How to Use Reference Sources
Equality for ALL Men and Women
Imagine living in Alabama in 1955. African American students and white students had to go to different schools. African Americans could not use the same drinking fountains or rest rooms as white people. Some restaurants would not serve African Americans. They had to sit in different sections of buses, movie theaters, and other public venues. These unfair laws would not change until people got together and demanded their rights. It was time to put dreams of equality into action.
This unfair treatment of African Americans was allowed because of segregation. Segregation set people apart from one another because of race. Although segregation was allowed by law, many people felt that it was wrong. People of every race, age, and religion began to work together to end unfair treatment of African Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister who worked to end segregation in the United States. He became one of the most famous leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement was action taken by Americans who wanted to see African Americans receive equal opportunities and fair treatment Civil rights are the rights that all U.S. citizens have, as written in the Constitution.
Suppose you wanted to learn about segregation and the civil rights movement. You could look for information in reference sources. A reference source is a book or other source that gives facts about many different subjects. For example, you could look up segregation in an encyclopedia. Encyclopedias give general information about important people, topics, places, and events. They come in book form, online, or on CD-ROM, with topics arranged in alphabetical order. Encyclopedias often suggest additional books and other sources of information about your topic.
If you wanted to find out more about the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., you could look up his name in a biographical dictionary. A biographical dictionary lists important people alphabetically by last name. It gives a few facts about each person listed and tells why the person is important. In a biographical dictionary you could find out when Martin Luther King, Je., was born, where he went to school, and why he is famous. Then if you wanted to learn more, you could check an encyclopedia. For even more information about Dr, Kong or other famous people, explore the biography section at your local library.
Follow the steps on the next two pages to learn how to use reference sources.
STEPS IN Using Reference Sources
1. Choose a Reference Source
If you are looking up a place, an item, or an event, sue an encyclopedia. If you are looking up a person, you can start with either a biographical dictionary or an encyclopedia.
2. Look up Your Subject
If you are using encyclopedias, they will probably be a set of volumes, or several individual books that make up a set. You will need to choose the right volume. online and CD-ROM encyclopedia are often all together. in one site or volume.
Use the index.
Look up the person, topic, place, or event in the index. The index is usually in the last book of the set. online and CD-ROM sources will list an electronic index. Topics are listed alphabetically. People are listed alphabetically by last name. The last name will be followed by a comma and then the first name. The index will give you the titles of the articles, the volume numbers or letters, and the pages. For example, suppose Martin Luther King, Jr., is in Volume 10, page 205. The index listing will look like this:
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 10: 205
Guide words will tell you if you are on the right page of an encyclopedia. The page for segregation might say "Scotland-Senate" at the top.
Look for related topics.
The index may list related topics under different key words. For example, civil rights, segregation, and Montgomery bus boycott are topics related to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work.
Use the same steps to look up a person in a biographical dictionary. Biographical dictionaries often have only one book to look through, not a set of volumes.
3. Read the Article
Skim the article.
If you are looking for certain facts, skim the article to find them.
Reread and take notes.
Read the article a second time and write down important information in your own words.
4. Look for Other Sources
If you want more facts, look in the encyclopedia article for titles of other articles with useful information. Select which ones you want to look up.
You may also find a list of books about the subject at the end of the article. You might want to look for these books in your local library.
TIP: There may be several index listings for the same last name, so be careful to look for the correct first name.