Exploring sources/Reference overview
Once you have done your preliminary look for background material on your topic you are ready to go to some basic library reference sources to help you select your specific topic.

An encyclopedia is an excellent place to start. The Encyclopedia Britannica, for example, is a world recognized basic source. Look up your topic and get some ideas, generate some new keywords, concepts, authors, and then follow these up with new searches.

Some online general encyclopedia links can be found at Encyclopedias and Almanacs off the library home page.

Subject examples
For example, if you were doing a search under health promotion for teenagers refers you to historical and overview articles on public health and internet links to some potentially useful sites.

Another example: if you were searching for some basic information on the possible differences between male and female responses to health behaviors, search the terms gender differences in health and see that the results also provide some good overview articles.

Other good sources of general reference information for community health topics include some of the sources listed on the Community Health Sciences Subject Guide. One of these, the Encyclopedia of gerontology, is an excellent place to look for basic information on gender topics. If you looked up information on health you would find good in-depth entries on related topics like gender inequality and healthcare. Under gender roles , there are articles referred to on life satisfaction and caregiving theory, and a bibliography of book and journal articles that you could look for and read for further information.

Another good source to check for topics like these is the The A-Z of women's sexuality. Even though this reference book is obviously mainly about women, there would be sections dealing with female health issues and references to male issues as well. This in turn might give you some ideas about your specific topic. Note the bibliography at the end of the chapter and see if you can locate these books or articles in the library using the Brock Library Catalogue.

One research path often leads to other paths and opens up research possibilities. Note the keywords, concepts, and related topics and proceed to look for books and journal articles for your research assignment by using the catalogue.