Pre-research using Library Resources

Preliminary Research (pre-research) is research on a topic that helps you get a better understanding on what types of sources are available and what is being said about a topic. This type of research helps solidify a topic by broadening or narrowing it down.  The Corriher-Linn-Black Library has some excellent resources for helping you complete pre-research before deciding on a final topic and developing your research question.

You can also work through the learning modules in the ProQuest Research Companion (database link below) or simply use the Search Aid tool in the Finding Information module to help with keyword searches, the Source Evaluation Tool (Evaluating Sources module) or the Citation Builder and Revision Aid Tools to help you check your citations and ensure your sources are credible.

Credo Reference is a virtual reference collection at your fingertips. There are over 2 Million full text articles in 842 titles from 104 publishers. Some features that are helpful as you are pre-researching a topic are:

• The concept maps which let you find subcategories for a general topic. You can search the Concept web map for the topic, Research, below.
• The variety of sources that provide an overview of the topic. You will get results from encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries and reference handbooks. While these resources should not be confused with scholarly sources, they can provide insight as you develop your research question, focus your topic and build your keywords.

Try entering your research topic into Credo (click on the database link below)  and see what kind of suggestions, resources and help you find!