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Exploring your topic is an important first step in the research process. Reading background information about a topic helps you learn important facts and become more familiar with the context and issues around your topic. Here are some tips you can follow:

Wikipedia or other articles on the web can provide a broad overview, but keep in mind that information on the Web is not always reliable.
News and magazine articles provide the most current information on a topic and editorials can give you an idea of the opposing sides of a topic.
As you explore a topic, try to find an aspect that is of interest to you on a personal level. That will make researching your topic much more interesting!

Choosing the right focus for a topic is also important! If your topic is too broad you will be overwhelmed with results and if your topic is too narrow you will have a hard time finding information.

You might have to tweak your topic based on the information you are finding. You might have to go through an exploratory cycle several times before you come up with a topic that will work well for your assignment.

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Picking a topic is research. This video will give you an overview of this process. Video transcript