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Background Knowledge

Doing background research to explore your initial topic can help you to find create a focused research question. Another benefit to background searching - it's very hard to write about something if you don't know anything about it! 

While you're doing you're background research, don't be surprised if your topic changes in unexpected ways - you're discovering more about your topic, and you're making choices based on on the new information you find. If your topic changes, that's OK!

https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/getstarted/background

Here are some great places to get you started:

What am I looking for?

It can be very helpful to write out your thoughts as you work through the answers to these questions

Think about what you need to know:

• What do you already know about your topic?
• What don't you know about your topic? What do you feel like you might need to know? 
• What are the fundamental facts and background on your topic? What do you need to know to write knowledgeably about your topic?
• What are the different viewpoints on your topic? You should expect to encounter diverse views on a topic.

And of course...

• What is your assignment asking of you? 

When you are doing your research, you are not looking for one perfect source with one right answer. You're collecting and thinking critically about ideas to form a focus for your own research.

If you're having trouble answering these questions, you might find the six journalist's questions helpful in focusing your thinking:

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/getstarted/background

Important note:

Most research papers are either analytical or persuasive in nature.  Therefore you need to gather information on all points of view.  Don't go in to the research with a pre-conceived answer to your research question.  Wait until you have enough unbiased information before you make your decision on which answer to your question is the correct one.

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