Why you should do background research
Background research can give you a general understanding of a topic. Your research also may bring up important questions about a subject that you can use to begin deeper research.
Benefits of background research:
- Helps you understand your topic before you begin targeted research.
- Gain familiarity with the terminology used.
- Get an idea of how much information is available on your topic.
- Identifies unresolved issues, controversies, and places where knowledge is incomplete.
In other words, conducting background research will help you identify anything that can lead to interesting questions about the topic that might lead to solid research questions.
The books and databases below can provide you with a great starting place and provide you with information about your subject.
Adapted from Credo InfoLit Core Tutorial: Background Research Tips
Databases
- Credo Reference Unlimited This link opens in a new windowContains bilingual dictionaries and reference works in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- Deutsche BiographieBiographies for German-speaking Europe from Middle Ages to the present. Searches Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB, Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB), & other sources. German or English interface.
Books
The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel by Publication Date: 2004-04-05The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel, first published in 2004, provides a broad ranging introduction to the major trends in the development of the German novel from the 1890s to the present.
A Companion to German Cinema by Publication Date: 2011-11-28A Companion to German Cinema regards the shifting terrain of German filmmaking and film studies against their larger social contexts with twenty-two newly commissioned essays by well-established and younger scholars in the field.
The Oxford Handbook of Modern German History by Publication Date: 2011-10-14This is the first comprehensive, multi-author survey of German history that features cutting-edge syntheses of major topics by an international team of leading scholars. Emphasizing demographic, economic, and political history, this Handbook places German history in a denser transnational context than any other general history of Germany.
