Why Start with Background Information?
Not sure what you want to research? Consider the following:
- doing some background reading on your topic using a reference book or specialized reference books or eBooks. An article in an encyclopedia or a reference book will help define your topic.
- browsing newspapers and magazines.
- making a list of terms or keywords that can help you in your search for relevant materials. Think of synonyms for the words you identified in your research question.
- checking the works cited or the bibliography for additional sources.
eBook Databases
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
A collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference volumes, in ebook format, for multidisciplinary research. The diverse subject areas from which the volumes have been chosen include: Arts, Literature, Biography, Sciences, and Social Sciences. These reference materials, originally published in print format, are now accessible electronically and can be searched by keyword, article title, or subject. Articles may be printed or e-mailed.
- EBSCO eBook Collection This link opens in a new windowThis electronic library is a searchable collection of more than 14,000 ebooks. Sources include reference books, scholarly monographs, fiction, and non-fiction. Searches can be done within a particular title or performed across hundreds of titles.
- Daily Life Through History This link opens in a new windowExamines numerous facets of societal life across cultures and time periods. Areas of life explored include: domestic, economic, intellectual, material, political, recreational, religious, and geographic. Information gathered from reference works, books, and primary documents. Searching can be by topic or by topic combined with other concepts such as time period and area of the world. Information may be emailed or printed.
- Springer eBook Collection This link opens in a new windowAn online electronic book collection of more than 7700 titles whose content reaches across the fields of: biology, business, economics, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental science, engineering, humanities, social sciences, law, math and statistics, medicine (including nursing), physics, astronomy, and how-to computer software and programming. The subject content is especially strong in scientific fields and the resources include textbooks and reference works as well as some open source journal articles.
