As you read papers and work on your presentation, the resources you find on this page can:

• help create a good introduction to a paper, in the place where you lay out the big context of the more specific points to follow.
• help you understand technical terminology you encounter in reading papers and books; 
• point  to other resources useful as you get further into your topic.

Elsevier Reference Works (and books)

There are various ways to search this extensive collection:

• Click here. Click on the magnifying glass at the top (to the right of the text "journals and books". A box will open where you can search by your topic. Then, on the left, you can restrict by "Article type", for example encyclopedia.
• Use the Topic Pages.

OTHER SOURCES:

You can use Google to find background information, but make sure to assess the reliability and integrity of the information. (See the "Evaluate reliability!" page.)

Some tips:

Use the Google Advanced Search, to do a precise search. Then, evaluate one of the webpages that come up.  The resource below provides ideas about how to evaluate websites.

Wikipedia is a good stepping-stone to other material, but make sure you confirm the information independently. Also, concerning the reliability of Wikipedia, see this Wikipedia article "Reliability of Wikipedia".