Step 2: Gain background knowledge
When you gain background knowledge, you are looking to understand:
- Vocabulary
- Main ideas and theories
- How your topic is part of daily life and our world
You use sources including:
- Web searches
- Social media
- Publications like newspaper sites, magazine sites, and general information sites
- Reference material like dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more
These sources are all written to the general adult population and should be easy and quick to read. You likely do not need any special knowledge to read these sources.
Your search is WIDE and gives you a brief look at many pieces of information. You do not spend much time on any one specific topic within your main topic. So if you were doing a deep dive on a technology-related topic, you would learn what it is, its associated terms, and how the technology is used. These are separate ideas; you may read 1 to 3 sources for each.
During this step, you should expect to read 10-15 sources QUICKLY, identifying key ideas and terms and moving on. Your goal is to BROADEN what you know about the topic. You will want to keep track of the good sources of info, as you’ll need to add them to your worksheet.
This process prepares you for the deeper reading that comes next.