{"id":910,"date":"2011-11-24T10:31:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-24T12:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufrgs.br\/blogdabc\/reference-websites-for-college-students\/"},"modified":"2020-03-23T12:06:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:06:54","slug":"reference-websites-for-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ufrgs.br\/bibliotecacentral\/reference-websites-for-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Reference Websites for College Students (and for Everyone Else, Too.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This list of 100 alternatives to Wikipedia<\/strong> includes many
\nsources reliable enough to cite in scholarly work. Our goal was to put together
\na list of reference websites for college students that are better alternatives
\nthan the Wikipedia. (Not all of the Wikipedia alternatives<\/strong>
\nbelow are suitable to cite in a scholarly work though.)
\n\"WikipediaWikipedia started out as
\nan experiment, and now it’s one of the most popular websites in the world.
\nAnyone can access and edit the information on the Wikipedia, an open source
\nencyclopedia. Since anyone can edit the information at any time, Wikipedia is no
\nmore appropriate for scholarly research or reference than a message board.
\nSometimes the information at Wikipedia is accurate, but sometimes it’s not.<\/p>\n

\n Online Encyclopedias<\/h3>\n

Believe it or not, other online encyclopedias<\/strong> besides the
\nWikipedia exist. Here are some of the better ones.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Citizendium<\/a> – An open
    \nwiki founded by Wikipedia’s Larry Sanger, Citizendium falls somewhere between
    \nWikipedia’s totally open source package and Scholarpedia’s invite-only method.
    \nCitizendium is peer-reviewed, but not as strictly as Scholarpedia.<\/li>\n
  2. Digital Universe<\/a>
    \n– A directory and encyclopedia organized into subject specific portals. Their
    \nsite is focused on accuracy and accessibility.<\/li>\n
  3. Encyclopedia Britannica
    \nOnline<\/a> – This site doesn’t follow the wiki model at all, but it is a
    \nreliable and citable source for facts. Every volume of the Encyclopedia
    \nBritannica<\/i> exists here, in an online format with easy to use search tools. A
    \nyear’s subscription will set your back around $70.<\/li>\n
  4. Encyclopedia.com<\/a> –
    \nWhen you search at encyclopedia.com, you can find information, definitions of
    \nwords, and other facts by searching dozens of online reference tools at the same
    \ntime. Search the Columbia Encyclopedia, Webster’s New world Dictionary, medical
    \nreference books, and tons of other resources with a single search.<\/li>\n
  5. FactMonster<\/a> – A
    \nreference source for kids, FactMonster contains basic details on subjects like
    \nmath, geography, and sports. The site also includes games and puzzles to keep
    \nthe mood light.<\/li>\n
  6. Infoplease<\/a> -This
    \nonline encyclopedia is totally free thanks to Pearson Education, a textbook
    \ndistributor. Information at Infoplease comes from reliable sources like the
    \nRandom House Unabridged Dictionary<\/i>. It’s not open source like Wikipedia,
    \nbut it is a respected collection of data.<\/li>\n
  7. RefDesk<\/a> – Calling itself a
    \n\u201cfact check for the Internet,\u201d RefDesk collects different online resources under
    \none roof, allowing you to search the Internet, check newspaper headlines, look
    \ninfo up on various encyclopedias and dictionaries, and read the news all from
    \nthe same site.<\/li>\n
  8. Scholarpedia<\/a> –
    \nBuilt on the same package as Wikipedia, MediaWiki, Scholarpedia is an
    \ninvitation-only encyclopedia site edited by experts. Unlike Wikipedia,
    \nScholarpedia is peer-reviewed and all content is attributed to specific authors.<\/li>\n
  9. Vaughn’s 1
    \nPagers<\/a> – A collection of general reference material based on whatever Vaughn
    \nAubuchon, the author, is interested in at any given time. Much of the material
    \nsummarizes information that isn’t available elsewhere on the Internet, which
    \nmakes it even more valuable.<\/li>\n
  10. World Book
    \nOnline<\/a> – This one requires a subscription, but it’s an excellent
    \nencyclopedia that most people of my generation are already familiar with. This
    \nis an especially good resource for younger students and researchers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n Library Sites<\/h3>\n

    \"AlternativesLibrary
    \nsites<\/strong> offer some of the most reliable reference material on the
    \nInternet. These are not just websites for actual libraries–some of them are
    \nvirtual Internet libraries that include the full text of various books.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. eBrary<\/a> – More
      \nthan 20,000 full books are available at eBrary on every topic from academic
      \njournals to and general interest texts. Accessing eBrary is like visiting a
      \nmajor university library from your home.<\/li>\n
    2. The Free Library<\/a>
      \n– Over 18,000,000 books and articles make up the collection of The Free Library.<\/li>\n
    3. ibiblio<\/a> – ibiblio is a
      \nmassive collection of information in the public domain. Browse thousands of
      \nmaps, photos, books, and other links all for free.<\/li>\n
    4. Internet Public Library<\/a> –
      \nThe closest thing to a real library online, Internet Public Library is a
      \ncollection of reference materials and links, The site even has an awesome “ask a
      \nlibrarian” section where you can get real answers from IPL employees.<\/li>\n
    5. LibrarySpot<\/a> – This
      \ncollection of library resources is similar to eBrary but geared toward students.
