Introduction
Exploration of a topic is an important part of the research process. Take the time to reflect on your topic and gather some background information before jumping right into your paper or project. Wikipedia is recommended as a place to start the exploration stage of your research. Sometimes we don't need to read a whole book to get the background information we need on a topic. Instead, when you need to get the gist of something, it's a time-saving approach to look for a concise, summative information source like Wikipedia to get an overview of a topic. Feel free to browse Wikipedia as a starting point, but it should be used only as a place to begin forming your thoughts. Although handy, Wikipedia is typically not considered "academic" and would not stand up as an authoritative source in a college research paper.
Library encyclopedias are another great place to find authoritative sources that provide useful background information on a topic. They can also be a great place to explore potential topics for a research paper. Encyclopedias are located on the second floor of the library, but you can also visit one of our many electronic encyclopedias listed further below in the module.
Goals
In this module, you will learn to:
Use this worksheet to brainstorm a list of words (or phrases) that come to mind when you think about a certain topic for your research paper.
When you're getting started on a new project, there are many different types of places you can look for background information about a topic.
Types of sources for background information include the following:
Strategies for background searching
Searching within Wikipedia and encyclopedias is simple, but like any research, sometimes it helps to use a few strategies more effective than tossing a few terms into a search box.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Information Literacy Standards:
Below is a more complete list of library resources that provide electronic access to encyclopedias and background information. Each resource is available as a link from the Research Databases page on the library website. Got questions? Ask a librarian for a resource recommendation that can support a particular course project
Activity 1: This activity can be repeated at the beginning of each major project. It's an opportunity for students to explore two topics before settling on a paper topic.
Activity 2: This activity can also be done as a discussion board or blog post.
Please consider sharing your students' work with Rachel Santose (santoser@canton.edu) for assessment purposes.
This exercise is an opportunity to explore two possible topics for your research paper by finding background information for each topic.
Download and complete the attached worksheet that asks you to work through the following steps:
Please consider sharing your students' work with Rachel Santose (santoser@canton.edu) for assessment purposes.
Explore at least two potential topics for a paper by locating, printing and reading one article that address each topic from the resources above. Bring the articles to class and consider the following questions during an in-class free-write.
Please consider sharing your students' work with Rachel Santose (santoser@canton.edu) for assessment purposes.