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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is HighBeam Encyclopedia?
As the Internet's premier collection of online encyclopedias, HighBeam Encyclopedia provides you reference entries from
credible, published sources like Britannica, Oxford University Press, and Columbia Encyclopedia.
At HighBeam Encyclopedia, you get free access to nearly 200,000 reference entries from sources you can cite.
Plus, more than 50,000 topic summaries feature related pictures, videos, topic summaries,
and newspaper and magazine articles from around the world. HighBeam Encyclopedia also provides innovative
tools that allow you to rate and sort the reference content you find to be the most useful.
Other Web sites that allow anyone to rewrite reference entries can be fun. But when you need credible information from
reliable sources you can cite, HighBeam Encyclopedia (www.encyclopedia.com) is the place to go.
What is HighBeam Research?
Named the "Best Online Reference Service" by the CODiE Awards, HighBeam Research is a premiere online library
where you can find research, facts, and articles. HighBeam Research collects millions of articles from newspapers like
The Washington Post and
The Boston Globe, magazines like
The Economist and
Newsweek, and journals like
JOPERD and
Journal of Research in Childhood Education.
New articles are added to HighBeam Research daily, which adds to an extensive article archive of newspapers,
journals, and magazine back issues dating back more than 20 years!
HighBeam Research also provides an in-depth online library of reference works, including
Webster's New World Dictionary and
The Oxford American College Dictionary as well as encyclopedias from
Britannica and
Columbia.
HighBeam Research delivers all of this in a single research Web site. Learn
more about the benefits of HighBeam Research at www.highbeam.com.
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How do I get help with my paid subscription to HighBeam Research?
If you subscribe to our premium research site, HighBeam Research, and have account or billing questions, please contact
Customer Service at HighBeam Research.
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What are the best ways to search HighBeam Encyclopedia?
Searching effectively at HighBeam Encyclopedia
We simplify the process of finding encyclopedia entries with two easy ways to search:
- Enter keywords in the search box
- Browse by selecting a letter of the alphabet
Search with keywords
Because the words you type in the search box are what HighBeam Encyclopedia looks for in its database of reference entries
and articles, choose your search words carefully. Here are a few suggestions:
- Use quotes around multiple-word search terms where certain words are more meaningful when they’re considered as a whole (e.g., "Golden Gate Bridge").
- For search terms with multiple words, try inserting “and” or “or” between words that don’t necessarily need to go together (e.g., Auto and Transportation).
- When using a person’s name for a search term, it’s often effective to list the last name first (e.g., Washington George).
- If your search gives you unexpected results, make sure there isn’t a typo in the search term.
- If your search term has too many words, that may broaden the variety of results you get back instead of making those results more specific. This is because our search engine uses relevancy (i.e., the number of times a search term appears in a specific document) as its guide when scanning the database. To get more precise results, it’s often best to use only the most important words and consider using quotes or instances of “and” or “or” as noted above.
Browse the alphabet
Just like printed and bound encyclopedias, HighBeam Encyclopedia contains a volume for each letter of the alphabet. Simply select a letter to browse subjects and find what you want.
Note that when browsing for a person’s name, it’s often best to start with his or her last name if you can’t find what you’re looking for using the first name.
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How are search results sorted?
HighBeam Encyclopedia displays search results in a list where the results that are the most relevant to the search term are shown first. Relevancy is based on the number of times a search term appears with the article the search result represents.
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How do I cite entries from The Columbia Encyclopedia?
Title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
Published: New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
Notes: Last Update: April 2008.
Citation: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. www.encyclopedia.com.
Online Ed.: © Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. Published by HighBeam Research, Inc. (Terms of use).
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Are there partnership opportunities with HighBeam Encyclopedia?
Yes. HighBeam Encyclopedia and HighBeam Research offer a variety of partnership opportunities, including marketing programs
and options for content integration. Learn more about partnership opportunities.
How do I send comments or feedback to HighBeam Encyclopedia?
We welcome your feedback about HighBeam Encyclopedia. Whether you found something about the site that was particularly useful or whether you ran into a problem we might be able to improve, we’d love to hear from you. Share your input with our Web team by using our site feedback form.
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