Finding Background Information
Background information sources aim to answer the 5 w's of the topic you are investigating - Who, What, Where, Why, When.
When searching for background information, try a few different related terms. Remember to consider broader terms as well as narrower terms. For example:
- Topic: beacons
- Broader term(s): wireless sensor network
- Narrower term(s): bluetooth beacon, iBeacon
Our primary search, Summon, is a good place to start. Also check out the recommended resources below.
E-books and IT Reports
Industry reports can be an excellent source of information about your chosen technology - what it is, how to implement it, what considerations you should know, etc. Trends provide a context to your topic and can show influences on such things as price, decline in usage, changes made. Technical eBooks can provide the comprehensive technical background to fully understand the functionality of a system.
- eMarketer PRO (Insider Intelligence) This link opens in a new window eMarketer Collection of reports, interviews, market data and international trends analysis related to digital and mobile marketing, media and commerce. Permitted Uses
- Euromonitor: Passport This link opens in a new window Euromonitor Extensive industry reports and city data. Includes over 200 Canadian Industrial sector reports. Permitted Uses
- Gartner Research This link opens in a new window Reports related to the IT Industry. In particular, check out the Hype Cycles for determining the maturation of a specific technology - is it on the leading edge, or going out of style?
- WARC This link opens in a new window Authoritative forecasts, case studies, marketing intelligence, and latest news in marketing, advertising, media, and research industries. Permitted Uses
- Skillport This link opens in a new window Skillsoft Over 29,000 ebooks and 21,500 videos covering business, engineering, and IT topics. Permitted Uses
- O'Reilly Learning This link opens in a new window ProQuest Formerly Safari Books Online. Learning platform contains 35,000 books, 30,000 hours of videos, learning paths, case studies, tutorials, audio books and O'Reilly's global conferences. Interdisciplinary database, focused on technology, computer science, digital media, web and mobile development, programming, and engineering.
Online Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias and other reference sources provide definitions, descriptions, and often historical context. They are a great place for mining information and getting a higher level look at your chosen topic.
- AccessScience This link opens in a new window McGraw-Hill The online Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Includes scientific definitions, images, biographies, and news. Permitted Uses
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Over 600 Encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and quotations books, as well as images, audio files and videos. Multidisciplinary. Permitted Uses
Build a Concept Map! It's a great way to visually keep track of the subtopics and terminology relevant to your topic.
Credo Reference can help you build your own concept map for your topic with its own Mind Map tool.
