Step 2: getting background information

After you have chosen a topic, you will need to find some general background information on it. Background information is important because:

• It introduces you to a topic.
• It may provide some of the terminology unique to a given topic, as well as providing important names, dates, places, and/or issues related to your topic.
• There may be a bibliography included as part of the background information and you may be able to use the sources listed in that bibliography as a jumping off point for your research.

Good places to look for background information are:

• Subject Encyclopedias*
• Subject Dictionaries*
• Textbooks

Use the keywords you came up with to start your search for background information. Look up your keywords in the index volumes to encyclopedias.

*Encyclopedias and dictionaries can be general, like Encyclopaedia Britannica or Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, or they can be subject-specific, like The Encyclopedia of Sleeping and Dreaming or The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. They may not even have the word "dictionary" or "encyclopedia" in their titles, using, instead, words like "guide to" or "companion."

Go on to Finding Books

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