Provides access to a collection of reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, measurement conversions and more. For Chrome browser users, follow this link to troubleshoot a known issue.
Step 2 of the research process often involves finding an overview of a topic, checking facts and data, checking dates of significant events, or looking up definitions of specialized terms. 
Like the roots of a tree, background information is not always visible but it does play an important role in your research. While Google can be helpful in this regard, you may find some of the UC Merced Reference Databases useful for definitions and background information. Spending time on this step of the process can help give you valuable context that will help you with other steps like searching for research and writing about your topic.
Tip: Background information is often called "reference information" in libraries and library databases.
Search for terms in UC Library Search. When available, an "About the Topic" section will appear above your search results. The source for this Reference information here is the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
In UC Library Search, you can find reference and background information by using the Resource Type option on the left side menu. Click "show more" under Resource Type, then look for "Reference Entries," check the box next to it, and click Apply Filter at the bottom of the page.
Your results should have reference entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other reference sources.
Provides access to a collection of reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, measurement conversions and more. For Chrome browser users, follow this link to troubleshoot a known issue.
Search over 250 dictionaries and reference titles covering the complete subject spectrum: from General Reference and Language to Science and Medicine, and from Humanities and Social Sciences to Business and Professional.
The accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. A guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. The OED traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
This database provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas. Includes images and brief biographies. Updated annually.
Grants access to the SAGE Research Methods Base Model, with access to more than 1,000 books, reference works and journal articles from across the social sciences, as well as 500 SRM Case Studies and SRM Datasets for teaching and instruction. SAGE Research Videos are not included.
Gateway to web versions of Chapman & Hall/CRC chemical information resources. Contains information on physical property data, structural representations, and chemical synonyms.
This reference collection of almost 900 titles includes books from 30 Sci-Tech publishers. The main subject areas include Engineering, Life Sciences & Chemistry, and Materials. All titles are available in full-text and are searchable. Additional features include interactive tables, equation plotters and graph digitizers.
Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Provides information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues and links to medical research and information about clinical trials.
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!
What is considered background information 
and whether to cite it 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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