Academic dictionaries & encyclopaedias are important places to start your research, especially if you are new to a topic.

They summarise existing research, and are especially useful in helping define terminology and concepts, assisting you to get a basic understanding of the subject or idea. Articles in encyclopaedias can also point you towards some of the key literature on a topic.

Do not rely on Web sources, as these are often unreliable!

A great starting point for Psychoanalysis is the PEPWeb Glossary:

Other useful online dictionaries & encyclopedias provided by the Library include:

A critical dictionary of Jungian analysis by Andrew Samuels (1986)

The first dictionary of psychoanalysis by Richard Sterba (1932)

The Freud encyclopedia : theory, therapy, and culture by Edward Erwin (2002)

Freud's world : an encyclopedia of his life and times by Luis A. Cordon (2012)

An introductory dictionary of Lacanian psychoanalysis by Dylan Evans (1996)

The new dictionary of Kleinian thought by Elizabeth Bott Spillius (2011)

If your research involves concepts from social theory or Sociology then take a look at some of the high quality reference resources on the Sociology subject guide

For the social sciences more broadly, the library subscribes to Oxford Bibliographies Online and Oxford Research Encyclopedias, which are excellent starting points for your research and updated regularly with new articles