Library Guides: ENG 198: Krug: Find Background Info

Useful Titles

Romance Fiction by Kristin Ramsdell
ISBN: 9781591581772

Publication Date: 2012-03-02

A comprehensive guide that defines the literature and the outlines the best-selling genre of all time: romance fiction.
Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction by Kristin Ramsdell (Editor)
Call Number: Online Resource

ISBN: 9780313335723

Publication Date: 2018-09-07

Included are alphabetically arranged reference entries on significant authors along with works, themes, and other topics.

Searchable Encyclopedia Databases

Gale eBooks
Provides access to a wide range of full-text reference books and encyclopedias across various subjects, perfect for in-depth research and study.

This online library has hundreds of reference titles for multi-disciplinary research, including subject-specific biographical sources, directories, encyclopedias, and other reference sources related to American and world history, biography, health, arts, business, travel, religion, and multicultural studies.
Oxford Research Encyclopedias
Provides peer-reviewed, in-depth articles across diverse academic fields, ideal for comprehensive background research and foundational insights on complex topics.

Current, peer-reviewed research from 30 encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of Social Work and the Oxford Classical Dictionary. This database includes full-text articles in the following disciplines: African History, American History, Anthropology, Asian History, Business and Management, Climate Science, Communication, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, Education, Environmental Science, Global Public Health, International Studies, Latin American History, Linguistics, Literature, Natural Hazard Science, Neuroscience, Physics, Planetary Science, Politics, Psychology, and Religion. Oxford University Press publishes the Oxford Research Encyclopedias with National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Press, American Institute of Physics (AIP), and International Studies Association (ISA).

Finding Background Information

A starting point for your research.

Encyclopedias, books, news sources, popular magazines, and search engines can lead you to articles that will be helpful in narrowing down your topic and finding additional keywords to search. When using an encyclopedia, read through an article's bibliography or references section to identify scholarly books and articles related to your topic.

You may not cite the sources you find as you begin your research. Use the background knowledge you build from these sources to develop your understanding of the language used by people discussing your topic. Add this vocabulary to a word bank you will use to search for credible and scholarly sources later on.

Use this stage of your research to get a sense for your topic, in order to narrow your focus and move to a thesis.