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Norwalk Campus Library

Norwalk CCS 1001: College and Career Success

Find Background Information

Once you have a general idea about what you want to research, you might need a little help to create your thesis question (that is, exactly what you want to know about this specific topic). Try browsing through some background resources such as the following:

  • Encyclopedias;
  • Dictionaries; and
  • Thesaurus (a resource that offers synonyms and other words that are relevant to one of your keywords).

These are great sources of general information about your topic and related topics. Write down key terms from these resources that you might not have thought of using in a search, and don't forget to look at the bibliography and references for each encyclopedia article that you read! 

Some Background Resources to Try

Begin your plan by reading background information about a broad topic. Try using newspapers, reference books, the Credo Reference database, or talk to the reference librarians. Here are some online background resources to try.