Background Reading

Before you dive into the unknown depths of a research project, test the water. That's what background reading helps you do. Background reading can include books, newspaper articles, academic journals, popular magazines, Internet and other electronic resources, and, what is often overlooked, reference sources.

Reference sources can be especially useful at the start of a research project. In the reference stacks are all kinds of amazing materials that you can use these tools to acquaint yourself with a topic, check facts, find statistics, or learn about people and their contributions to the field in which your topic is related.

Here are five different ways background reading can help you.

THE FIRST WAY Helps you get up to speed

If you don't already know something about the topic, do some background reading to learn more about it. If you can, choose something written within the last five years. All you should be looking for at this point is a cursory description of the subject. Reference sources often provide overviews without very much detail. By getting an overview, however, you can get a preliminary understanding of a subject. You can concern yourself with the details later.

THE SECOND WAY Let's you know what you've got yourself into

Check the card catalog and some periodical indexes to see if there appears to be enough information on your topic. A quick look in these sources will tell you quickly if this library has materials that would support that topic. Do this right away. Discovering that your task is too difficult is not something you want to do at the last minute.

THE THIRD WAY Tells you how to go about it

Look at several sources to see what direction or focus other people have taken in discussing your topic. Many sources that provide overviews of subjects can be useful in suggesting approaches you might take with a topic.

THE FOURTH WAY Clears up some jargon

Most academic fields, but even popular news media, rely on jargon. The jargon quickly identifies things without defining terms. This is appropriate for communication between people who have a common familiarity with the subject, but it can make the reading of academic journals and some magazine articles almost incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Some reference sources will provide definitions to initiate you to the terms of special subject areas.

THE FIFTH WAY Tells you where to go

Let someone else do some work for you. Find out what sources other people have been using. Different authors often refer to the same sources. When authors, books, or articles are cited often, make special note of them. The repetition should be a clue that these persons or works are important to this field of study.