Reference sources (such as encyclopedias, handbooks, atlases) are excellent tools, especially when you are beginning a research project. They give broad overviews, orienting you to the larger context in which your topic occurs. They can provide definitions and give you ideas for search words. They might also clue you in to the major thinkers in your area. Sometimes they provide resources for further reading, giving you an instant source list.
Research Help:
British Romantic Novelists, 1789-1832 (Dictionary of Literary Biography) by British Romantic Poets, 1789-1832 (Dictionary of Literary Biography) by British Romantic Prose Writers, 1789-1832 (Dictionary of Literary Biography) by 
Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism by 
The Cambridge Companion to Fiction in the Romantic Period by 
Encyclopedia of Literary Romanticism
Encyclopedia of Romanticism: Culture in Britain, 1780s-1830s by 
The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature, 3 Volume Set by 
Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era 1760-1850 by 
Historical Dictionary of Romanticism in Literature by 
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature by 
Columbia Companion to British History by 
Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain by Encyclopedia of Britain
Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000
Oxford Companion to British History, 2nd edition by 
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by 
Routledge Atlas of British History by 