Research and Course Guides: COMM 100: Public Speaking (Einertson &amp; Armada): Background & Reference

Background and Opposing Views

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.
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window
In-depth articles on controversial topics such in areas like politics, government, business, education, and popular culture. Includes supporting resources like timelines, statistics, and pros/cons statements.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
This database contains current, in-depth reporting on health care, criminal justice, political and social trends, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy.

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

Pew Research Center
An incredibly valuable resource, the Pew Research Center provides information about issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other data-driven social science research. They do not take policy positions.

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

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Full-text encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Britannica Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Britannica Academic Edition contains the Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the largest, most authoritative encyclopedias in the world. Besides articles it includes ebooks, links to major news stories from the New York Times and the BBC, maps, photos, and other multi-media tools such as interactive timelines and videos. It also has Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, and the Britannica Student Encyclopedia.