The Research Process  Tags: research start process  

Read background material to get an overview of your topic.

Overviews often introduce us to historical contexts as well as current controversies surrounding a particular subject.

You may find information that will help broaden or narrow your topic, as well as more potential search terms. You might find answers to preliminary questions (from Step 1) that you had about the topic.

The Library’s Reference collection is a great place to start. You will find information from encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc., some of which are general in nature, and some of which are very specialized. For assistance, stop by the reference desk, email refdesk@aacc.edu, or call 410-777-2456.

Many of the library's reference books are available online. From off-campus, you will need to enter the barcode number from the back of your Truxal Library card:

• Credo Reference
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• ABC-CLIO Ebook Collection (formerly Greenwood Digital Collection)

If we can further assist you in your search for information, please drop by the reference desk or contact reference staff by phone at 410-777-2456 or by email at refdesk@aacc.edu.