      \nLinks to free encyclopedias and other reference materials make LibrarySpot a
      \nmust-bookmark site for students.<\/li>\n
    6. Literature.org<\/a> –
      \nLooking for an online copy of some of the world’s great literature?
      \nLiterature.org hosts classic books from writers as diverse as Willa Cather,
      \nStephen Crane, and Lucy Maude Montgomery.<\/li>\n
    7. The Online
      \nBooks Page<\/a> – Thousands of books are available to read and download for free,
      \nbut without The Online Books Page, finding them can be a hassle. The Online
      \nBooks Page gathers them all in one searchable index.<\/li>\n
    8. Oxford Journals<\/a> –
      \nA collection of links to every journal published by Oxford University Press,
      \nfrom Alcohol & Alcoholism to the Yearbook of European Law. Each journal has
      \nseveral articles that are free for viewing and downloading.<\/li>\n
    9. Questia<\/a> – Questia hosts
      \nthe world’s largest online collection of books, articles, and other library
      \nresources. Put together and edited by trained librarians, Questia’s 76,000 full
      \ntext books and millions of scholarly articles are great sources for research
      \npapers.<\/li>\n
    10. WorldCat<\/a> – The world’s
      \nlargest library catalog, WorldCat lets you search libraries all over the world
      \nto figure out where to find the resources you need. WorldCat lets you search for
      \nbooks and periodicals in thousands of libraries at once.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \n User-Contributed Reference Sites<\/h3>\n

      \"ReferenceWikipedia is the biggest
      \nexample of a site where the content is user-contributed, but there are plenty of
      \nuser-contributed reference sites<\/strong> to choose from besides
      \nWikipedia.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Duno<\/a> – User generated
        \ncontent from amateurs and professionals alike, Duno.com is short for “I don’t
        \nknow.” Contributors to duno.com get paid for the information they share thanks
        \nto an advertising program.<\/li>\n
      2. eHow<\/a> – At eHow.com, regular
        \nJoes like you and me share their knowledge. That means that eHow contains a wide
        \nvariety of expertise. Search for information on arts and crafts, scholarly
        \nresearch, and even extreme sports and mixed martial arts.<\/li>\n
      3. Greekopedia<\/a> – Since
        \nthis list of Wikipedia alternatives is aimed at current and future college
        \nstudents, check out hundreds of articles on fraternity and sorority life at
        \nGreekopedia. Trust us, you’ll want to know all about the Greeks, whether you’re
        \na frat boy or not.<\/li>\n
      4. Instructables<\/a> –
        \nInstructables hosts how-to videos on a huge range of topics. Unlike WikiHow, the
        \ncontent at Instructables must have a video to go along with it.<\/li>\n
      5. Internet Encyclopedia<\/a> –
        \nAnother universal wiki based content encyclopedia, Internet Encyclopedia (also
        \nknown as Wikinfo) is different from Wikipedia in that it encourages the
        \ninclusion of unique research and opinions. It also requires that its editors
        \nprovide objective and not opinion based content.<\/li>\n
      6. Open-Site<\/a> – Similar to
        \nWikipedia, Open-Site is a free encyclopedia online with content contributed by
        \nusers and lightly moderated by volunteer editors.<\/li>\n
      7. wikiFAQ<\/a> – Free FAQs on
        \nevery topic under the sun are in the collection of wikiFAQ. Anyone can edit and
        \ncontribute to any FAQ on the site, which uses light moderation to maintain
        \naccuracy.<\/li>\n
      8. WikiHow<\/a> – More than
        \n120,000 unique how-to articles make up the bulk of the information at WikiHow.
        \nThink of it as Wikipedia for how-to manuals.<\/li>\n
      9. Wincyclopedia<\/a> –
        \nTheir slogan “Your directory to everything” is just about 100% true. Categories
        \nlike “Health” and “Society” are further broken down into subcategories for quick
        \nbrowsing.<\/li>\n
      10. wikiHealth<\/a> – Applying
        \nthe wiki model to health concerns, wikiHealth is like having a million people’s
        \nmedical experience and opinions in one easily searchable database. Doctors,
        \npatients, and everyone in between come together to share their health and
        \nmedical knowledge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \n Science & Math Reference Websites<\/h3>\n

        \"ReferenceThe Internet has traditionally
        \nbeen a hangout for geeks and nerds, so it’s no surprise that science and
        \nmath reference websites<\/strong> are easy to find.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Encyclopedia of Astronomy
          \nand Astrophysics<\/a> – On the Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics, you
          \ncan look up definitions of astronomy terms and details about famous astronomers.<\/li>\n
        2. Encyclopedia of Earth<\/a> –
          \nA totally free expert reviewed and edited collection of resources about the
          \nearth, its environment, its history, and its future. Encyclopedia of Earth is
          \nmade up mostly of scholarly articles and reviews of everything you could ever
          \nlearn about the Earth.<\/li>\n
        3. Encyclopedia of Life<\/a> – Enter
          \nthe name of a living thing you want to learn more about in Encyclopedia of
          \nLife’s search box, and bang you’ve got a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips.
          \nA big archive of info on every sort of plant, animal, fungus, and bacteria
          \nliving on Earth.<\/li>\n
        4. HowStuffWorks<\/a> – Not
          \njust good for factual information, HowStuffWorks can fill you in on all the
          \ndetails about the inner workings of your toaster or that nuclear power plant in
          \nyour neighborhood.<\/li>\n
        5. The Internet Encyclopedia of Science<\/a> – Astronomer David
          \nDarling runs this collection of A-Z references on a huge collection of science
          \ntopics. The Internet Encyclopedia of Science also includes the Encyclopedia of
          \nAlternative Energy & Sustainable Living and the Encyclopedia of History.<\/li>\n
        6. NatureServe
          \nExplorer<\/a> – Calling itself “an online encyclopedia of life,” NatureServe
          \nExplorer lets you look up information on every species of bird, insect, mammal,
          \nand more.<\/li>\n
        7. Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences<\/a> – This site is
          \ndesigned to be easily searchable, and for math nerds of all varieties there’s no
          \neasier way to look up information on number sequences.<\/li>\n
        8. Physics
          \nEncyclopedia<\/a> – Physics Encyclopedia is the place to go for definitions of
          \nphysics terms and links to physics resources online.<\/li>\n
        9. PhysLink.com<\/a> – As the
          \nscience of physics becomes more relevant, it’s more difficult to stay up to date
          \non things like string theory. This site is a global resource for all things
          \nphysics.<\/li>\n
        10. PlantCare.com<\/a> – With a
          \nplant encyclopedia and active user forum, plantcare.com is the place to go to
          \nlearn about plants and their proper care and maintenance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \n Fine Arts Reference Materials<\/h3>\n

          The Internet is not just for science nerds. The arts are well-represented on
          \nthe Internet, too, and the following fine arts reference
          \nmaterials<\/strong> are also excellent alternatives to the Wikipedia (at least
          \nwhen you’re researching a paper for your art appreciation class.)<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. All Music Guide<\/a> – A
            \nblog, a gigantic collection of album reviews, and a companion site that helps
            \nyou discover new music are the heart, soul, and brains of All Music Guide. Learn
            \nall about new music, classic music, and encyclopedic info about classical music
            \nand other styles.<\/li>\n
          2. The Artchive<\/a> – The easiest
            \nway to look up quick details and information on artists, their body of artwork,
            \nand their history. You can also browse images of art and artists. Consider the
            \nArtchive like the IMDB of fine art.<\/li>\n
          3. Artcyclopedia<\/a> – An
            \nencyclopedia of fine arts and artists, Artcyclopedia allows you to search by
            \nartist, painting, titles, art period, and many other search categories. Helpful
            \nwhen you can only remember part of the name of a piece or art or an artist.<\/li>\n
          4. DancePedia<\/a> –
            \nDancePedia is an encyclopedia of links and online resources dedicated to all
            \nthings dance, from profiles of famous dancers to information on the most current
            \nstyles and trends in modern dance.<\/li>\n
          5. Garland
            \nEncyclopedia of World Music<\/a> – Interested in musical styles from around the
            \nworld? You’ll have to register or be a student at a registered university to
            \naccess the archives, but the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music is the most
            \nthoroughly researched and heavily informative site on world music.<\/li>\n
          6. Improv
            \nEncyclopedia<\/a> – Broken up into three sections–improv games, improv
            \nresources, and a huge improv glossary, Improv Encyclopedia is the ultimate
            \ncollection of improv information on the Internet.<\/li>\n
          7. Instrument
            \nEncyclopedia<\/a> – The University of Michigan runs Instrument Encyclopedia, a
            \nresource of information on all sorts of musical instruments plus links to
            \nfurther online musical instrument resources.<\/li>\n
          8. Internet Movie Database<\/a> –
            \nLike an encyclopedia of movies combined with a movie news sites, Internet Movie
            \nDatabase (better known as IMDB) is the ultimate movie resource. Look up details
            \non anyone that ever participated in the movies, from the lowliest camera tech to
            \nthe most famous movie stars and directors.<\/li>\n
          9. Musicals101<\/a> – There
            \nare literally thousands of encyclopedia entries on all sorts of musicals at
            \nMusicals101. Part reference site and part entertainment resource, fans of
            \nmusicals will spend hours learning the ins and outs of their favorites.<\/li>\n
          10. Oxford Music
            \nOnline<\/a> – If you’re doing any kind of music research, Oxford’s Music Online
            \nsite is the place to start. A sort of gateway to all sorts of music research as
            \nwell as a clearinghouse for music reference and scholarly articles published by
            \nOxford University Press.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            \n Language, Literature, and Word Resources<\/h3>\n

            \"LanguageDictionaries, thesauri, and
            \nother references related to the use of words and language are common on the
            \nInternet. Here are some of the best language resources<\/strong> online.
            \nA couple of these sites are also related to world literature.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. AskOxford<\/a> – A word and
              \nlanguage reference site built on the Oxford English Dictionary, the most trusted
              \nword reference in the world. AskOxford also includes grammar tips and the option
              \nof asking your grammar or language questions of experts from Oxford.<\/li>\n
            2. Bartleby<\/a> – There are so
              \nmany great books online at Bartleby, you may find you don’t need to buy that
              \ntextbook or research book for your next college class or research project.
              \nEverything from Gray’s Anatomy to the latest fiction bestseller are collected
              \nall under one roof. Featuring reference, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction books
              \nto read for free.<\/li>\n
            3. BookRags<\/a> – A big
              \ncollection of study guides, essays on books, biographies of writers, and
              \nsummaries of plots. Like Cliff’s Notes online, BookRags is the place to go for a
              \nquick brushup before a pop quiz or essay test.<\/li>\n
            4. BrainyQuote<\/a> –
              \nBrainyQuote isn’t always accurate, either in the wording of the quotes or the
              \ncitation of the quote itself. Still, when you need a good epigraph or quote to
              \nspice up a paper or piece of creative writing, BrainyQuote is an easy to search
              \ndatabase of famous quotes.<\/li>\n
            5. Dictionary.com<\/a>
              \n– Another free online dictionary, dictionary.com is easy to use and easy on the
              \neyes, though its not nearly as robust as Merriam Webster or the OED online. You
              \ncan find the basic definitions and spellings of words, as well as a crossword
              \ndictionary and a few word games thrown in for good measure.<\/li>\n
            6. Encyclopedia Mythica<\/a> –
              \nThe largest resource and link collection for all things related to mythology,
              \nreligion, folklore, and even urban legends. Encyclopedia Mythica is a gorgeous
              \nand easy to use online search engine and resource collection about myths and
              \nspirituality.<\/li>\n
            7. Merriam Webster<\/a>
              \n– The best thing about Merriam Webster’s online dictionary is that its free.
