Susan Gaskin-Noel, MLS
Mercy College Libraries
sgaskinnoel@mercy.edu
©2010/2011
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A good topic should be:
 A current event
 An issue of interest to your peers
 One aspect of that issue
 Something you feel strongly about
 Something not too controversial
Choosing a Persuasive Speech Topic Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJbQrLHt4vY
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Good Topics
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Not So Good topics
 Cell Phone Use
 Death Penalty
 Fashion Trends
 Global Warming
 Reality TV
 Legalizing Drugs
 Smoking (schools)
 Religion (schools)
 Tuition Rate Hikes
 Terrorism
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Books and Media Catalog
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Go to the “Advanced Search” screen
Type in your topic
Also try “opposing viewpoints”
Limit to Books (optional)
Select “Dobbs Ferry” from Location and
Availability
 Write down the location
Ask for help finding the items on the shelf
Topic
Type
Campus
M
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Current Events
▪ CQ Researcher
Provides in-depth reporting and analysis on issues and
provides historical background on the topic, outside
commentary, pro/con arguments, chronological
information, etc.
▪ Issues and Controversies
Issues and Controversies provides background
information, explanations of opposing points of view,
and factual analysis of current events and issues.
More Databases for Current Events
General
▪ ProQuest
Articles from journals, magazines and newspapers in a
wide range of subject areas – full text
▪ Wilson
Articles from journals and magazines in most subject
areas – full text
Menu
Other Search Options
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The Journal Locator is a browseable and
searchable database for finding periodicals
owned or linked to by Mercy libraries.
Periodicals include:
 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Journals
Do Not Use to Search for a Specific Article
C
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L
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Include the word “statistics” in your keyword
searching of the databases
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Click on “By the Numbers” in Issues and
Controversies
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Books and Media Catalog
http://mercy.waldo.kohalibrary.com/cgibin/koha/opac-search.pl
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Google Images
http://www.google.com
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You Tube
http://www.youtube.com
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Web searching should only be done after you
have exhausted your libraries’ resources
Why?
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Millions of choices
The web has no quality control
Often difficult to determine credibility
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If you must use the web, check for:
 Domain - .edu, .org, .net
 Author/Authority
 Publishing body
 Currency
 Bias
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Evaluating Internet Sources
http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/ev
aluating/index.html
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APA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF)
Guidelines and examples of APA (6th edition) provided by Mercy College
Librarians.
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APA Guidelines - Purdue OWL
Purdue University Online Writing Lab - citing APA style.
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APA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF)
Example of how to structure an APA research paper, from Purdue Online
Writing Lab.
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MLA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF)
Guidelines and examples of MLA (7th edition) provided by Mercy
College Librarians.
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MLA Guidelines - Purdue OWL
Purdue University Online Writing lab - citing MLA style.
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MLA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF)
Example of how to structure a MLA research paper, from Purdue Online
Writing Lab.
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Go to the libraries’ website
 Under Resources
▪ Select Course and Subject Guides
▪ Select Speech from the drop-down menu, click Go
▪ Select Speech 110 - Persuasive (PowerPoint)
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Direct URL:
http://www.mercy.edu/libraries/SPCM110_Persuasive.pptx