Lose Your Wikipedia Crutch: 100 Places to Go for Good Answers...

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General

Find answers to all kinds of questions through these sites.

1. InfoPlease: Visitors to this site will be treated to an almanac, atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and much more, which should be more than enough to find information on just about anything you’d need.
2. Ask Deb: Professional researchers and writers answer questions on various subjects, including dating, careers, personal finance, and beauty.
3. About.com: This site provides articles on a huge variety of subjects, many of which provide useful information or can link you to sites that have what you’re looking for.
4. Refdesk.com: Billed as a "fact check for the Internet," this site provides a range of resources that make it easy to search the web, check an encyclopedia or dictionary, read the news and much more.
5. Reference.com: Part of the Dictionary.com site, this online resource provides access to many encyclopedia articles, as well as the accompanying dictionary and thesaurus.
6. Answers.com: Answers.com provides visitors with access to articles from sites and journals all over the Web.
7. Factbites: Called a cross between a search engine and an encyclopedia, this site is designed to make searching for information easier by filtering out information and only giving you the most relevant results.

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Library and Reference

Search through library archives and do academic research on these sites.

8. Oxford Journals: Look through all the journals published by Oxford and find many articles that are free to read and download.
9. eBrary: Many libraries give full access to eBrary’s collections, but if you don’t have one near to you that does, you can use this page and still enjoy looking through loads of books and journals.
10. ibiblio: This site is full of public domain information including maps, books, pictures and much more that you can use in your next research project.
11. LibrarySpot: Find a myriad of library resources on this site as well as links to other authoritative sites and encyclopedias online.
12. WorldCat: Save yourself a trip to the library and find out if a library has the information you need before you go. This site allows users to find libraries in their area that have the books and materials they need.
13. Internet Public Library: This site puts together a great repository of links to authoritative sites all over the Web on topics like history, law, computers and more.

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Social Studies

These reference sites deal with social studies and historical issues.

47. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Find the names of many philosophers and their ideas in this helpful encyclopedia from Stanford University.
48. glbtq: Look up information about the gay, lesbian, transgender and queer culture in this encyclopedia.
49. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Here you can find everything you ever wanted to know about philosophy in one easy to search place.
50. Encyclopedia of Psychology: Learn all about mental illnesses, famous psychologists and theories through this online resource.
51. HyperHistory: This site attempts to cover 3,000 years of world history. Browse by people, places or events to find what you need.
52. LookLex: Formerly known as the Encyclopedia of the Orient, this resource specializes in information from North Africa and the Middle East.
53. Perseus: Find all you ever wanted to know about Greek history and Mythology on this site, loaded with articles and pictures.

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Fine Art

Find information on all kinds of art through these sites.

54. The Artchive: This site provides an easy way to find out about numerous artists, their work and their time period as well as to browse images.
55. Oxford Music Online: This site provides a gateway into music research and a place to get new and forthcoming Oxford music reference articles.
56. Artcyclopedia: Search for a particular artist, painting, period and much more on this helpful and informative site.
57. Instrument Encyclopedia: Find out more about any kind of instrument on this University of Michigan site.
58. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Learn about music from all over the world through the information provided by this reference site.
59. ArtLex: Find out the meaning behind any art related word in this art dictionary.
60. DancePedia: Here you’ll be able to access all kinds of information on different styles of dance and famous dancers.
61. Musicals101: Lovers of musicals will appreciate this reference site, with hundreds of entries on stage and movie musicals.
62. Improv Encyclopedia: If you’re into improv yourself or just want to find out more about it, you’ll find games, a reference resource and an online glossary here.
63. Internet Movie Database: This site is the ultimate resource for those looking for information on anyone in the film business from directors to stunt doubles.
64. All Music Guide: Learn about new and old bands as well as information on all kinds of music-related issues on this site.

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Language and Literature

Whether you need to know what a word means or want to look up a work of literature, you’ll find help with these links.

