Library Research Guide |
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Begin by using general sources such as textbooks and encyclopedias to take notes. See Organizing Research Notes handout. Use the indexes and tables of content to survey information on your topic. Additionally, you may use teacher lecture notes and handouts as sources for background information. Also, check bibliographies or the list of books the author used; sometimes they can give you more suggestions for sources. Do not limit your background check to merely your narrow topic. Expand the research into topics that are linked to your topic. Be sure to record the full bibliographic information on all resources used and keep a list of resources that you may be able to use for the final paper. Even though it is time consuming, typing these sources in the proper format now will save you time later. See Bibliographic Citations handout for the proper format.
For example, when researching Che Guevara, one would clearly research Ernesto Guevara in textbooks and encyclopedias, but one would also research the Cuban Revolution and Latin American history at the time of Che’s life. This gives one a context for understanding the specific topic, in this case Ernesto “Che” Guevara.