The Importance of Background Information for Research
Overview
Finding background information is the best way to start our research. Background information introduces us to a topic, and it can be found in encyclopedias and other reference sources. Background information can:
- Help us narrow our topic
- Introduce us to academic language related to our topic
- Tell us the "who, what, where, when, and why" of the topic
- Provide us with references for other sources on our topic.
Background information sources are found in library print Reference collections and online Reference databases.