Reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries are often an excellent starting point for research. They offer reliable background information on many issues and topics.
Background Resources provide excellent coverage of Hot Topics with a good foundation for understanding many current issues.
The resources below contain opposing views, in-depth reports on a variety of social issues, and more (full-text):
Issues & Controversies explores more than 800 timely, in-depth, and objective articles on topics such as politics, government, business, education, and popular culture. It is updated weekly and provides links to a 13-year backfile. Also included are links to news coverage, pros and cons statements, timelines, statistics, etc.
Background resources for broader topics (definitions of terms, topics, etc):
Includes over 700,000 biographical entries covering more than 400,000 notable international figures from all time periods and areas of study.