Background Information
Background information is very useful when narrowing down your topic, or when first learning about your topic. Background research (or pre-search!) is the first step in the research process. Getting background information on your topic allows you to learn enough about your topic to decide which specific aspect of that topic you wish to focus on, and gives you enough information about your topic for you to be able to talk about your topic for about a minute without repeating yourself.
The best way to complete background research is to use a reference book!
Pre-Search Video
Gale eBooks
You cannot checkout print reference books in the green section of the library, however, we do have a collection of digital reference books available to you through Gale eBooks (Reference eBooks). Click on the button below to explore the collection!
Here are some recommended Gale eBooks:
Advances in Agricultural Animal Welfare by Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9780081012468Publication Date: 2017-12-11
Animal Behavior: How and Why Animals Do the Things They Do by Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9780313398711Publication Date: 2014-01-22
Animal Oppression and Capitalism [2 Volumes] by Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9781440850745Publication Date: 2017-09-08Climate Change: an Encyclopedia of Science, Society, and Solutions [3 Volumes] by
Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9781440840869Publication Date: 2017-09-15
Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy by Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9780028661407Publication Date: 2008-11-01
Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource by Call Number: eBook with GVRLISBN: 9780028661964Publication Date: 2014-08-25
Reference Books
These books are reference books. A reference book is used primarily to supply background information on a particular topic. They are often produced by experts in a particular field and are not intended to be read from cover-to-cover: instead, you can find an entry in the reference book that mentions your topic and just read that entry. Most reference books will have an index in the back of the book that will allow you find out on which page your topic would be.
Examples of reference books include dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and handbooks.
Reference books are found in the Reference Collection, or the green-labeled shelves in the library. You cannot check out reference books from the library, but you can look at them for as long as you are in the library, and you may take photo-copies of reference books.
Helpful Reference Books for This Project
Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare by Call Number: REF HV4708 .E53 2010ISBN: 9780313352553Publication Date: 2009-11-25
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia by Call Number: REF QL7 .G7813 2004ISBN: 0787653624Publication Date: 2002-10-04
Smithsonian Institution Animal by Call Number: REF QL45.2 .A56 2001ISBN: 0789477645Publication Date: 2001-10-10
Complete Outdoors Encyclopedia by Call Number: REF SK33 .S646 1998ISBN: 0312191901Publication Date: 1998-08-15
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America by Call Number: REF TX349 .E45 2013ISBN: 9780199734962Publication Date: 2012-11-30
Encyclopedia of Food and CultureCall Number: REF TX349 .E53 2003ISBN: 0684805685Publication Date: 2002-12-17