65. WordReference: Look up words in English, Spanish, Italian and French using this great online site.
66. Bartleby: This site provides loads of books to students and researchers with information on poetry, fiction and nonfiction at your fingertips.
67. AskOxford: Based off the Oxford English Dictionary, this site provides reference material as well as tips to improve writing and a chance to ask questions of experts.
68. BrainyQuote: Find out where those famous quotes came from with this great online quotation resource.
69. Merriam Webster: Look up just about any word in this free online dictionary.
70. Dictionary.com: This easy-to-use dictionary can help you find the meaning or spelling of any word. As a bonus you’ll get access to a crossword dictionary and fun games as well.
71. Urban Dictionary: Keep up with the slang the kids are using these days with this site which provides an easy reference point for looking up words.
72. Visual Thesaurus: Get a visual map of synonyms and antonyms using this different take on the thesaurus.
73. BookRags: Get study help and information on literature with the study guides, summaries, essays and biographies from this site.
74. Encyclopedia Mythica: If something has been written about mythology, religion or folklore, you’ll be able to find it here with this helpful online search engine and resource collection.

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Technology

Tech jargon can be confusing, but you can find help through these sites.

75. WhatIs.com: Find definitions of thousands of technology and computer terms here, as well as helpful glossaries and cheat sheets.
76. TechEncylopedia: Find definitions and help on over 20,000 IT related terms on this TechWeb site.
77. Webopedia: Use this site the next time you’re feeling clueless as to what all those techie abbreviations mean.
78. Internet Archive: Learn about the history of the Internet and much more on this informative site.
79. WebReference: Web dwellers will enjoy the reference material from this site, which provides archives of news, advice and how-to articles.

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Question and Answer

If you have a question that needs answering, you can ask it and get help on these sites.

80. Yahoo! Answers: Ask any question that comes to mind and get answers from others online using this Yahoo! sponsored site.
81. AllExperts: Ask your questions that need the help of an expert on this site.
82. The Straight Dope: Cecil Adams answers a weekly question on this site with topics that range from the reasons for hiccups to reality TV show inquiries.
83. wiseGEEK: This site provides a place to ask your tech related questions and find answers from over 24,000 articles.
84. Answerbag: Find answers to questions on social, medical, local and shopping questions on this user contributed site.
85. Microsoft Live QnA: Here you can ask any question, serious or silly, and get answers from other users.
86. Yedda: Yedda allows users to ask a question on any topic and "get personalized answers from relevant people."
87. Wondir: Ask questions and get the answers you need from other users on this site.
88. Askville: Sponsored by Amazon, this site allows users to ask a question on any topic and get and give answers to others.
89. Cornbrain: If you have a few bucks to spare, you can get researched and professional answers from this site.
90. Ask a Librarian: Have a question on research, literature or anything else a librarian could help you with? Find the answers you need using this site.

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Miscellaneous

These sites are full of all kinds of information to help you.

91. Acronym Finder: Not sure what all those letters stand for? Figure it out using the information on this site.
92. eHow: Learn how to do just about anything on this instructive site from sewing in a zipper to putting up wallpaper.
93. FreeAdvice: If you’ve got a legal problem you need help with and want a little information first, you can find loads of it at this site.
94. Snopes: Find out whether or not that email your aunt sent you was for real or unravel a host of other urban legends through the information you’ll find here.
95. timeanddate: Want to know what happened today in history? Check out this site for information.
96. Symbols.com: Find information about thousands of symbols from their history to uses today through this informative site.
97. Catholic Encyclopedia: This site provides visitors with a wealth of information on the Catholic religion.
98. The Educator’s Reference Desk: Teachers can find thousands of reference materials here to help them plan lessons, manage classes and much more.
99. Physician’s Desktop Reference: This reference site will help you to find information on a wide range of medial conditions, medications and illnesses.
100. Baseball Reference: Find all kinds of baseball stats and historical information for players, teams and the sport as a whole using this reference.

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