Why read background information?

Reading background or introductary information gives you an overview of your topic, and might outline the main issues. Also, many encyclopedia and other introductory sources include bibliographies. A bibliography is a list of sources the author used. A bibliography, or notes, or works cited page is an instant "shopping list" for other articles relevant to your topic.

Here is an example of an additional reading list from a Britannica online article.

Good places to start