Intro to Academic Research

Prior to finding resources that discuss specific aspects of your topic, you must come to understand the broader context. This preliminary research helps you find out in general terms what is known about a topic by reading an encyclopedia article or other reference source. These sources offer a quick way to:

• familiarize yourself with the basics of the topic: keywords, concepts, controversies, time, and place
• find the names of people associated with the topic
• decode the language surrounding the topic
• possibly find additional sources using the bibliography of an article or chapter

Background sources are sources your professor does not want you to cite but to use them for foundational knowledge or to narrow your topic.

The LRC has a number of various background sources for your use, both in print and online formats. Print reference sources can be found in the Ward Reference Room and include such items as The Virgil Encyclopedia, Principles of Physics, Shakespeare Survey, and many, many more.

Our online reference resources include Credo Reference, CQ Researcher, War of the Rebellion official records, Biography Reference Bank, Oxford Reference Library, and many others that you can use to get your research started. To access these online reference sources, visit the A-Z database list on the library’s website.