Preliminary research is the process of exploring what research has already been done on a topic or set of topics. Doing preliminary research can help you to narrow or broaden your topic idea. You can also determine useful keywords or related topics by consulting existing research. Use the resources on this page to get started.
How to Start the Research Process
This article provides six tips for how to start the research process.
What are Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources?
This guide defines different types of sources and offers tips for evaluating their credibility.
Digital Public Library of America
This resource contains thousands of books, images, videos, and sounds.
Directory of Open Access Books
This directory features thousands of peer-reviewed books.
Open Textbook Library
This resource includes hundreds of free textbooks.
arXiv
This resource archives free, full-text journal articles from the sciences and mathematics.
Directory of Open Access Journals
This resource allows you to search for journal articles from a wide range of disciplines.
Google Scholar
Use Google Scholar to search for full-text journal articles.
PubMed
PubMed hosts full-text journal articles from the medical and health sciences.
How to Read a Scholarly Article
This article breaks down the components of scholarly articles and features tips for reading them.
