You can't write a 5-6 page paper on that broad topic you chose. You need to focus on narrower aspects of the topic by investigating the controversies within your broad topic: what are scholars arguing about? Use these encyclopedias only to learn more about your topic and to gather sources in bibliographies.
Choosing a topic is part of the research process. You're coming up with an IDEA which you then do some SEARCHing around and then you REFORMULATE your idea based upon what you have learned. You may go through this cycle a few times in different resources before you settle in on a topic you want to write about.
Finding background information on concepts you're interested in will help you discover what scholars are researching. Look for key terms you can use to help find an interesting peer-reviewed article.
You can also use encyclopedias to understand terms or concepts that are new to you or methodologies you're not familiar with.
What sources do scholars use in their research?
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