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Welcome to the Walter R. Peterson Library Website

Find online resources for your courses 24/7.

Find Background Information

When you start a research project, you need to understand the background of an issue.

  • What is the historical context?
  • What terminology (vocabulary) do others use when writing about this topic?
  • What are some statistics? For example, see these statistics from the Pew Research Center about immigrants in the United States.

Gather basic facts, terminology and background information from Credo's collection of more than 900 eBooks including specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlases.

 



Credo Reference

 

 

Wikipedia logo

Maybe you want to start your background search with Google or Wikipedia. If so, remember to treat them both as starting points not as definitive sources. Although it is much more reliable than in the past, Wikipedia alone is not a good source and faculty do not like to see it cited. Start with Wikipedia if you wish and then check "External links" at the bottom of the page to verify information.

More Background Information Sources You Can Explore

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