Locating Background Information

The Research Process: A Step-By-Step Guide

Use the links in the table below to navigate the Step-By-Step Guide.

Preliminary Steps	Gathering Information	Evaluating Information
Choosing a Topic	Books	Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
Background Information	Library Databases	Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Forming a Focus	Web Sites	Evaluating Web Sites

Once you have chosen a topic it is a good idea to spend some time compiling and reading background material on the topic. This will help you discover and focus on the key terms, ideas, people, concepts, etc. involved with your topic as well as get a feel for the intracacies of the topic.

Preliminary Exploration of the Topic

Look up your topic in either a general print encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book or in an electronic encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

In addition to the general encyclopedias, there are a number of subject specialized encyclopedias and reference books available in the Library. Ask a librarian to recommend one!

If there is a library Research Guide available on your topic, look at some of the sources listed under "Background Material." These guides will point you to library resources on various topics. There are over 50 such guides on the West Campus Library web site.

As you look over the background material and try to get an overview of your topic, consider the following questions.

What terms/keywords are frequently used to describe the topic?
What dates are important to the topic?
What specific places are important to this topic?
What important events are related to the topic?
Which people, groups, or organizations have made a significant contribution or have been involved in some way with your topic?
Which subject or discipline is the topic part of?
Are there any conflicting views or controversies surrounding the topic?

As you answer these questions by thoughtfully examining your topic, you will be building a body of search terms, concepts, ideas, etc. which will help you engage in productive research later on.

Surveying the Library Collection

To get an idea of how much information is available on your topic, and to begin looking for a specific focus for your research, do a quick search of the topic in the Library. Keep in mind that this is just an initial search; later, you will conduct a detailed search of these same sources. Start with the library Catalog and Academic Search Complete and consider the following questions:

Library Catalog

Approximately how many titles are listed in the Library Catalog? What, if anything, can you tell from the listed titles, dates and authors?
Is the topic broken into subheadings? If so, what are some of the interesting sub areas?
What cross-references, or alternative, related headings are given for your topic?
Will the West Campus Library be able to adequately support your topic with books, or will you need to get material from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan? Remember, ILL can take a few days to two weeks, depending on where the material is coming from. Please plan your time accordingly.

Academic Search Complete

Approximately how many articles are available on your topic? Use the Options button and view the detailed list of articles. Browse through some of the citations and abstracts. What initial thoughts come to mind in terms of journal articles?
What subject headings are used by the database to categorize your topic? Do any of the subject headings interest or suprise you?
Are the articles in full-text format, or will you need to get material from the print/microfilm collection or request articles through InterLibrary Loan? Remember, ILL takes approximately one week.

General Considerations

Based on this preliminary survey of the Library collection and Academic Search Complete, what are the keywords, terms, concepts, alternative headings, etc. which you will need to use in your detailed search of these same databases?
Are you able to come up with some initial ideas on narrowing your topic?
What aspects of your topic do you find most interesting?
Think about what types of sources will be most useful for your topic. Books? Journal Articles? Newspaper Articles? Government Documents? Statistics? Online Resources? Reference Books? Think about the different types of information you will find in each type of source.

Next: Forming a Focus

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