Research Guides: Special Education: Encyclopedias, etc

Special Education Encyclopedias and Handbooks

Here is a sample of some of the online encyclopedias available at the Healey Library.

The SAGE Handbook of Special Education by Lani Florian (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412907293
Publication Date: 2006-12-18
The SAGE Handbook of Special Education brings together the most up to date knowledge of this area and will serve as the major source book of authoritative information and ideas about current and future directions for special education. It aims to examine the intricate relations between theory, research, and practice, and places a particular emphasis on international policies such as Education for All, and inclusive education as a strategy for achieving it. This comprehensive, research-based work, assembles scholarship on an international level, and covers topics that transcend national boundaries.
Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of the Handicapped and Other Exceptional Children and Adults by Elaine Fletcher-Janzen, Kimberly J. Vannest, Cecil R. Reynolds
ISBN: 9781785394256
Publication Date: 2014
The highly acclaimed Encyclopedia of Special Education addresses issues of importance ranging from theory to practice and is a critical reference for researchers as well as those working in the special education field. This completely updated and comprehensive A-Z reference includes about 200 new entries, with increased attention given to those topics that have grown in importance since the publication of the third edition, such as technology, service delivery policies, international issues, neuropsychology, and RTI. The latest editions of assessment instruments frequently administered in special education settings are discussed.

General Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc

An alternative to Wikipedia. Reference works such as encyclopedias are a good place to find background information on a topic, or to quickly look up a fact. They often include bibliographies telling you where to find additional information.

Britannica Library This link opens in a new window
A general encyclopedia covering all subjects. It also includes current events journal articles, selected and reviewed web links, a dictionary, a thesaurus, and timelines with images and links.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference provides access to a broad variety of reference sources from dictionaries to encyclopedias covering topics from the arts to the sciences. It has an image collection, maps, customizable data, and audio pronunciation files. You can search the whole collection or a specific subject area.
Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
The Gale Virtual Reference collection includes general reference resources as well as titles in the arts, biography, business, education, the environment, history, information and publishing, law, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, religion, science, and the social sciences. You can search the whole collection or a specific subject area.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.
Sage Knowledge This link opens in a new window
SAGE Knowledge is the ultimate social sciences digital library for students, researchers, and faculty. With more than 2,500 titles, it includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more.