PathFinder: Controversial Issues
 

Websites you'll need:

When you write a persuasive essay or argumentative essay, or when you are giving an oral presentation in class, you will want to identify as many points or arguments in favor of your case as possible. In order to be convincing, you also need to know what the other side's case or arguments are. In other words, you need to know the pros and cons as well. First, see if your instructor has suggestions. Sometimes they get tired of reading paperson the sme old subjects. (And they get very familiar with the sources, and will know immediately if you've missed some key ones.)





Finding ideas using books:


REF    Encyclopedia of Social Issues. 6 vols.
HN
57
.E59


REF    The Encyclopedia of Bioethics.
QH
332
.E52
1995
This is an excellent source for issues that contain both ethical and biological components. The article on abortion, for example, gives the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish points of view.

Check LOIS (our library catalog) or OhioLINK, doing a title or word
search, for the following series of books:
• Contemporary World Issues
• Opposing Viewpoints Series.
• The Reference Shelf Series.
• Taking Sides Series.
• Current Controversies Series


Each of the series listed above publishes individual books on these and other topics in a compact, readable form. They always contain articles on two or more sides of every issue. You can also locate them by looking up the series title in LOIS or OhioLINK. If our copy of the book you want is checked out, look it up in the OhioLINK Library Catalog to see if there are copies available to borrow.


Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) is available to CSCC students online. It includes essays from Greenhaven Press’ Opposing Viewpoints Series. See OVRC handout for details.


Locating Magazine & Journal Articles Using Online Databases
To search within a database for journals on a subject:


• Go to OhioLINK and click on Explore OhioLINK Databases > By Subject.
• Choose the subject area that you would like to search, such as Psychology if you want articles from psychology journals for your research.
• Click on the title of the database to which you wish to connect.
• Enter your search terms or use subject categories.


You can also explore OhioLINK Databases by name. Here are a few databases which include starting places for controversial or opposing viewpoints:


• Academic Search Premier – good for general articles in many subject areas.
• A Matter of Fact – resource for statistics
• FACTS.com (access available only through OhioLINK databases)
• Newspaper Source, NewsBank, or LexisNexis
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center – USERNAME/PASSWORD needed for
off-campus access. Call the library for details.


Hints on Searching . . .

Academic Search Premier:

  • Type keywords in the boxes, or browse subjects.
  • To find different sides of a topic, type your subject and another word, such as views, opinions, or controversy. This will help you narrow in to articles that contain varying opinions.
  • Check the boxes for full text only or scholarly if you’d like those options
    applied.
  • Many articles are available in full text—either HTML or PDF formats.
  • You can select article(s) to print or email to yourself using the folders.


FACTS.com (access through OhioLINK):

FACTS.com has subjects available for browsing. Look at the “Special Features” and “Issues & Controversies” section in.


Finding a website to use for research:
The World Wide Web is full of places where you can search for the information you
need. There are many search sites to choose from and it can be difficult to know which
ones offer the best place to start when you want quality sites. Here are some
recommended websites to start with that provide evaluated, highly selective websites:


• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (Subscription resource
• available to CSCC students. See separate handout for details).
• Librarian’s Index to the Internet
• Infomine
• Internet Public Library For information on citing your resources, pick up the Citing your Resources handout available in the Library or on the Library website.


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Updated: 16 May 2005