Find Background Information
You are at the first stage in the research process. You may have a topic in mind but you might be unsure about your exact focus of your topic, trying to narrowing your topic, or simply have no idea what your topic is about. In finding background information, you are beginning to ask concrete, close-ended questions such as:
As you answer these questions, you will not only form your research question but you will also be gathering keywords to begin your research. A keyword is a search term that represents an important concept, word, or even person who is part of your research topic. It is highly recommended that you make a note of the keywords that you find as you do background research. You will use these terms, phrases, and/or people when you are searching the internet, the LRC's catalog, and the LRC's databases to find more information on your topic.
- What happened?
- When did it happen?
- Where did it happen?
- Who are the key individuals involved?
As you answer these questions, you will not only form your research question but you will also be gathering keywords to begin your research. A keyword is a search term that represents an important concept, word, or even person who is part of your research topic. It is highly recommended that you make a note of the keywords that you find as you do background research. You will use these terms, phrases, and/or people when you are searching the internet, the LRC's catalog, and the LRC's databases to find more information on your topic.
What sources do you use to find background information?
The best place to find background information will be through biographies, encyclopedias (general and specialized subjects), textbooks, and/or databases. The following LRC databases would be a great start to do preliminary research. Remember if you are accessing these databases from home you will need to use your username (everything BEFORE the @s207.org) and your password (same as your chromebook).
Offers authoritative reference content alongside magazine and journal articles, primary sources, videos, podcasts, and images. Covers a vast array of people from the historically significant to contemporary newsmakers.
View video on how to search Biography in Context Resource guide on how to search Biography in Context |
A user-friendly, general reference tool to support every range of user. Provides access to full-text articles from magazines, newspapers, books, and transcript titles, and includes a collection of over 7 million maps, pictures, weblinks, and audio/video files.
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An enormous collection of digital reference books and materials (encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, etc.) covering a wide variety of subject areas, all in one place. Think of it like a teacher-approved version of Wikipedia. View video on how to search Gale Ebooks Resource guide to how to search Gale Ebooks |
A general database, designed specifically for high school libraries. Provides full text access to magazines, reference books, biographies, and primary source documents
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Contextual and reliable information on a multitude of subjects and topics, with access to journals, magazines, primary sources, biographies, images, audio/video files, and vetted websites. It’s like the librarian-approved version of Googling something.
Using Google and Wikipedia to Find Background Information:
Google and Wikipedia are also good places to start and find background information. You can use both of these sites for preliminary research, but do not let it be your end all, be all for your sources. Finding reliable information on Google and Wikipedia can be tricky so be sure to check other sources to make sure what you are reading on Google and Wikipedia is correct and accurate! View the videos below for some search tricks on how to use Google and Wikipedia effectively.
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