MC Library Research Guides: Economics: Develop a Topic

Find Background Information

Background information helps you learn about aspects of a topic that might interest you.

The best way to complete your background research is with reference sources like subject encyclopedias, handbooks and dictionaries. They provide basic information and broad overviews of a wide variety of topics or terms. Use reference sources to:

explore topics for research
get background information
explain unfamiliar ideas

MC Library has reference sources both online and in print. Take a few minutes to read broadly about your topic using the suggested sources listed below or visit your campus library for help using print reference sources.

Search:

Credo Reference: Economics Topic Page
CredoReference pulls together its reference resources into one page by topic. Includes definitions and links to articles from encyclopedias and other resources within Credo. The Economics Topic Page by Credo reference is a good place to start for an overview or definition of your topic.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online reference library with a wide selection of reference books. Search or browse by subject. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch.
Encyclopaedia Britannica This link opens in a new window
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
A selected collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. For a current title list of our offerings, see the List of Sources once you are in the collection. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch. For information on how to use e-books on Gale, please see this helpful video.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
A complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Research Skills & Tips:

Economics is a very broad topic. It is always a good idea to narrow your research. Several ways of doing this are:

to a specific topic or a topic that interests you (e.g., debt ceiling)
by country/region (e.g., budget issues in Montgomery County)
by time period/dates/eras (e.g., 1860s, Industrial Revolution)
by combining keywords/using a phrase (e.g., "green economics")

Choose a Research Topic
by Niyati Pandya Last Updated Oct 9, 2023 871 views this year

Searching as Exploration Video

Selected Reference Titles

21st Century Economics: a Reference Handbook by Rhona C. Free, ed.
Call Number: Electronic Format
ISBN: 9781412979290
Publication Date: 2010
A Dictionary of Economics (2017) by Nigar Hashimzade; Gareth Myles; John Black
ISBN: 9780198759430
Publication Date: 2017
An essential reference work covering all aspects of economics including economic theory and policy, applied microeconomics and macroeconomics, labour economics, public economics and publicfinance, monetary economics, and environmental economics.
An Encyclopedia of Macroeconomics by Brian Snowdon (Editor); Howard R. Vane (Editor)
Call Number: Electronic Format
ISBN: 9781849723688
Publication Date: 2002

Develop a Topic

To choose a research topic, begin with general background information. This will help you explore topics of interest, develop research questions and search terms, and decide where to look for sources.

Economics as a Curriculum

Economics is "a social science concerned with the production of goods and services, their distribution, exchange, and consumption. Microeconomics is concerned with the problems facing individuals and firms, while macroeconomics is concerned with the economy of a country and regulation of the economy by governments." Economics. (2003). In The MacMillan encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Market House Books Ltd. Retrieved from:

Credo Reference: The Macmillan Encyclopedia

Economics Program at Montgomery College: