A good place to begin exploring your topic is by searching in a subject encyclopedia in your topic's discipline. You will find that most articles are signed by an expert (someone who has spent many years researching a subject) and include a bibliography of excellent sources for you to use. Look at the CGCC Library Subject Encyclopedias to locate those owned by the CGCC Library.

Specialized encyclopedias often help you narrow your topic. For example, if you were interested in researching "homeless people," by searching the Encyclopedia of Homelessness you will find an article on the narrowed topic "educational problems confronting homeless children," which would be a great topic for a research paper.

Remember, a subject encyclopedia is NOT the same as a general encyclopedia like Britannica or Encarta which should not be used for a research paper.