Before jumping directly into searching for sources to answer your research question, it can be useful to look up some background sources to give you more knowledge and insight into your topic. Background sources are just that: They provide a summary, or background, about the topic. Gathering basic knowledge about your topic can help you form a better research question and give you more ideas, such as keywords and important events or ideas, to search for.
Review our tutorial to better prepare you for using background resources.
Finding and Using Background Research