LibrarySearch offers a streamlined interface for finding books and other media that combines the collections of UO Libraries and Summit libraries.
Like the roots of a tree, background information is not always visible but it does play an important role in your research.
Starting research often means finding an overview of a topic, checking facts and data, checking dates of significant events, or looking up definitions of specialized terms. Reference books can give background information, including the scope of the topic area, noteworthy people, and statistics to help jumpstart your research.
If you're not sure where to start with a research project, but have a topic in mind, you can start with these suggestions to get ideas:
Long Description of "4 Places to Find Quick Facts" for Web Accessibility
In addition to being a great place to start exploring an unfamiliar topic, Wikipedia is considered a tertiary source. Writers of tertiary sources synthesize information from secondary sources and strive to report them in a tone that is as unbiased and neutral as possible.
Some tertiary sources are cited in academic research and others are not. This practice varies by discipline so contact your instructor or a librarian with questions!
Thanks to IUPUI University Library for allowing reuse of this graphic under a Creative Commons license.
Before you start any research on your topic, you must develop some background knowledge including facts, dates, and names of important people, places, or theories. Books and websites can provide you with that knowledge.
This is important because:
Remember, background information is always a starting point for research, not an ending point.
The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics by
The most comprehensive overview available, this handbook is an essential guide to sociolinguistics today. Reflecting the breadth of research in the field, it surveys a range of topics and approaches in the study of language variation and use in society. As well as linguistic perspectives, the handbook includes insights from anthropology, social psychology, the study of discourse and power, conversation analysis, theories of style and styling, language contact and applied sociolinguistics. Language practices seem to have reached new levels since the communications revolution of the late twentieth century. At the same time face-to-face communication is still the main force of language identity, even if social and peer networks of the traditional face-to-face nature are facing stiff competition of the Facebook-to-Facebook sort. The most authoritative guide to the state of the field, this handbook shows that sociolinguistics provides us with the best tools for understanding our unfolding evolution as social beings.
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Intercultural Communication by
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Intercultural Communication constitutes a comprehensive introduction to the multidisciplinary field of intercultural communication, drawing on the expertise of leading scholars from diverse backgrounds. The Handbook is structured in five sections and covers historical perspectives, core issues and topics, and new debates in the field, with a particular focus on the language dimension. Among the key themes addressed are: the foundation of intercultural communication; core themes and issues; putting intercultural communication theory into practice; new debates and future directions. The Handbook includes an introduction and overview by the editor, which provides readers with an indication of the focus of each sectionnbsp;and chapter. The Routledge Handbook of Language and Intercultural Communication is the ideal resource for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students of applied linguistics, TESOL/TEFL and communication studies.
International Encyclopedia of Linguistics by
The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2nd Edition encompasses the full range of the contemporary field of linguistics, including historical, comparative, formal, mathematical, functional, and philosophical linguistics with special attention given to interrelations within branches of linguistics and to relations of linguistics with other disciplines. Areas of intersection with the social and behavioral sciences--ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and behavioral linguistics--receive major coverage, along with interdisciplinary work in language and literature, mathematical linguistics, computational linguistics, and applied linguistics. Longer entries in the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, ranging up to four thousand words, survey the major fields of study--for example, anthropological linguistics, history of linguistics, semantics, and phonetics. Shorter entries treat specific topics within these fields, such as code switching, sound symbolism, and syntactic features. Other short entries define and discuss technical terms used within the various subfields or provide sketches of the careers of important scholars in the history of linguistics, such as Leonard Bloomfield, Roman Jakobson, and Edward Sapir. A major portion of the work is its extensive coverage of languages and language families. From those as familiar as English, Japanese, and the Romance languages to Hittite, Yoruba, and Nahuatl, all corners of the world receive treatment. Languages that are the subject of independent entries are analyzed in terms of their phonology, grammatical features, syntax, and writing systems. Lists attached to each article on a language group or family enumerate all languages, extinct or still spoken, within that group and provide detailed information on the number of known speakers, geographical range, and degree of intelligibility with other languages in the group. In this way, virtually every known language receives coverage. For ease of reference and to aid research, the articles are alphabetically arranged, each signed by the contributor, supported by up-to-date bibliographies, line drawings, maps, tables, and diagrams, and readily accessible via a system of cross-references and a detailed index and synoptic outline. Authoritative, comprehensive, and innovative, the 2nd edition of the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics will be an indispensable addition to personal, public, academic, and research libraries and will introduce a new generation of readers to the complexities and concerns of this field of study.
The Routledge Linguistics Encyclopedia by
The Routledge Linguistics Encyclopediais a single-volume encyclopedia covering all major and subsidiary areas of linguistics and applied linguistics. The 79 entries provide in-depth coverage of the topics and sub-topics of the field. Entries are alphabetically arranged and extensively cross-referenced so the reader can see how areas interrelate. Including a substantial introduction which provides a potted history of linguistics and suggestions for further reading, this is an indispensable reference tool for specialists and non-specialists alike. This third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new entries on: attitudes to language conversation analysis English Language Teaching gesture and language idioms language and advertising language and new technologies linguistics in schools optimality theory research methods in linguistics slang. The following entries have been recommissioned or substantially revised: Animals and Language, Artificial Languages, Computational Linguistics to Language Engineering, Contrastive Analysis/Contrastive Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dialectology, Discourse Analysis, Dyslexia, Genre Analysis, Historical Linguistics, Intonation, Language and Education, Language, Gender and Sexuality, Language Origins, Language Surveys, Language Universals, Linguistic Typology, Metaphor, Pragmatics, Rhetoric, Semantics, Semiotics, Sociolinguistics, Stylistics, Systemic-Functional Grammar, Writing Systems. I>language and new technologies linguistics in schools optimality theory research methods in linguistics slang. The following entries have been recommissioned or substantially revised: Animals and Language, Artificial Languages, Computational Linguistics to Language Engineering, Contrastive Analysis/Contrastive Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dialectology, Discourse Analysis, Dyslexia, Genre Analysis, Historical Linguistics, Intonation, Language and Education, Language, Gender and Sexuality, Language Origins, Language Surveys, Language Universals, Linguistic Typology, Metaphor, Pragmatics, Rhetoric, Semantics, Semiotics, Sociolinguistics, Stylistics, Systemic-Functional Grammar, Writing Systems.
