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Writing 120L: Writin' is Fightin'
This guide highlights resources for your research project(s) in WRIT 120 and how to get help from a librarian.
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- Learn about your topic
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Research & Instruction Librarian for Instructional Design & First Year Experience
Why do background research?
It's important to familiarize yourself with a topic before you begin doing more specific and extensive research.
Background research will help you:
- Narrow your topic and focus your research question
- Find historical information, trends, agreements and disagreements, related to the topic, and uncovers gaps in your knowledge
- Learn the context of a topic -- the who, what, when, where, why, and how
- Uncover keywords you can use to do more extensive research
- Find additional sources on your topic
Useful Reference Books
Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice by Sherwood Thompson
ISBN: 1442216069Publication Date: 2014-12-18The Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice contains over 300 entries alphabetically arranged for straightforward and convenient use by scholars and general readers alike. This reference is a comprehensive and systematic collection of designated entries that describe, in detail, important diversity and social justice themes. Thompson, assisted by a network of contributors and consultants, provides a centralized source and convenient way to discover the modern meaning, richness, and significance of diversity and social justice language, while offering a balanced viewpoint. This book reveals the unique nature of the language of diversity and social justice and makes the connection between how this language influences--negatively and positively--institutions and society. The terms have been carefully chosen in order to present the common usage of words and themes that dominate our daily conversations about these topics. Entries range from original research to synopses of existing scholarship. These discussions provide alternative views to popular doctrines and philosophical truths, and include many of the most popular terms used in current conversations on the topic, from ageism to xenophobia. This reference covers cultural, social, and political vernacular to offer an historical perspective as well. With contributions from experts in various fields, the entries consist of topics that represent a wider context among a diverse community of people from every walk of life.Encyclopedia of Race and Racism by Angela Doolin (Editor)
ISBN: 0028661745Publication Date: 2013-02-15In more than 1, 800 pages of alphabetical entries, each ranging from 500 to 12, 000 words, The Encyclopedia Of Race And Racism, 2nd Edition, provides critical information and context on the underlying social, economic, geographical, and political conditions that gave rise to, and continue to foster, racism. Religion, political economy, social activism, health, concepts, and constructs are explored. Given the increasingly diverse population of the United States and the rapid effects of globalization, as well as mass and social media, the issue of race in world affairs, history, and culture is of preeminent importance. This work is designed to bring vetted and accessible facts and analysis to experts and students as well as lay readers.
Reference Databases
- CQ ResearcherFull-text reports on current issues including health issues, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Includes background information, overviews, pros and cons, and sources for further research. Covers materials published 1991-present.
- Credo ReferenceOffers full-text access to over 500 highly-regarded titles from 70 publishers. Covers every major subject in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences from the world's best publishers of reference.
- Last Updated: May 13, 2024 10:29 AM
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