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Psychology: Topic Background Information

Helpful resources for students doing research in the area of psychology, especially the WRIT II 201, Research Writing course

The importance of finding background information

Background sources like encyclopedias can provide context for your topic or even help you choose one. They are great places to start because:

 

  • They explain topics in simpler language than scholarly articles
  • They are much shorter (often just a page or two instead of 20 pages or more found in a scholarly article or hundreds of ages found in a book).
  • They highlight important issues, figures, dates, and/or events that you may want to focus on in your paper or project.
  • They give you suggested sources for further research in the form of bibliographies or works cited.

 

Use these helpful links to gather some background information on a topic before you dig into doing some serious research. Having a better understanding of a topic will help improve your assignment. Log-in may be required when using some resources form off-campus. Use your NetID and password. Call the library if you have any problems at 406-657-1662.

 

Popular vs. Scholarly Sources Tutorial

Watch this 5 minute tutorial to learn the differences between popular vs. scholarly sources.

Understanding periodical types

Watch this video to learn more about the different types of periodicals that you may encounter when doing your research.