Dictionary of Languages: the Definitive Reference to More than 400 Languages by
Approximately how many languages compose the Bantu language group of central and southern Africa? What is the name of the language spoken in Hawaii by an estimated two thousand people? What Western European language is not known to be related to any other language family in the world--and is considered by linguists to be one of the most difficult to learn? These are only a few of the questions language lovers, linguists, and lay readers will be able to answer with the Dictionary of Languages--an easy-to-navigate, authoritative guide to the world's languages and language groups at the end of the twentieth century. Andrew Dalby had the needs and interests of general readers in mind when he compiled this comprehensive reference work--most other language guides are written for scholars, and many include little or none of the absorbing social, cultural, geographic, and historical details that are brought together here. In the Dictionary of Languages, readers will find: *a selection of four hundred languages and language groups, arranged alphabetically, with rich, detailed descriptions of the genesis, development, and current status of each; *more than two hundred maps displaying where the languages are spoken today; *sidebars showing alphabets, numerals, and other enriching facts *a comprehensive index listing additional languages, guiding readers to the nearest language groups with full writeups and maps; *charts breaking down large language groups--such as Bantu or Austroasiatic languages--by geographic region and approximate number of speakers. In a world where geopolitical boundaries often explain little about the people that live within them, where we may read about Kurd and Khmer in the same newspaper and be expected to be conversant about each--if not conversant in each--Dalby's single, information-packed volume helps us make sense of the rich mosaic of world languages.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language by
This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language presents a mass of new information and introduces the subject of language to a fresh generation of students and general readers. Probably the most successful general study of language ever published, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language covers all the major themes of language study, including popular ideas about language, language and identity, the structure of language, speaking and listening, writing, reading, and signing, language acquisition, the neurological basis of language, and languages of the world. Exposing this work to a new generation of readers, the Second Edition extends the range of coverage to include advances in areas such as machine translation, speech interaction with machines, and language teaching. There is new material on acoustics, physiological concepts of language, and World English, and a complete update of the language distribution maps, language-speaking statistics, table of the world's languages, and further reading. All geopolitical material has been revised to take account of boundary changes. The book has been redesigned and is presented for the first time in full color, with new pictures and maps added.
The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy by
This is the first Handbook to deal with language policy as a whole and is a complete 'state-of-the-field' survey.
The Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages by
It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.
The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism by
**Honored as a 2013 Choice Outstanding Academic Title** Comprising state-of-the-art research, this substantially expanded and revised Handbook discusses the latest global and interdisciplinary issues across bilingualism and multilingualism. Includes the addition of ten new authors to the contributor team, and coverage of seven new topics ranging from global media to heritage language learning Provides extensively revised coverage of bilingual and multilingual communities, polyglot aphasia, creolization, indigenization, linguistic ecology and endangered languages, multilingualism, and forensic linguistics Brings together a global team of internationally-renowned researchers from different disciplines Covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from neuro- and psycho-linguistic research to studies of media and psychological counseling Assesses the latest issues in worldwide linguistics, including the phenomena and the conceptualization of 'hyperglobalization', and emphasizes geographical centers of global conflict and commerce
Ethnic Groups Worldwide by
The arrangement of information and ease of use make this comprehensive handbook unlike any other reference source currently available on ethnic groups. Organized alphabetically by country name within four major regions, the book features a series of succinct profiles that describe the ethnic composition and ethnic relations of each country of the world. These profiles offer a quick snapshot of each ethnic.
Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity by
This volume argues that language, ethnicity, and identity are defined by the circumstances under which they are created. The foundational chapter by Joshua A. Fishman describes how language, ethnicity, and identity are variable and changeable. The essays in the first part of the Handbook viewlanguage and ethnic identity through the lenses of sociolinguistics, psychology, anthropology, politics, and economics. These essays address important topics such as diasporic languages, language and ethnic identity near state borders, and the education of Indigenous peoples, language minorities,and the Deaf. The second part of the Handbook views language and ethnic identity through a regional perspective, embarking on a journey through Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific. Drawing on both historical and up-to-date accounts, these chapters examine therelationship between constructions of language and ethnic identity and constructions of nation-states.Although the volume offers considerable sophistication in the treatment of language, ethnicity and identity, it has been written for the non-specialized reader, whether student or layperson. Written by well-known scholars in their fields, the contributions offer a list of reference to steer readersto crucial further readings, as well as questions for further reflection and inquiry.
Handbook of Hispanic Linguistics by
Reflecting the growth and increasing global importance of the Spanish language, The Handbook of Hispanic Linguistics brings together a team of renowned Spanish linguistics scholars to explore both applied and theoretical work in this field. Features 41 newly-written essays contributed by leading language scholars that shed new light on the growth and significance of the Spanish languageCombines current applied and theoretical research results in the field of Spanish linguisticsExplores all facets relating to the origins, evolution, and geographical variations of the Spanish languageExamines top.
What is considered background information can vary by discipline. If you're not sure what it is or where to find it, check out this YouTube video on primary, secondary, and tertiary sources from Suffolk County Library.
Are you citing background information in your research paper/project? You can always check with your instructor to see if that is acceptable for the assignment or within your discipline/major.
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