Research & Reference

  • Brian Pinchbeck
  • 20.01.2025

General Resources and Homework Helpers

World Wide Web Virtual Library
Just plain unbelievable!

The Virtual Reference Desk
Don’t miss this one

My Virtual Reference Desk Facts Page
If you have plenty of time and want to learn a ton, try visiting this site

Purdue University Reference Desk
Another great place to visit

Fact Monster
This site is really great…it is a must see site for students with homework assignments

U.S Patent Office
Search for any patent since 1971…this one is a lot of fun!

Etymology List
Want to know what your first name means?…then try this site

Emily Post’s Etiquette for all Occasions
Wonderful etiquette resource

EHow How to do (just about) Everything
Just like the title says…definitely worth checking out

Dictionary of Scientific Quotations

Bible History On-line
Very comprehensive…worth checking out

A Basic Dictionary of American Sign Language Terms
Very nice site

Calculate when the Sun/Moon rise/fall


Biographies

Biography.com
Tons of biographies here…great for reports


Calendars and History Events

CalendarZone
A ton of calendars on-line…fascinating site

On This Day
Important events that happened on today’s date…very interesting

Famous Birthdays
Birthdays of famous people listed by name, date and year…quite nice

Timelines
All kinds of timelines from the Fact Monster…really cool

Calendars Through the Ages
Well done site on the history of calendars


Colleges, Universities and Schools

Peterson’s.com
Find a college…any college

FinAid
Cool calculators for college financing…but this site depresses dad

ACT
Register for your ACT tests here


Converting Anything to Anything

Convert It!
Another wonderful conversion site

Online Conversion.com
All kinds of fascinating conversion tables

Online Conversions and Constants
A very cool conversion site

Time Zone Converter
If you want to know the time anywhere in the world, go here


Dictionaries

Webster’s Dictionary
An on-line dictionary

Hyper Dictionary
This one is great fun…try it!

Rhyming Dictionary
Enter a word and find a word that rhymes with it

OneLook Dictionary
Many kinds of dictionaries in one…Very nice!

Dictionary of Symbolism
Explains the symbolic meaning of commonly used words in literature

Crossword Puzzle Solver
A great way to find those tricky words

Symbols.com
Find symbols for all kinds of words

Dictionary of Occupational Titles


Encyclopedias

Britannica.com
The Encyclopedia Britannica on-line…Absolutely terrific!

Encyclopedia Smithsonian

Columbia Encyclopedia
Another very nice encyclopedia

Fact Monster Encyclopedia
Great Place to find interesting facts

My Virtual Encyclopedia
Need to know something about everything?…nice site

Infoplease Encyclopedia and Dictionary
Cool encyclopedia…great for school papers

Acronym and Abbreviation Searcher
Here you will find out that CIA has more than one meaning


Finding People and Businesses

Search Systems
Over 3900 free searchable public databases…unbelievable!

SuperPages
Search for businesses on this on-line Yellow pages

MapQuest
A very popular site for creating driving directions and maps

Rand McNally Trip Planner
One more great way to plan a trip


Government Resources and Legal Resources

United States House of Representatives
Anything you want to know about the House and its members

The United States Senate
Anything you want to know about the Senate and its members

Supreme Court Decisions
If you are remotely interested in law, this is a great site to visit

U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
A very comprehensive list by FirstGov

FirstGov Reference
Federal laws, regulations, maps, forms and more…Terrific!

United States Census Reference Desk
Washburn University…very powerful

Findlaw.com
A tremendous legal resource

United States (Legal) Code
Nice place to visit from Cornell University


Medical Resources

Merck Manual
Find all kinds of medical information here…GREAT!!

Merck Veterinary Manual
If you want comprehensive, you’ve got comprehensive

On-line Medical Dictionary
Search for medical terms…by Farlex

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Wonderful medical search engine recommended by a good fan

National Center for Health Statistics Fast Facts
Great research resource

Medicine.net
Everything you want to know about medicine, and more

Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia
A good encyclopedia to look up medical terminology and conditions


News

The Boston Globe

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Tribune

CNN News

The Detroit Free Press

The Detroit News

Houston Chronicle.com

Los Angeles Times

Maps in the News
Find out WHERE events are happening…a fun site to visit from the University of Minnesota

The New York Times
What can we say?…It’s a great newspaper

Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News

San Francisco Chronicle/San Francisco Examiner

The Seattle Times

Time News Service Daily

Time for Kids
Fun news site for kids

Trib.Com
Very nice site

USA Today
Great newspaper

The Washington Times

Top Breaking News Headlines
Another great place to go to find news headlines


World News

AJR NewsLink
This one is just plain fun…You’ve got to visit

Associated Press
Associated Press news from around the world…really, really good

Online Newspapers.com
Incredible…just incredible!

Reuters
The world’s biggest wire service news site

The Virtual Newspaper
Just about any newspaper you can think of is listed here…Spectacular!!

Yahoo Headlines
Excellent place to start