Background Research

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 library has many reference sources, both in print (at the library), and online (via the library databases). 

If you are having trouble selecting a topic or narrowing down your topic, here are some strategies that can help:

• Scan your course textbook for ideas
• Browse some magazines or newspapers for current events
• Dive into Wikipedia, or another encyclopedia, and see what sparks your interest. Tip: Use the "Contents" box available for most articles to scan for potentially relevant and interesting sub-topics.
• Talk to your instructor, a librarian, or classmates, for ideas and guidance

 

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Citations and Attributions

Content adapted from Library 10 by Cabrillo College Library, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.