• Use the index or keyword search to find your topic. Not all scholarly encyclopedias are arranged alphabetically, or your topic might be covered in a larger entry.
• Try to find cross references. Look for "see also" at the beginning or end of a topic.
• Look for citations at the end of an entry. Helpful secondary books and articles may be listed, and you may even find citations to primary source material. Build a citation chain using this material.

Example

Notice how this entry on "Newtonianism" from The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas supplies an extensive bibliography of both primary and secondary sources: