Learning About Your Initial Idea

Please watch the following 1-minute video that explains how brief background research can be used to help you:

Understand the scope of your initial topic idea
Identify areas of the topic that look particularly interesting to you
Focus your topic

Sources for Background Research

As noted in the video, background information is often most effectively found in sources that provide a broad overview of the topic, such as encyclopedias. In the library world, we call these "reference sources."

The MVHS Library and the public libraries have many reference sources, both in print (at the library), and online (via the library databases).

Wikipedia. is another excellent resource for background information, and you are encouraged to use it as a starting point for your research.

Tip: Use the "Contents" box available for most articles to scan for potentially relevant and interesting sub-topics.

Citations and Attributions

Content adapted from Library 10 by Cabrillo College Library, licensed under CC BY 4.0