Handbooks, and specifically research handbooks, can provide very valuable overviews of past theories and current thinking on aspects of a particular subject or discipline.  They are generally edited volumes, with chapters written by experts in the field, and these usually include extensive bibliographies of key writings on the topic treated in the chapter.

Our library provides links to a number of online handbooks of research, which you can access by clicking on the by genre/dept link, next to Databases, under LIBRARY RESOURCES on the top page of the Gottesman Libraries website, or by going directly to the Databases by Genre: Handbooks page.

A list of online handbooks available via the Columbia University Libraries website can be found on the Databases page, by selecting Handbooks from the "by type" pull-down menu, or by going directly to this page.

It is also possible to identify handbooks specific to various disciplines by selecting from the "by subject" pull-down menu in conjunction with having selected Handbooks from the "by type" menu.