Research and Course Guides: ENGL297.L01: Contemporary American Lit, Dr. Roth-Reinhardt Summer 2020: Background Resources

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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.

Background Resources (current issues)

The resources below contain opposing views, in-depth reports on a variety of social issues, and more (full-text):

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
A one-stop source for information on a variety of social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, as well as full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Political scientists, journalists & economics researchers are going to find original information on health care, criminal justice, political and social trends, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy. Each report includes an overview; background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; pro/con statements from representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources.
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window
Issues & Controversies explore 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.

Online Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Background resources for broader topics (definitions of terms, topics, etc):

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Full-text encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Oxford Reference contains full text dictionaries and encyclopedias from the Oxford University Press. It is easy to search and contains entries on a wide array of topics from business, computing and environmental science to art, biology, literature, religion, and political science.

Biographical Resources

Gale in Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
Biography in Context includes over 700,000 biographical entries covering more than 400,000 notable international figures from all time periods and areas of study.