Background Research
Background research is critical when you need to have knowledge and context for yourself that you can apply when critically analyzing other materials for the classroom. This section will outline a method you can use to discover scholarly articles on your topic.
The link below will take you to a combined database search that targets databases that include history and education resources.
- History Education Combined Database SearchA link that will let you search mutliple databases at the same time. These include: Academic Search Complete, APA PsycInfo, American History & Life, Education Full Text, ERIC, Historical Abstracts, MasterFILE Premier, and Professional Development Collection.
- Use the link above to access a combined database that searches many relevant databases at the same time.
- You will need to come up with some keywords that reflect the main ideas behind the topic you are interested in finding information about. I might say out loud that I am, "Interested in researching the truth behind Thanksgiving history, including the Native American perspective". When searching in a database, I would translate this just to main ideas such as Thanksgiving AND myth.
- Enter these search terms into the search boxes of the database. It is good to start with broad searches that use just one or two search terms.
- After you enter your search terms, you can further refine your results using options available to the right of your search results. You should make sure to limit your results to only Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals and to make sure the Publication Date is not too long ago.
- Depending on how many results you get, you can add additional search terms to represent other main or related ideas to refine your search. It can take some time to play around with terms to get results that line up with what you are looking for. Consider synonyms or related terms if you are not seeing many results for your topic. Don't hesitate to ask for help in this process!
Evaluate Sources
- IF I APPLY - Source Evaluation"Often we seek information that confirms our own thoughts and feelings towards a topic. This is not research. Research and learning comes from finding sources that speak to the truth of a topic, no matter how much it hurts, or does not fit with your current ideas and beliefs.
Only by keeping personal biases in check can you begin to vet information for credibility. These steps will help you find sources that are credible and reliable in your research process" [from source].