JOUR J475 Race, Gender, and the Media

Before you can start any research on your topic, you must have a background knowledge of it. Websites and reference sources can provide you with that knowledge.

This is important because:

1. Background sources give you the language that people are using to discuss your topic. You will use this language when you start to search databases for scholarly articles and resources on the topic.
2. This "pre-research" gives you a sense if your topic is focused enough. If your initial searches bring back so many results you can't even figure out what the language is, then you should consider narrowing your topic.

Remember, background information is always a starting point for research, not an ending point.

Here's where generative AI can be helpful in the research process and some of the products currently available.

2: Find Background Information

Just as searching Google and sources like your textbooks and Wikipedia can help you find background information on and keywords for your topic, generative AI can help with keywords. For example, asking ChatGPT "What are some other terms to describe teenage vaping?"