dictionary.
Then click Search for your results. You may want to try a variety of keywords related to your topic to see what comes up.
#3
Browse some our Subject Guides where Librarians may have curated a few dictionaries in different subject areas.
From the Library website, locate the box Explore Guides and Tutorials.
Use the drop down menu to Select a Subject related to your area of interest (ie: Psychology) and click Go.
From here, choose a guide from the list of results.
If a guide has dictionaries, they will be located in the Reference Materials tab at the top of the guide's page.
Note: Even if there are no dictionaries, encyclopedias can also be a great resource for defining terms AND getting a brief overview of a topic.
