LibGuides: Research Skills Tutorial: 2.1 Activity: Use an Encyclopedia

Activity: Use an Encyclopedia

1. Access one of the following online encyclopedias:

Britannica Online Academic This link opens in a new window Britannica Academic contains both the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, as well as magazine and journal articles written by Pulitzer Prize winners and leading experts, a world atlas, country data, and timelines.
World Book Online This link opens in a new window Academic World Book provides online access to all articles in the 22-volume print edition of The World Book Encyclopedia, plus many more, all of which are updated regularly throughout the year. Included in addition are over 270,000 primary source documents and 5,500 e-books , as well as a dictionary, an atlas, a Spanish-language encyclopedia, and a section devoted to “educators’ tools.” There are Web links, links to relevant periodical articles, and thousands of pictures, maps, audio clips, and other media resources, plus a special section devoted to New Jersey. Academic World Book is especially useful to students beginning research on a relatively unfamiliar topic, to future teachers, to English-language learners, and to any library user seeking reliable current information on a wide range of subjects.

2. Use one or two keywords related to your broad topic to find a relevant encyclopedia article. Read the article or portions that are relevant to you.

3. Write a short paragraph or create a mind map showing what you learned about the topic from reading the article.

4. Did you get any ideas for how you could narrow the focus of your topic by reading the article?

a. Write down your revised, narrower research topic in the form of a research question.