Background Information & Data

What is 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.

Encyclopedia of Social Work
2013 - present. 5 users.

An online collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press, the Encyclopedia of Social Work offers hundreds of overview articles on a range of key topics in social work study as well as concise biographies of influential figures in social work history
Oxford Handbooks Online
Coverage varies by collection. Unlimited.

The Oxford Handbooks contain in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. Handbook articles review the key issues and cutting-edge debates, as well as providing arguments for how those debates might evolve.
UT Austin currently has access to Handbooks in all available subject through 2021.
SAGE Knowledge
Selected titles. Unlimited users.

Platform for Sage eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more. Only select ebook titles purchased by the UT Libraries are fully accessible.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Credo Reference
Coverage varies. Unlimited.

Over 3 million full-text authoritative dictionary/encyclopedia-like entries alongside thousands of easily searchable images, audio files, and videos. Credo provides access to hundreds of in-depth titles covering major subjects from current Social Issues to Ancient History and Shakespeare to Einstein. Includes "Mind Maps", keyword visualization tools.
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
2nd edition. Unlimited users.
This online encyclopedia provides authoritative, foundational, interdisciplinary knowledge across the wide range of behavioral and social sciences fields. The encyclopedia includes over 3,900 articles that discuss history, current trends and future directions. Topics are cross-referenced with related topics and each article highlights further reading.
Contains reference material covering the following disciplines:
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Demography
- Economics
- Education
- Geography
- History
- Law
- Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Personality Psychology
- Motivational Psychology
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Memory: Cognitive and Neuroscientific Aspects
- Neuroscience of Language
- Culture and the Arts

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Most current edition. Unlimited users.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a compilation of social, political and economic statistics. The focus is on national data, but some tables cover regions, states, cities, and comparative international statistics. Each table identifies the source of the data. Tables can be downloaded in xls or pdf format.
Divided into broad sections such as Population, Health and Nutrition, Education, Foreign Commerce and Aid, Prices and many others, the database can be searched or browsed to retrieve results that can then be narrowed by source, geography, time period, subject, and other breakdowns.