At the beginning of the research process, it's a good idea to do some "pre-searching." This is looking for relevant websites, reference books, and scholarly materials - but only the titles and abstracts (summaries) at this point. This should give you an idea of:
- How much information is out there on your topic
- Whether you will actually like your topic throughout the assignment process
- Special terminology that might be helpful when looking for more library resources on your topic
Do not dive head-first into a topic without a little bit of pre-searching first!
General databases to get started: