Look it Up on the Net!

By Don Rittner

The Internet is fast becoming a personal online reference source. Looking for a good quote to spruce up a paper? Need to look up the spelling of a word and don't have a dictionary handy? How about a good substitute word for beneficial? Don’t know what the Net slang FTP means? How small is a byte? The answers to all these questions can be found easily on the Net.

There are hundreds of specialized online dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, and other info databases that cover almost every subject and are available to you at the click of the mouse. By using your browser, you can bookmark many of these sites and have a convenient organized set of links to help you in conducting research, or writing that award winning paper or book.

This week we are going to look at some of the best online reference sources.

Dictionary, Thesaurus, Science Library, and Reference-Related Sites

http://www.initium.demon.co.uk/indsci3.htm

This site has several English and slang dictionaries and a NASA thesaurus, but it really excels in having a few technical dictionaries that cover biotechnology, chemistry, and neuroscience.

One-Look Dictionary

Encyclopedia of Delay-Insensitive Systems (EDIS)

If you are looking for biology related encyclopedias, this site has the following: Botany, The Encyclopedia of Plants; Dictionary of Cell Biology; EcoCyc: Encyclopedia of E. Coli Genes and Metabolism; The Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources; The Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems; The Herbal Encyclopedia; HinCyc: Encyclopedia of Haemophilus Influenzae Genes and Metabolism; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; and the Time-Life Plant Encyclopedia

The site also contains Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online, and Knowledge Adventure Encyclopedia

Other online encyclopedias from this site deal with the Net, Math, Mythology, Philosophy, and Physics, Religion and Social Sciences.

Internet Directory of Botany

www.botany.net/IDB/

You can find everything you want to know about botany here. Check out hundreds of links on every aspect of botany that are arranged alphabetically or by subject.

Online Reference Materials

http://www.web-savvy.com/reference.html

This site has links to various dictionaries, thesauri, and encyclopedias but also has a nice section on people directories: phone, address, and email locators. Related ZIP code and area code directories are also here. If you need cartographic information, seven linked sites allow you to create and find maps and locations.

RxList--The Internet Drug Index

http://www.rxlist.com

Before you get that prescription filled, search this database by drug name or imprint code, and get all the information you need on that drug, such as generic and brand names, ingredients, and the category of drugs. Drug categories are explained in detail, along with side effects and reactions if known.

The World Wide Web Acronym and Abbreviation Server

http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/index.html

This is a database of acronyms and abbreviations. Just type in the acronym and the word and definition will appear.

Acronym Finder

Look up 90,000 acronyms/abbreviations and their meanings on this site.

This is a searchable database containing common acronyms and abbreviations about all subjects, with a focus on computers and telecommunications technologies, and the military.

Area Code Lookup

Need to find an area code? Look it up here for both the U.S. and Canada.

Biographical Dictionary

This dictionary includes more than 27,000 notable men and women from the past to the present day. You can search by names, birth years, death years, positions held, professions, literary and artistic works, miscellaneous achievements, and other keywords. Great for high schoolers doing term papers.

FOLDOC

Free Online Dictionary of Computing

Look up computing terms here. Learn what all the Net slang is and throw it around like the techies! You too can know what ASCII means! Has links to other reference sites.

Online Dictionary

Look up Net words here but it also has a bible, gazetteer, and an atomic elements database as part of the search. You can search the entire set of databases or each individually.

Online Encyclopedia

This is an online version of The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition, with some 14,000 entries.

InfoPlease Almanac for Kids

A great almanac/encyclopedia for kids arranged in topics. Has a Word of the Day, Today's Birthday, Today in History, and a Homework Center.

Language Identifier

This program will try and identify automatically the language of a sentence, phrase, or word you type in. I have not found it to be that accurate. It told me caveat emptor was French (it's Latin).

PC Webopedia

This is a good database of computer terminology. Simply type in the word and have it defined. You can search individual data sets dealing with communications to software, or all at once.

Bartlett's Quotations

The Quotations Page

Another good source for getting quotes. Has a quote for the day and month. Search individual databases from Michael Moncur's collection to Dave Barry! Includes links to many other quote sites.

Zip code Lookup

A free service from the Unite States Postal Service. I refuse to memorize them.

The Rhyming Dictionary

This could be fine, if you're looking to rhyme. A poet I'm not, so I don’t find it so hot