Recommended Resources
Library resources are an ideal place to start for research: librarians have cultivated all kinds of high quality, college-worthy resources available to you for free -- no paywalls! Plus, library sources have already been vetted and approved, so you don't have to wonder if they're okay to use for your research. In fact, they've been selected based on the classes you can take and the assignments your instructors develop here at Jefferson College.
Below are library resources that are great starting points for this assignment, including a series of databases specifically intended to help you gain a better understanding of your topic from multiple perspectives without bias.
SIRS Issues Researcher
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SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new windowContains information on controversial topics of current interest. Provides topic overviews, links, full-text popular sources, multimedia, and websites that are carefully selected from thousands of domestic and international sources.
Issues & Controversies
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Issues & ControversiesUpdated weekly, with an extensive back-file, Issues & Controversies offers in-depth articles—each presenting both sides of an issue clearly, coherently, and without bias—made to inspire thought-provoking debates.
Points of View Reference Center
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Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new windowProvides students with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Also included are articles from periodicals, books, biographies, radio and television transcripts, primary source documents, images and videos.
Academic Search Complete
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Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowAcademic Search Complete offers an enormous collection of full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, it includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.
Opposing Viewpoints
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Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new windowFind pro and con viewpoint articles on controversial topics. Includes periodical articles along with thousands of podcasts.
CQ Researcher
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CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowWeekly reports offer in-depth, unbiased coverage of pressing political or social issues including health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Originally created as a means to inform government elected officials about important topics. Covers 1923-present.
NOTE: Once you click the link, you will need to select "CQ Researcher" again on the following page.
Reference Sources
Reference sources are sources that provide factual information about a topic, like encyclopedias, dictionaries, manuals, guidebooks, and more. These sources are ideal for getting more familiar with a subject, gathering background information, or starting research. NOTE: These are not scholarly/academic/peer-reviewed research sources.
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Britannica Online This link opens in a new windowCombines Encyclopædia Britannica and Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, periodicals, atlas, world data, the Classics, biographies, news, and multimedia.
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CredoWith regular updates, this Collection includes 3 million entries from notable subject encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, companions and readers covering over 80 major subject disciplines and more than 6 million research concepts. In addition to full-text content, the Academic Core Collection provides access to more than 1,000 videos and animations, as well as 500,000 contextual visual aids, images, photographs and maps.