Library Guides: HDFS 129: Introduction to Human Development and Family Studies: 1. Select

1. Select

Choosing & Narrowing Your Topic

What human development topic interests you? Choose a topic that you will enjoy learning, or learning more, about. After all, you will be spending a lot of time reading scholarly book chapters, academic journal articles, and other research studies for your infographic project.
Once you choose a topic, you may need to narrow it down. If your topic is too broad, it may prove difficult to gather the appropriate research you need because you will be overloaded with too much irrelevant information.
With a specific topic in mind, you are ready to start gathering the scholarly information you need to create your infographic.

Reference Sources

Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
This digital reference collection contains subject-specific encyclopedias and other sources on a variety of topics. Some titles of interest for HDFS are Encyclopedia of Human Development, International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family, and Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources.
A collection of over 2000 reference resources.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
This databases allows you to explore areas of interest by subject. The brief entries in many of the reference works in this collection can help with learning enough about an unfamiliar topic to narrow it down, or to just explore something new. Notable titles for HDFS include the Encyclopedia of Social Work and a Dictionary of Social Work and Social Care.
Oxford Reference Online consists of a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, and translations found in dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
SAGE Reference Online This link opens in a new window
This collection of SAGE reference works has an array of subject areas within the social science fields. You can search by the type of resource, such as "encyclopedias", to ensure your results will contain the type of information you need. HDFS titles of interest include the Encyclopedia of Family Health and Handbook of Families & Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.
A gateway to those SAGE reference publications (encyclopedias and handbooks) Penn State has acquired.

Please Note!

Reference works, such as encyclopedias, are excellent sources of background information and indispensable for curious researchers. They are ideal for finding a topic and honing in on a research question.

However, reference sources are not considered scholarly sources. Therefore, you should not be including any reference sources in your final bibliography.

Instead, use reference sources as they are intended to give you a foundation of information on any topic that you would like to learn more about.