              \nUsers of the online Oxford English Dictionary only have limited access to word
              \nreferences without paying a pretty substantial fee.<\/li>\n
            8. Urban Dictionary<\/a>
              \n– A user-contributed resource for slang from all walks of life, Urban Dictionary
              \nis a massive reference for words not traditionally found in the dictionary.<\/li>\n
            9. Visual Thesaurus<\/a>
              \n– One of the coolest language sites online, Visual Thesaurus is just what the
              \nname implies, a thesaurus that maps out synonyms and antonyms visually. Look at
              \na word’s synonyms and antonyms using a visual interactive map. Not free, but
              \nfree to try.<\/li>\n
            10. WordReference<\/a> – A
              \ndictionary and reference tool for any word in English, Spanish, Italian, or
              \nFrench. WordReference is a must-bookmark site for students of language and
              \nwriters alike.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \n Question & Answer Sites<\/h3>\n

              \"QuestionMost question &
              \nanswer sites<\/strong> are of little use to the academic researcher, but for less
              \nserious questions and information, they can be useful alternatives to the
              \nWikipedia.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. AllExperts<\/a> – The
                \nfirst large-scale question and answer site online, AllExperts was founded in
                \n1998 and is still going strong. If you have a question that needs the help of an
                \nexpert, AllExperts is what you need to get your answer free of charge.<\/li>\n
              2. Answerbag<\/a> – Another
                \nuser contributed question and answer site with a large archive. Questions here
                \nseem to focus on medical, regional shopping, and how to questions. Answerbag is
                \na great place to start your search if you have a specific question.<\/li>\n
              3. AOLAnswers<\/a> – AOLAnswers
                \nused to be called Yedda. The name has changed. but the site is the same. Ask any
                \nquestion on any topic and get personalized answers from real people.<\/li>\n
              4. Ask a Librarian<\/a> –
                \nThe coolest question and answer site online, Ask a Librarian allows you to ask
                \nlibrarians live questions as long as they pertain to research, literature, or
                \nother library topics. Many categories have a “live chat” feature connecting you
                \nto a librarian of the Library of Congress directly.<\/li>\n
              5. Askville<\/a> – Amazon’s
                \nAskville is a very active question and answer site with Amazon’s large
                \nmembership as its answer base.<\/li>\n
              6. Microsoft Live QnA<\/a> – At
                \nMicrosoft Live QnA, you can ask any question you want and hope for some serious
                \nanswers, although the majority of responses are pranks or on the silly side.<\/li>\n
              7. Refseek<\/a> – A great directory of question and answer sites both
                \nsmall and large, general and topic-specific.<\/li>\n
              8. The Straight Dope<\/a> –
                \nPopular blogger and writer Cecil Adams has been running The Straight Dope for
                \nyears, featuring email questions about anything you can imagine. Cecil Adams and
                \nothers answer one big question a week and feature it on the main page. The
                \narchive is massive. Want to know the purpose of hiccoughs or the average weight
                \nof airplane food? Cecil Adams is the guy to ask.<\/li>\n
              9. wiseGEEK<\/a> – WiseGEEK
                \ncontains 30,000+ articles on tech related questions, from What Is a Cell Phone
                \nto how to guides on fixing your laptop or handheld device.<\/li>\n
              10. Yahoo! Answers<\/a> – User
                \ncontributed questions and answers on every topic under the sun. This Yahoo!
                \nsponsored site allows anyone to post a question or an answer, and allows the
                \nperson asking the question to rank and vote on the responses. Part social media
                \nsite, part question and answer site.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                \n Internet Must-Have Reference Works<\/h3>\n

                \"HistoryThe following
                \nreference works vary in scope, but all of them have one thing in common: They’re
                \nabsolutely essential for inclusion on any list of Internet reference
                \nworks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. The American
                  \nPresidency Project<\/a> – UC Santa Barbara runs The American Presidency Project,
                  \na massive resource of information about every American president and vice
                  \npresident. UCSB hosts more than 90,000 documents and provides them free to the
                  \npublic at this site.<\/li>\n
                2. Bibliomania<\/a> –
                  \nBibliomania hosts more than 2,000 classic book texts online for you to read,
                  \ndownload, and search via their handy index.<\/li>\n
                3. Encyclopedia
                  \nSmithsonian<\/a> – The complete online collection of everything the Smithsonian
                  \nMuseum system has, Encyclopedia Smithsonian lets users search through 2 million
                  \nrecords with images, video and sound files. There are also links to electronic
                  \njournal articles and other resources from the Smithsonian’s collection.<\/li>\n
                4. Government Documents Center<\/a> – The largest collection of
                  \ngovernment documents in one place, the library of the University of Michigan put
                  \nthis collection together as the best online resource for documents related to
                  \nthe US government.<\/li>\n
                5. Martindale’s
                  \nReference Desk<\/a> – The Martindale Reference Desk is a no nonsense reference
                  \ntool broken up into sections like Language, Science, Business, and Mathematics.
