Backgrounder:MOST

A MOST backgrounder is a well researched and referenced collection of facts related to a specific topic. They are given in bullet point form with a full reference (or more) so they can be used in many publications. Normally the backgrounder is assigned as a list of factual questions and then the researcher looks for sources for those questions.

Hierarchy of sources

All sources are not the same and just because it is in a book or on the web does not make it true or trustworthy. Sources preferred as answers are in the following order of preference

Peer reviewed journal articles - get from https://scholar.google.com/
Government reports
News stories
NPO reports
patents
the web

Format for web reference

Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published). Title. [online] Available at: http://web.archive.org/web/20180811212301/http://www3.website/ URL [Accessed Date Accessed].

You can export Harvard style references from Google Scholar and from Zotero.

Example

Question: How much PV is expected to be installed in the US in 2016?

14.5GW
- Solar Energy Industry Association. (2016). Solar Industry Data. [online] Available at: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data [Accessed July 31, 2016].

Note the answer is in an incomplete sentence with a properly formatted reference after the data. Harvard Reference style preferred with a direct hyperlink to the data.

Page data
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License	CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language	English (en)
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Created	July 31, 2016 by Joshua M. Pearce
Last edit	January 9, 2026 by MetadescriptionsBot
Cite as	J.M.Pearce (2016–2026). "Backgrounder:MOST". Appropedia. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
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