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Using the Web as an Aid in Research - Finding Background Information

The Problem

Sometimes when doing research, you will be interested in a topic about which you know very little, not even the words that are commonly used to refer to this topic.

In a situation like this, you may have difficulty doing a comprehensive search of either the online catalogue (for books) or a journal index (for journal articles) without obtaining some good background information first.

A Quick Web Solution

It is often possible to find good background information on a topic by doing an Internet search, for example by using Google. But it may be wise to evaluate the websites that you find, before relying on them too heavily. (see Evaluating Websites).

A Demonstration

Here is a Demonstration to show you how to find background information before going on to search tools that the Library subscribes to, like journal indexes.

Practice Example

Here is a Practice Example to give you some practice in finding background information before going on to search tools that the Library subscribes to, like journal indexes. It states the question first. After you have done some work, we will go down to the bottom of that page and see some suggested answers to the question.


Librarian, Information Services and Resources, Davis Centre Library
Last Updated: October 18, 2004