If your topic is related to technology, medicine, science, and current events, you will want to use current information, unless you are also tracing the history of a debatable issue.
Print resources in Magale Library
- Located in the Main Collection on the third floor and available for checkout are books in the Opposing Viewpoints series from Greenhaven Press. These will have different call numbers, depending upon the subjects of the books. Each book in the OV series has numerous debatable questions that lend themselves to a persuasive speech or paper. Typing Opposing Viewpoints in the Series line in the library catalog allows you to see which books Magale Library has in the series. Other series along the same lines are Introducing Issues with Opposing Viewpoints, Contemporary Issues Companion, At Issue, and Issues That Concern You.
- Type your subject in the subject line in the library catalog for books, films, government documents, etc. pertaining to your subject.
- Taking Sides is a series located in the Reference Collection. The books’ call numbers begin with AC 1 T35. Current issues are presented in a debate-style format. Pro and con essays provide views from leading scholars and commentators in their fields. Sample titles are Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Drugs and Society, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues.
Online resources from Magale Library
- CQ Researcher from the list of Databases by Title provides in-depth information on a variety of debatable subjects. Each week there is a new issue of CQ Researcher. The library’s subscription goes back to 1991, and users can see that some questions continue to challenge us and have been revisited over the years. CQ Researcher provides a background of the question, a chronology, the current situation, the outlook for it, and many resource suggestions for further investigation.
- TOPICSearch database, accessed through EBSCOhost, is a current events database offering ready-made searches under Topics and also under Current Events on the lower half of the page, or you can enter your own search terms in the blanks at the top of the page.
- Academic Search Complete , accessed through EBSCOhost, is a multi-disciplinary(many subject areas) database with many full-text articles from magazines and journals.
These are the starting points for research into your topic, and your search may lead you to other databases or sources. As always, please ask a librarian when you need help finding more information.
