Once you've got the main topic and keywords for your research, find one or more sources of background information. These sources will tell you about your topic in a general sense - and help you understand the broader context of it. General sources also provide references for beginning your research.

TEXTBOOKS

Begin with your class textbook. Check sources that are cited.

See Encyclopedias under Research by Subject.

Subject-specific encyclopedias have more detailed articles written by experts in a field.  Bibliographies in these sources tend to be more comprehensive than bibliographies in general encyclopedias. Many subject encyclopedias will be located in the Reference section of Plough Library. To find a subject-specific encyclopedia, search the Library Catalog. Do a keyword search for your subject followed by the word "encyclopedia."

For example, if you want to find an encyclopedia on education, you might perform this search: