Dictionaries provide definitions of words, thus helping to clarify terminology used in the field.

• APA Dictionary of Psychology.
  Publisher: Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007.
  Call Number: MAIN Reference 150.3 A639
• The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology.
  Publisher: Leiden: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  Online Access: click for full text
• A Dictionary of Psychology.
  Publisher: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  Online: via Oxford Reference Online
• The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. 3rd. ed.
  Publisher: New York: Penguin Books, 2001.
  Call Number: MAIN Core 150.321 R291p 2001
  Online: via Credo Reference

Encyclopedias are alphabetically arranged collections of articles that provide background information on key concepts, theories, and measures. They are a great place to start exploring a paper topic. Here are just a few.

• 21st Century Psychology.
  Publisher: Thousand Oaks: Sage Online, 2008.
  Online: via Gale Virtual Reference Library
• International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences.
  Publisher: Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2001.
  Call Number: MAIN Reference 300.3 I61
  Online: via Gale Virtual Reference Library
• Encyclopedia of Psychology.
  Publisher: New York: American Psychological Association & Oxford University Press, 2000.
  Call number: MAIN Reference & SCHAFFNER Reference 150.3 E564
  Online: via PsycBOOKS vol.1 (A-B), vol.2 (C-D), vol.3 (E-G), vol.4 (H-L), vol.5 (M-O), vol.6 (P-R), vol.7 (R-S), vol.8 (T-Z)
• The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science.
  Publisher: Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
  Online: via Credo Reference
• Elsevier's Dictionary of Psychological Theories.
  Publisher: Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2008.
  Call Number: MAIN Reference 150.3 E49
  Online: via Credo Reference
• Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology.
  Publisher: San Diego, CA: Elsevier, 2004.
  Call Number: MAIN Reference L 158.03 E56
  Online: via Credo Reference
• Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment.
  Publisher: Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003.
  Call Number: MAIN Reference 150.28703 E56
• Encyclopedia of Social Psychology.
  Publisher: Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2007.
  Online Access: Gale Virtual Reference Library

Handbooks in psychology are quick sources of facts and can supplement encyclopedia articles by providing detailed summaries of broad topics in the field.

You can find many useful handbooks via NUSearch by doing a keyword search for the terms handbook and psychology limited to the title.

New Resource: Oxford Handbooks Online

Some examples of handbooks are:

• The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour
• Handbook of Adolescent Psychology
• Handbook of African American Psychology
• Handbook of Asian American Psychology
• Handbook of Educational Psychology
• Handbook of Racial & Ethnic Minority Psychology
• Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
• Handbook of Vocational Psychology
• The Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology
• The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology