Evaluating Information with BEAM

Background

Background information is general information or factual evidence used to provide context. 

Background resources include encyclopedias, books with general overviews, statistics, and historical facts. 

In scholarly articles, background information can often be found in the Introduction and/or literature review.

Questions to ask:

• What is the general context or overview of my topic?
• Does this source provide basic facts, definitions, or a summary of the topic?
• Is this source useful for helping me understand the foundational concepts?
• Can I use this source to provide historical context or broad overviews?

Click on the links above for examples or more information.