                  \nYou can browse the different subject areas easily and have instant access to
                  \ntens of thousands of links and other resources.<\/li>\n
                6. NOLO Legal
                  \nDictionary<\/a> – Calling itself a “plain English law dictionary,” NOLO offers
                  \ndefinitions for most law terms in plain language. This free legal resource also
                  \nhosts free and easy to understand legal information on hundreds of commonly used
                  \nlegal procedures.<\/li>\n
                7. The Old Farmer’s Almanac<\/a>
                  \n– The Farmer’s Almanac has been published regularly since 1792. The online Old
                  \nFarmer’s Almanac is even more resourceful than the print edition. Use the Old
                  \nFarmer’s Almanac to research tide tables, phases of the moon, weather, planting
                  \ncharts, recipes, and good old-fashioned Farmer’s Almanac advice.<\/li>\n
                8. The Open Directory Project<\/a>
                  \n– DMOZ is the most important Internet directory you’ve never heard of. The Open
                  \nDirectory Project is a web directory put together and maintained by humans on
                  \nevery topic imaginable, from Arts to Health to Sports. Links are looked over by
                  \nreal people and the site is updated regularly.<\/li>\n
                9. Open Library<\/a> – An
                  \nambitious project, Open Library is an Internet archiving project that hopes to
                  \nput together a Web page for every book ever published. Nothing to sniff at, Open
                  \nLibrary has already put together more than 20 million such records, all free to
                  \nthe public.<\/li>\n
                10. Wolfram Library
                  \nArchive<\/a> – Experimental search engine Wolfram Alpha maintains a large archive
                  \nat Wolfram Library Archive. There are thousands of viewable and downloadable
                  \nresources from Wolfram Alpha research. Tied directly to the Wolfram Alpha search
                  \nengine.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  \n Medical Reference Websites<\/h3>\n

                  The Internet is no substitute for the care of a competent physician, but
                  \nthere are plenty of useful medical reference websites<\/strong> available
                  \nonline.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Erowid<\/a> – Erowid.org is
                    \ndesigned for recreational drug users and researchers into recreational drugs. A
                    \ngigantic compendium of experiences with recreational drug use, chemical
                    \nstructures of said drugs, and even bulletin boards and user forms on all sorts
                    \nof drugs from the pharmacy to those made at home. This site is probably never
                    \ngoing to be useful as a citation in an academic paper, but it has such a large
                    \nvolume of information that it warrants inclusion on the list. (Just keep in mind
                    \nthat it’s user-contributed information, so the reliability of the material is
                    \nquestionable.)<\/li>\n
                  2. Genetics Home Reference<\/a>
                    \n– A guide to understanding genetic conditions, Genetics Home Reference is
                    \nanother health resource provided by the National Center for Biotechnology
                    \nInformation.<\/li>\n
                  3. MedicineNet<\/a> – Their
                    \nslogan is “We bring doctor’s knowledge to you.” This WebMD clone (now owned and
                    \noperated by WebMD) is aimed more at doctor’s takes on medical conditions than
                    \nuser contributed resources.<\/li>\n
                  4. Medline Plus<\/a>
                    \n– The National Institutes of Health run this site with basic and more complex
                    \nmedical details, news, and information.<\/li>\n
                  5. MedScape<\/a> – Featuring
                    \nhealth news, doctor’s perspectives on health care, and free reprints and links
                    \nto scholarly medical journals and other articles, MedScape is a great resource
                    \nfor everyone who ever has to deal with illness or medical care.<\/li>\n
                  6. Merck Medical Manuals<\/a> – A huge collection of medical manuals
                    \navailable to medical professionals free of charge. Merck Medical Manuals is the
                    \nlargest such resource in the world.<\/li>\n
                  7. PDRHealth<\/a> – This
                    \nhealth website is run by the PDR, the Physician’s Desk Reference. The
                    \nassociation with the PDR gives PDRHealth a little more resonance with people
                    \nlooking for health advice than a site like WebMD.com.<\/li>\n
                  8. PubChem<\/a> – The
