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Before beginning a search for biographical information on an individual, it will help to determine in which categories the person belongs. What is, or was, the person’s nationality? Occupation? Time period? Is the person deceased or still living? Biographical sources are limited by factors such as these.
There may be other biographical sources including subject-specific sources such as dictionaries of scientists. For assistance, please contact the Info & Research Help Desk.
Search the URI Libraries Search or WorldCat for likely terms and look closely at your results. You will want to determine whether the results you have found use the exact search terms you used, or whether they use synonyms. If you find synonyms, try subsequent searches using those terms to find additional items.
If you find something that looks interesting, and you want to see similar results, click on the Subjects – this will take you to other books on the same topic.
Select a search tool from the list of Internet Search Tools, or use the links below. Keep in mind that you may retrieve low-quality information, as well as high quality.
The following databases may help you locate magazine and journal articles on the person you're researching.
Use general encyclopedias such as the New Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book, and Encyclopedia Americana on the Encyclopedias row in the reference area. There are also numerous subject-specific encyclopedias in the reference stacks.
J.M. Williamson 7/99.
Rev. A. Izenstark 12/10.
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