BWRIT 135: Research Writing (Collins): Background Sources & Ebooks

To begin exploring a topic it is best to start with broad background sources. These background sources will give you foundational knowledge, provide you with effective search terms, and point you toward sources or authors for further research. Here are some background sources the library has to get you started.

SAGE Research Methods Online (SRM) is a research tool that covers quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research methodologies in the social and behavioral sciences through an interactive methods map, instructional videos, full text books, and academic articles.  

SAGE Research Methods Cases (SRMC):  Collection of case studies of real social research that show how methodologies are applied.

SAGE Research Methods Datasets (SRMD):  Sample of datasets taken from government sources and academic research, demonstrating how quantitative and qualitative methods are applied to research projects. 

Locating e-books in the UW Libraries collection involves two steps: searching for material using relevant words and phrases, and refining the search results to display only e-book titles.

Please note that you must be logged in with your UW NetID to access e-books. If you are not logged in when beginning your search, you will be prompted to log in before viewing the book. 

1. Type your title or keywords into UW Libraries Search.

2. Refine results to e-books by clicking the e-books link under Resource Type.

Note: You may need to click "More options" to see the e-Books link.

3. Click on the title of the book you want. On the resulting screen, scroll down to "View Online" and click on one of the databases listed to access the e-book.

Some ebooks have limited user access. If a book is "single user access" and another user has it checked out, you may need to wait until they're done before you can view it. 

Learn More

e-book Collections Guide