Research Steps
(Image from Salt Lake Community College under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. No changes were made.)
Exploring Background
Use the resources below to find general or background information on topics. For information on finding articles and books, look at the Journals & Databases tab and the Books tab in this research guide.
- CQ ResearcherCQ Researcher contains in-depth factual reports on controversial issues and topics of current interest. Browse by topic or search for keywords across multiple reports.
- Credo ReferenceUse this database to search the online version of hundreds of reference books in a broad range of subjects, including general and specialized dictionaries, handbooks and encyclopedias. Credo Reference helps you find authoritative answers fast.
- Oxford English Dictionary OnlineUse this database to locate the most authoritative source of information on word meanings in English. The OED displays in a historically ordered form the changes of the meanings of all the non-technical vocabulary from early Middle English to the present day.
Developing a Topic
Important questions to ask yourself when choosing a topic:
- What interests me and will continue to interest me?
- Does my instructor approve of this topic?
- Is this topic too broad? Will I find too much information?
- Is this topic too narrow? Will I find hardly any information?
(Video by Pfau Library, California State University, San Bernardino)
This animated video gives some examples of appropriate research topics. Time = 3:42