                    \nNCBI (The National Center for Biotechnology Information) runs this free resource
                    \noffering all kinds of details on chemical formulas, structures, and even genetic
                    \ncoding. PubChem is one of the only free resources for this biomedical and
                    \ngenomic information.<\/li>\n
                  9. RXList<\/a> – Calling itself
                    \n“the Internet drug list,” RXList is a must-have resource for anyone on
                    \nprescription medication. RXList has a great feature called the pill identifier,
                    \nwhere you put in the imprint on a pill and find out the name, dosage, and other
                    \ndetails on any medication you find.<\/li>\n
                  10. WebMD<\/a> – One of the most
                    \npopular health news and resource sites online, WebMD sometimes catches flack for
                    \nproviding medical advice from an authoritative perspective that people may
                    \nassume is actual medical advice. A huge resource of medical news, a symptom
                    \nchecker, and all sorts of links and resources for people interested in health
                    \ntopics.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    \n Miscellaneous Reference Sites<\/h3>\n

                    \"LibraryThese miscellaneous
                    \nreference sites<\/strong> round out our list of Wikipeda alternatives.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Acronym Finder<\/a> –
                      \nEver come across an acronym that you weren’t familiar with? Find any number of
                      \nprofessional and amateur acronyms here, with an easy to use search function.<\/li>\n
                    2. Baseball
                      \nReference<\/a> – Every sort of baseball stat and historical reference on baseball
                      \nplayers, teams, and the sport of baseball as a whole is available at Baseball
                      \nReference.<\/li>\n
                    3. Catholic
                      \nEncyclopedia<\/a> – The largest collection of information on the Catholic
                      \nreligion is at Catholic Encyclopedia. Useful to more than just Catholics because
                      \nof the huge impact Catholicism has had on every field on Earth from science to
                      \nnutrition.<\/li>\n
                    4. The Educator\u2019s Reference
                      \nDesk<\/a> – The Educator’s Reference Desk offers teachers and students tens of
                      \nthousands of reference materials for lesson planning, classroom management,
                      \ndiscipline, and a place to blow off steam.<\/li>\n
                    5. FreeAdvice<\/a> – Not just
                      \nfor legal problems, FreeAdvice is a unique question and answer site where people
                      \ngo for free advice on topics from picking an outfit for a big date to real
                      \nestate advice.<\/li>\n
                    6. Library of
                      \nCongress<\/a> – All Americans should have easy access to the Library of Congress
                      \nwebsite because of the massive amount of resources and information right at your
                      \nfingertips.<\/li>\n
                    7. NASA Images<\/a> – An amazing
                      \ncollection of photographs and artist renderings created for and by NASA. A great
                      \nresource for desktop photos, screensavers, and beautiful photos to accompany
                      \nresearch projects and writing projects.<\/li>\n
                    8. Snopes<\/a> – Snopes is more
                      \nthan just a fun place to read about urban legends and myths, it’s full of useful
                      \ninformation and statistics on a wide variety of topics.<\/li>\n
                    9. Symbols.com<\/a> – Tons of
                      \ninformation about tens of thousands of symbols, their history, usage, and
                      \ncontemporary meanings at symbols.com.<\/li>\n
                    10. timeanddate<\/a> –
                      \nHistorical information organized by time and date is available at–where
                      \nelse?–timeanddate.com. To find out what happened on any day or time in history,
                      \ncheck out timeaddate.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      The information you find at Wikipedia isn’t always accurate and can’t be
                      \ncited in professional or scholarly work. To fact check things you learn on
                      \nWikipedia or tp research topics not covered well enough by Wikipedia, try any of
                      \nthe 100 Wikipedia alternatives cited above. Most (but not all) of the links
                      \nabove are citable, edited, and fact-checked by real people.<\/p>\n

                      \n Free College Classes Online<\/h3>\n