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MS: 7th grade Global Citizenship Project

Subject Guide
Background Research: Where to Start
Type of Source Definition Examples
Tertiary Source*
  • type of Secondary Source
  • offers a summary or review of a subject

*often called reference source
  • Dictionary
  • Encyclopedia
  • Almanacs
The best place to start is with tertiary sources (encyclopedia articles are your best bet)
  1. Get an overview of the broader topic
  2. Identify sub-topics for narrowing a topic
  3. Highlight key terms (people, places, events, dates) - these can be used for searches
  4. References and citations that follow offer an early idea of source availability for a topic

The Librarians recommend these databases to start your research.

Keyword searching tips for Databases and Library Catalogs

Use this tool to create a search strategy that you can use in a variety of databases, and the library catalogue.

  Concept 1 AND Concept 2 AND Concept 3
Name your concepts here:    
Search terms Search terms Search terms

List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be:

  • synonyms
  • specific examples of the concept

Use single words or short phrases.

OR

OR

OR

 

OR

OR

OR

 

OR

OR

OR

 

Cut & paste the results into most database search boxes.

  • Last Updated: Nov 28, 2023 12:04 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.milton.edu/GCP23
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Subjects: Middle School
Tags: current, MS