Once you've identifed 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.
Specialized or subject-specific encyclopedias
provide more detailed articles written by experts in a field.
There are hundreds of specialized encyclopedias. 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,
you will need to search the library's Online
Catalog. Do a keyword search for your subject followed
by the word "encyclopedia." For example, if you
wanted to find an encyclopedia on education, you would perform
this search:
