Subject Librarian
How to Use This Guide
How To Use This Guide: Use the "Getting Started" box to become more familiar with your topic. When you have more information, move on to the sources in "Find Current News". Consider the publications in order to find reliable reporting. When you need specific evidence or numbers, search for "Data and Statistics".
Get in Touch: If you have questions about research or finding good articles, please email me!
1. Getting Started
Start your research process by looking into background information on your topic. You want to understand a little bit of history and context and also to identify search terms. Below are some good places to look for background info. It can also be helpful to do a general Google search on your topic and find one really great article - pay attention to how they frame the issue and the terms they use. A video with more tips on keywords is below.
- Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new windowContains overviews and pro/con essays on current controversial issues. Also includes recent newspaper, magazine, and journal articles.
- Vox ExplainerVox breaks down current events with background info and links to other relevant articles.
- WikipediaWikipedia is a great source for overviews and background info, especially on topics that aren't covered as much in the mainstream press. Use it as a jumping off point, and be careful with articles that have very few references.
2. Find Current News & Analysis
Once you understand the basics of your topic, you want to look for information on recent developments. Pay attention to the source (publisher) or your article and mostly stick to major news outlets. There are a number of ways you can search for news; I've collected a few below.
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowGeneral database good for all subject areas. Contains newspaper, magazine and scholarly journal articles.
- ProQuest Central This link opens in a new windowThe largest single periodical resource available, bringing together complete databases across all major subject areas, including Business, Health and Medical, Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, and Humanities.
- Google NewsSearch a wide spectrum of news stories on a topic. Remember that Opinion or Editorial articles are more slanted and different from straight reporting.
3. Data & Statistics
There are lots of places to find data; many articles that you may have found through other links above may also include data. Data can easily be manipulated though so you may want to do some independent research on statistics about your topic. Below are some sites to find data & statistics and a pre-formatted Google search. Searching in Google for [site:.gov voter registration and data] gives you just government sites with data on voter registration. Substitute a different topic for voter registration to find statistics on other issues.
- Tips on using Statistics in your Research PaperHelpful info on using statistics to make your argument as strong as possible.
- US Data & StatisticsGovernment website with demographic, population and economic data.
- Pew Research CenterIndependent fact center that does original research on issues facing the world.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowContains statistical data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas. Easy to download graphs and charts for powerpoint presentations.