Presearch: Topic Context and Background
The presearch is the stage of research prior to searching the scholarly databases for articles. This is where you search references books/reference databases to find out the background of your topic and laying your research foundation.
Some questions you should attempt to answer in the presearch phase are:
- identifying widely accepted knowledge related to your topic
- finding definitions or explanations for unknown terms or vocabulary related to your topic
- finding examples
- identifying key figures involved in the discussion (stakeholders or interested parties)
- identifying events related to your topic
- considering related concepts
- understanding the history and/or timeline
The sources you find are most likely not the sources you will eventually cite in your research papers. Their main purpose is to solidify your understanding and identify search terms before you begin searching for scholarly/peer-reviewed articles or studies later in the research process.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias
Full-text encyclopedias on a range of topics that include in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries written by scholars across all fields of study.
- Oxford Digital Reference Shelf
Full-text reference works from Oxford University Press covering a broad range of subjects, and including timelines, quotations, and overviews.
- Routledge Handbooks
Around 2,700 handbooks providing up-to-date overviews of classic and current research across the Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, Psychology, Engineering, and Built Environment from Routledge and CRC Press.
- Very Short Introductions
Hundreds of short ebooks (around 100 pages each) that offer concise expert overviews of a diverse range of concepts. Subjects include climate, consciousness, game theory, ancient warfare, economics, and literary theory.
Alternate access link: http://proxy.ohiolink.edu:9099/login?url=https://academic.oup.com/pages/very-short-introductions
Annotated Bibliography
Part of your Hot Topic assignment is to write an annotated bibliography using the APA citation guide. If this is your first time writing an annotated bibliography, the below information will help you understand the parts of an annotated bibliography. Have also provided an example of an APA formatted annotated bibliography entry to help with citation formatting.
- APAStyle.orgThe official website of the American Psychological Association Style Guide.
- Purdue OWL: Changes in the 7th edition of APA StyleA summary of the changes in the 7th edition of the APA Style Manual from Purdue OWL.
Parts of An Annotated Bibliography
| Summary | What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is. |
| Assessment | This is where you evaluate the source - Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source? |
| Reflection on Relevance | How does the source fit into your research? Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic? |
Example Annotated Bibliography in APA.
- Example Annotated BibliographyThis document can act as a template for your annotated bibliography. This is just an example and you may need to go to the APA style guide linked above to view more source type options.
Annotated Bibliography Worksheet
Use this worksheet to help organize your annotated bibliography.