Reference resources help you choose, explore and develop your topic! Reference sources such as encyclopedias and dictionaries contain overviews and background information. They sometimes contain statistics, definitions and lists of resources for further study. When you have a better understanding of your topic, it will be easier to come up with the search terms you'll use to find the books and articles you need.
Wikipedia is a reference source because it is an encyclopedia. You can use it to discover ideas and links to additional resources -- but never cite it as a source in your papers! This rule exists because Wikipedia entries can be edited at any time, by anyone, and so its accuracy can never be relied upon at any given moment.
These resources can help you to refine your topic or familiarize yourself with an issue. They make a great starting point when you have a general idea of a research topic, but you still need to narrow it down.
Articles about social issues. Includes opinion articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, and full-text periodical articles from magazines and newspapers. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database.
The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion by
Bringing together contemporary research on children and childhood from pediatrics, child psychology, childhood studies, education, sociology, history, law, anthropology, and other related areas, The Child contains more than 500 articles - all written by experts in their fields. The entries consider the ways that in which race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and cultural traditions of child rearing can affect children's experiences of physical and mental health, education, and family.
Child Abuse and Domestic Violence by 
Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society by
Also available as an ebook.
This three-volume set presents the social and cultural history of childhood from antiquity to the present. Includes articles on education, parenting, child labor, economics, images of childhood, children's literature, play, toys and games, health, physiology, law, the criminal justice system and social welfare. Comparative articles include information about childhood in cultures throughout the world. Features 250 photographs representing the visual images of childhood.
Encyclopedia of Education by
Offers a complete view of the institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies in educational practice in the United States and throughout the world. Features biographies of influential educators; profiles of historic colleges and universities and of organizations active in the field; and an appendix of full text source documents, including education related legislation, international treaties, and testing methods.
Handbook of Child Psychology by 
Learning Disabilities Sourcebook by 
Psychology of Classroom Learning by 
The SAGE encyclopedia of contemporary early childhood education
APA Dictionary of Psychology by 
Education Week Guide to K-12 Terminology by