Pro/Con Resources for
Argumentative Topics
Jane Long
MLIS, University of Oklahoma
MA, Wright State University
Reference Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
jane.long@swosu.edu
Pew Research Center
Where Do You Fit ?
Potential Topics Based on
Current Issues in the News
• Why should I care about the
environment?
• What is happening with health care
reform?
• Why are U.S. troops fighting in
Afghanistan?
• If flu-like illnesses are prevalent, who
should be vaccinated?
• Is the American economy improving?
Pro/Con
Green: Yes or No?
Where do I start?
– TOPICsearch
– Pro/Con Resources
• Contemporary Issues
• Opposing Viewpoints
• Reference Shelf
• Taking Sides
– Pro/Con Resources
• CQ Researcher
• Issues and Controversies
• Points of View Reference Center
Helpful Keywords to Use
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Issue
Controversy
Statistic
Ethical
Rights
Debate
Attitude
Trend
Condition
Examples:
• Rights and poverty
• death penalty and
Controversy
• household spending and
Statistics
TOPICsearch
• An Ebsco product
• Use Limiters to Narrow Search
• Example: Environment
– Current Events
– Full Text
– Topics
– Document Type
Pro/Con Resources
• Book Series
– Contemporary Issues
– Opposing Viewpoints
– Reference Shelf
– Taking Sides
Pro/Con Resources
• CQ Researcher
• contains information on current and
controversial issues concentric to the U.S.
Government
• Points of View Reference Center
• provides a variety of essays presenting
multiple sides of a current issue
• Issues and Controversies
• provides up-to-date, objective information
on the most prominent and hotly debated
issues of the day
Argumentative Information
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Identify your topic
State the position you will support
Highlight points of your discussion
Use information to support your
position
– Pro/Con Materials
– Opinion Polls
– Statistics
Which sounds better?
• 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
Opinion or Fact?
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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.
Opinions vs. Facts
• 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
Which sounds better?
• 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
Opinion Resources
• Editorials on File
– Ref 070.43 Ed48
• 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
Statistical Resources
– 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
http://www.swosu.edu/library/infoservices/govdocs/gov.htm
Statistical Resources
• 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
Online Surveys & Reports
• 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
World Wide Web: Resources
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CNN Special Reports
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National Center for Policy Analysis
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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
to 1995.
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/index.html
Provides issues arranged by topic categories. The site is devoted to
promoting activism in a variety of areas.
Ready to Select a Topic?
Exercise:
Argumentative Resources Worksheet
Topic: Environmental Concerns
Locations around the world are
considering the significance of recycling
and the importance of conservation.
Greening brings about the need for many
changes in the way things are done. Is it
necessary?
Question: What can communities do to
protect their natural resources? Is living
green necessary?
Questions?
• Contact me:
– Jane Long
• 774-3030
• jane.long@swosu.edu
• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long/
Thanks!