Lesson 5: Background Information

One of the best ways to approach a research project is to get some background or general information on the topic you have chosen. 

 Why get background information?  

Well, sometimes it is very helpful to find out a little about your topic before you begin to do serious research.  If you do a bit of reading at this time you may save yourself time later.    After some preliminary reading you may decide that the topic you chose isn't quite what you had in mind.  If that is the case, you can go back one step and select another topic.  You haven't invested a lot of time and can easily start over.

If you decide to skip this step and dive right into books, journals and the Internet, you are making a substantial investment of time. This is time that may be wasted should you decide, for instance, that you really don't want to read about language acquisition in children, but would rather research the effects of television on children.

Getting Acquainted with Your Topic 

Background information can be found in a number of places.  Your instructor and textbook can provide valuable introductory information on a topic.  However, a very good place to start finding background information is in the Reference section of the AVC Library.  Here you will find both general and specialized encyclopedias that can give you information on a wide variety of topics.

• If you know little or nothing about your topic, one very good place to start is a general encyclopedia, such as the World Book Encyclopedia or the Encyclopedia Britannica. This will familiarize you with your topic and give you a basic vocabulary that will be useful as you continue your research. 

• Once you have learned a little about your topic, the next place you should look is a specialized encyclopedia. 
  
  
• Specialized encyclopedias provide detailed articles in a specific subject area and are written by experts in that field. The Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology and the Dictionary of Art are examples of specialized encyclopedias. 
  
  
• Such articles provide an overview of the topic you are researching.  By reading these articles you gain valuable background information and a better understanding of the subject.
  
  
• Also, every field of study has its own specialized vocabulary.  Using a specialized encyclopedia to become familiar with this vocabulary will make the transition to reading journal articles and books much easier.   
  
  
• Specialized biographical encyclopedias can be excellent places to begin searching for biographies of well-known people (or even not so well-known ones). 

The Next Step...

Depending on the nature of your paper, you will probably be using one or more of these sources:

• Periodicals

• Books

• Web sites

The remainder of this tutorial will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these sources.