Jane Long
MLIS, University of Oklahoma
MA, Wright State University
Reference Services Librarian
Al Harris Library jane.long@swosu.edu

• What can be done to maintain our natural resources?
• Do Americans need health care? What does the taxing of health care mean?
• Is traditional marriage going out of style?
• Do Americans need more security when they are using the Internet?
• What has happened to the automotive industry in the United States?
• Why are U.S. troops fighting in
Afghanistan?

– Library Catalog
• Reference Area
• Search the catalog for:
– Books, ebooks, videos
– Databases
• TOPICsearch
• CQ Researcher
• Issues and Controversies
• Points of View Reference Center
• Newsbank Access World News , Newspaper
Source Plus

• Issue
• Controversy
• Statistic
• Ethical
• Rights
• Debate
• Attitude
• Trend
• Condition
Examples:
• Rights and poverty
• death penalty and
Controversy
• household spending and
Statistics

• An Ebsco product
• Use Limiters to Narrow Search
• Example: Environment
– Current Events
– Full Text
– Topics
– Document Type

• Ebooks
– Greenwood Ebooks
– Ebrary Academic Complete Collection

• CQ Researcher
– contains in-depth, unbiased coverage of current issues
• Issues and Controversies
– provides up-to-date, objective information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day
• Points of View Reference Center
– provides a variety of essays presenting multiple sides of a current issue

• Identify your topic
• State the position you will support
• Highlight points of your discussion
• Use quality information to support your position
– Pro/Con Materials
– Opinion Polls
– Statistics

• Whales are mammals.
• Whales are superior to dolphins.
• Stephen King is talented.
• Stephen King is a prolific writer.
• Abraham Lincoln was the best president the United States has ever had.
• John Adams was the second president of the United States.

• Oil over $100 is cause for concern.
• Harvard economists believe oil over
$100 is cause for concern.
– A COLLECTIVE OPINION IS
STRONGER THAN A SINGLE OPINION

• A lot of freshman drop out of SWOSU each academic year.
• 40% of freshman drop out of SWOSU each academic year.
– NUMBERS CARRY WEIGHT, PEOPLE
ARE INFLUENCED BY STATISTICS

• Pros (Strengths)
– A consensus of opinions are much stronger than a single opinion
– Reflects the culture and society that experience these issues and events
(primary resource)
• Cons (Weaknesses)
– Less concrete
– A view formed by someone’s belief which can be biased
– Not necessarily the truth
– Opinions can differ widely
• Pros (Strengths)
– Very concrete
– Based in scientific/research methodology
– Data supports arguments
– Statistics helps determine the accuracy of information in the evaluation process
• Cons (Weaknesses)
– Data can be manipulated
– Unless data collection is a regular practice, data can become outdated and irrelevant

• Editorials on File
– Ref 070.43 Ed48 (from 1970 to 2003)
• Gallup Poll
– Ref 301.154 G13g
– http://www.gallup.com
– an organization studying human nature and behavior for more than 70 years through public surveys
– collects attitudes and opinions of individuals and key groups within the American population concerning national and international issues and events

– American Attitudes
• 303.38 M6958a 2000
– Americans at Play
• 790.068 W462a
– Education Statistics of the United States
• 370.9021 Ed836
– Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
• 364.973 B9524 2003
– Statistical Handbook on the American Family
• 301.421 St295 1999
– World Almanac
• 317.3 W89

• Government Information
– Provides statistical information directly from the U.S. Government and the agencies who collect the data.
– Google U.S. Government Search http://www.google.com/ig/usgov

• Pew Research Center (Main Site)
– http://pewresearch.org
• Pew Global Attitudes Project
– http://pewglobal.org
• Pew Internet & American Life Project
– http://www.pewinternet.org
• Pew Hispanic Center
– http://pewhispanic.org
• Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
– http://pewforum.org

•
• http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/
• Includes facts, statistics, interviews of supporters and opponents, and much more on key issues. The site maintains an archive going back
•
•
CNN Special Reports to 1995.
National Center for Policy Analysis
• http://www.ncpa.org
• NCPA is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research organization whose goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector.
SpeakOut.com
• http://speakout.com/activism/issues/
• Provides issues arranged by topic categories. The site is devoted to promoting activism in a variety of areas.

Study the Resources
Consider Topic Possibilities
Formulate a Research Question
Topic: Environmentally Friendly Transportation
People around the world are considering the significance of conserving our resources. For many, this changes the way they think about travel within their communities.
Question: How can methods of transportation be changed to save natural resources and improve community spirit?

• Contact me:
– Jane Long
• 774-3030
• jane.long@swosu.edu
• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long