Infobase recently announced the launch of the redesigned Credo Reference interface. The Credo Reference database contains summary articles generated by encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources. While these summaries may not be acceptable for an assignment, it is a good source for finding background information on your topic. So, think of it as an academic alternative to Wikipedia.

Keep in mind that Infobase is introducing a fresh new layout—but the content you rely on remains the same. You'll still have access to thousands of summary articles spanning a wide range of subjects, including business, education, medicine, history, and more!

While every page in this database has experienced a refresh, some of the more noticeable updates include:

  • An intuitively designed interface that allows users to start their research with a basic keyword search, an advanced search or browse by subject:

    • A quick link to the Advanced Search is now conveniently under the main search box.
    • The Research Quick Tips has moved to the right-hand side panel.
    • The Browse by Subjects has replaced the Research Popular Topics.

    New Credo Reference homepage

    • A dedicated landing page for the Advanced Search featuring enhanced options for narrowing your search:

      • The search boxes at the top include built-in Boolean logic, a type of search that will yield the most relevant results in library databases. Often called Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT will make the database search for your keywords in a specific way. To learn more, visit our How to Do Library Research guide.

      Advanced Search Boolean drop-down menu

      • There are filters for year, collection, subject, title, and more. If you start with a basic keyword search, you can still use these filters to refine your results. They now appear on the right-hand side of the search results pages.

      Advanced Search page filters

      Basic search results page filters

    • A dedicated landing page for Mind Maps equipped with exploratory search terms and a new list of related articles. These mind maps offer visual representations of central concepts that branch out to related concepts.

      • The Mind Map page is available from the main drop-down menu.

      Mind Map option in drop-down menu

      • Links to print, embed, and share mind maps are available at the bottom of these pages.

      Mind Map links to print, embed, and share

    Although the Research Quick Tips in this database offer helpful research how-tos, we also provide step-by-step instructions on the library website. We’ve updated these instructions to reflect the new interface in the following guides:

     

    Are you ready to try it yourself? Great! Select the button below to start your research.