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Introduction to Social Work Research

Background Information

Why Find Background Information?

Background information provides a general overview of a research topic including important terms and concepts, relevant names of people or places, and dates of specific events.

These resources are especially helpful during the idea generation stage. Finding good background information on a general topic can help you turn that topic into a research question.

They will also help you determine what vocabulary and background concepts you will need to identify relevant peer-reviewed sources in the databases and identify more specific areas of your topic that you may want to research further.

Recommended Resources

Statistical information is a great way to get a sense of the magnitude, or scope of the problem. Use one or more of the resources below for the magnitude portion of your paper.

OR

Perform a scoped Google search for statistical information online. Here's an example of a search that is limited to .gov webpages:

Search: adverse childhood experiences statistics site:gov

Other endings:

site:edu

site:org

Google Web Search

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