Finding Background Sources
Background information on the topic of your group project can help you focus and refine your research. It can provide you with a big picture context within which you can place your own work. It can provide information from reliable sources that provides a framework for readers of the report that your group produces.
Where to start?
- A database called CQ Researcher provides overviews of many current and controversial topics. It's an excellent starting point, providing an overview of the topic, historical background, current situation and future outlook, a chronology, maps and graphs, and a bibliography of additional sources.
- Be sure to use the BU Libraries Search and search for your topic along with a keyword such as: dictionary, encyclopedia or handbook to locate helpful reference sources for your topic.
Finding Books
Click the links below to see results for each topic in BU Libraries Search:
Finding Articles: Journals
Click here to search for journal titles within the the BU Libraries.
Finding Articles: Databases
- AATA Online Abstracts Of International Conservation Literature This link opens in a new window Provides over 100,000 peer-reviewed abstracts of the international literature of conservation and heritage management in a free online database. Date coverage: 1932 - present.
- Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts This link opens in a new window This collection is one of the premier marine and aquatic sciences databases. ASFA covers all aspects of marine and aquatic sciences, as well as oceanography, climate, and environmental, political, and socioeconomic issues related to freshwater and oceanic ecosystems, fisheries, and aquaculture. ASFA also allows you to search directly for tables, graphs, maps, and images included in the scholarly literature.
- Biological Abstracts This link opens in a new window Biological Abstracts searches journal articles in all areas of the biological sciences. Like all databases on the Web of Science platform, it also provides citation information — both articles cited and 'cited by' links, allowing the user to follow the literature on a topic both forward and backward in time. Also allows searching using BIOSIS indexing, MeSH terms, and CAS registry numbers.
- BioOne Complete This link opens in a new window A product of the nonprofit organization BioOne, the BioOne Complete database covers more than 200 full text, subscribed and open-access journals focusing on the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. About half of the journals included are published by small societies and non-commercial publishers and are exclusive to the BioOne database.
- E&E News This link opens in a new window Includes daily news updates on a variety of environmental and energy policy topics as well as links to online publications from E&E Publishing. Also includes video clips and compiled reports on specific subjects.
- Environment Complete This link opens in a new window Environment Complete is a comprehensive database focused on all aspects of environmental science including conservation, biodiversity, climate, pollution, agriculture and aquaculture, environmental law and policy, urban planning, environmental engineering, and more.
- Environmental Law Reporter This link opens in a new window Provides comprehensive information about environmental law. Use this database to find news and analysis, federal and state cases, statutes, regulations, and administrative decisions affecting environmental law practice. Also find information about federal congressional and agency developments in this field. Information about environmental litigation and international materials round out this resource. The reporter ceased publication in print in 2003, but the News and Analysis section continues to be available in print.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new window GreenFILE searches journal articles, government documents, and ebooks relating to human impact on the environment. It covers interdisciplinary topics such as environmental policy, environmental engineering, pollution, conservation, and other areas in which human activities and nature coincide. GreenFILE also contains a cited references feature that allows the user to see what material the author has cited in their publication, and what later publications cite it.
