Use the following online reference databases to find background information. Academic encyclopedias are a good place to start research!
Use reference articles to understand the general view of what is happening with an issue, who is involved, and why there is debate over it.
You can use important words or ideas (see the highlighted words in the example below) as keywords to build more focused or related searches.
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Read reference for:
A reference collection is a set of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other items that provide background information on a topic.
In college libraries, reference collections include specialized encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change or the Gale Encyclopedia of Science.