ULibraries Research Guides: Urban Ecology LEAP Guide: Lesson 1: Background Info

Today's Session

By the end of the first library session, we hope you will be able to do the following:

Effectively create and make use of concept maps in order to generate research topics and thesis statements.
Articulate what is known and not known about your topic in order to develop a research plan.
Find and search reference resources in order to gain the basic knowledge and vocabulary of a topic.

Background Resources

Encyclopedias are an excellent resource to gain introductory knowledge, and develop a working vocabulary, about a topic.

Credo Reference
3,000,000 full-text entries in over 500 encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, quotations, and other sources.
Oxford Reference Online
Online access to encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, timelines, and quotations. Covers a wide variety of topics, including the urban environment, sustainability, and community.
more...less...
This database is provided through a subscription paid, in part or entirely, by Marriott Library. It can be accessed by anyone using a computer on-campus or who has an active uNID account off-campus.
Encyclopedia Britannica
In-depth yet accessible, timely, relevant, and trustworthy information, images, and videos covering arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and much more!
CQ Researcher
The CQ Researcher publishes reports 44 times a year that offer in-depth single-topic coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Each CQ Researcher report is investigated and written by a seasoned journalist. Editors identify the topic to be investigated, then the writer conceives its content, formulating the key questions that it will seek to answer; reads background material; interviews a range of sources; synthesizes available information; and writes the report.

1. How to Concept Map

Click the link below to download a short PowerPoint. Please look through all of the slides and then move onto the video in box #2.

Concept Map PowerPoint

2. Mapping for Thesis Statements

View this short video on concept mapping created by Katherine Miller and Tom Childs of Douglas College. After you've finished, be sure you have read through all of the Suggested Research Topics carefully. Select three from the list and come to class prepared to investigate them further.