Get Background Information and Topic Ideas
Use Reference Resources to:
- Get ideas on a research topic
- Get background information
- Explore related concepts
- Get authoritative and concise information
- Discover topic pros and cons
Selected resources on this page include contemporary and controversial issues to help you start the research assignment. Each reference database contains unique information. For example, the CQ Researcher provides comprehensive information on a topic while Points of View Reference supports both sides of a controversial issue with multiple types of formats.
Reference Databases
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Provides in-depth original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Offers unbiased and authoritative coverage of political, social, and cultural issues, with regular reports on a wide range of topics including: health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, the U.S. economy, crime, and civil liberties.
Includes background information, chronology, maps, charts, issues, pros/cons, discussion questions, issues, and more.
See: opens new windowCQ Researcher OverView (4:04 mins.) and opens new windowTutorial (2:28 mins.)
- Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Current, controversial topics with multiple sides supported by articles, primary sources, news briefs, interviews, and more. Browse topics by category or try a basic keyword search. Includes magazines, newspapers, academic journals, radio and TV transcripts, international newspapers, and more.
See: opens new windowTutorial (2:52 mins.)
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Full text articles in more than 1,100 reference books.
View opens newwindowtitles.
Use Topics to get an overview, definitions, biographies, related topics, images and more. More than 11,000 topics to limit by subject or search. Credo's Mind Map displays a visualization of related topics to your search term.
Examples:
• opens new windowPop Culture Topic Page
• opens new windowProCon Pages
• opens new windowDNA Replication Animation (0:34mins.)
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Specialized encyclopedias, handbooks and other reference books.
View opens newwindowtitles.
Topic Finder (shown in images), presents two visuals of related, narrower, and broader topics you can use to refine your original search results to the documents also containing that subject or term you select.
- Britannica® Online Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Selected Websites
Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues
- ProCon.org This link opens in a new window
Includes primary source documents, statistical evidence, government research and documents, and more.
See: opens new windowDebate Topics! | opens new windowHow to Cite ProCon.org in Bibliographies
Objective Analysis and Effective Solutions
Example: opens new windowMining the Moon for Rocket Fuel to Get Us to Mars (Blog post)
Sample MLA citation for the blog post:
Li, Gary, et al. "Mining the Moon for Rocket Fuel to Get Us to Mars." Commentary from The Conversation, 16 Mary 2017. The RAND Blog, www.rand.org/blog/2017/05/mining-the-moon-for-rocket-fuel-to-get-us-to-mars.html.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping the World
- opens new windowUnited States Census Bureau: Index A-Z
Examples: "opens new windowPayday, Poverty, and Women" - opens new windowBLS Reports (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor)
"BLS Reports provide analytical information related to the labor force, consumer spending, earnings, and work injuries and illnesses. Typically, reports contain a few pages of written analysis followed by statistical tables...." - opens new windowSpotlight on Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor)
Each edition of Spotlight on Statistics features graphics, maps, and brief written analysis to illustrate BLS data that examine the U.S. labor market and economy." - opens new windowPew Research Center
A "nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonadvocacy organization." Includes "public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research." Categories include "U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends." - opens new windowBarna Trends: Research
Barna is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984.
- International Labor Organization (ILO) - UN Agency for the world of work. Topics include child labour, gender equality, economic and global development, future of work, poverty, and more.
- Internet Archive - Search the history of over 562 billion web pages.
Selected Reference Books & Ebooks
Reference books provide background information, facts and information or an overview of a subject. Use the book's table of contents to locate a topic and view related or narrower topics.
To find reference books, search the library catalog and filter results to Reference Collection or browse the book titles in reference databases opens new windowGale Ebooks and opens new windowCredo Reference
Sample Titles:
The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories
by Does the CIA covertly utilize ""mind control"" drugs and techniques? Are satanic messages sublimin ally hidden in popular music? Were Freemasons behind London's Jack the Ripper murders? Does your vote really count or is the U.S. president chosen by secretive societies such as the Bilderberg Group and the Illumin ati? In an objective, fact-based manner, ""The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories"" thoroughly documents and explores these and other provocative questions. This intriguing reference provides more than 500 detailed entries that define the major conspiracies, both proven and unproven, throughout history. From the ""inheritance powder"" of the Medicis to the U. N. oil-for-food scandal, this encyclopedia investigates the broad history of conspiracies and their impact on global affairs and everyday life. Entries include biographies, specific events, profiles of groups, and thumbnail histories of notorious nations.Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Issues and Controversies
by Popular Culture: A User's Guide, International Edition ventures beyond the history of pop culture to give readers the vocabulary and tools to address and analyze the contemporary cultural landscape that surrounds them. Moves beyond the history of pop culture to give students the vocabulary and tools to analyze popular culture suitable for the study of popular culture across a range of disciplines, from literary theory and cultural studies to philosophy and sociology Covers a broad range of important topics including the underlying socioeconomic structures that affect media, the politics of pop culture, the role of consumers, subcultures and countercultures, and the construction of social reality Examines the ways in which individuals and societies act as consumers and agents of popular culturePublication Date: 2019
Literature in Propaganda
by "Throughout history, propaganda has been used in one form another to influence the public opinion for or against one cause or another. From early theater, to public speeches, to magazines, books, film and more, propaganda pervades our society. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines propaganda as ""2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person 3: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also: a public action having such an effect."" How is propaganda described in literature? How is it used to influence our views? How do we recognize a work as propaganda? Literature Of Propaganda showcases propaganda portrayed in literature: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. It also features literature that was specifically created as propaganda or used in that way: The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck, and The Leopard's Spots; The Clansman; The Traitor by Thomas Dixon. finally, it explores works that deliver a vision as described by an influential leader: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung by Mao Tse-Tung, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. "Publication Date: 2013-06-05
Women in World Religions [2 Volumes]
by This reference offers reliable knowledge about women's diverse faith practices throughout history and prehistory, and across cultures. * Offers nearly 300 reference articles by international scholars of religion, women, and history * Provides an overview of the religious experiences of women across time, faiths, and cultures * Devotes sections to particular religious traditions to provide information about the role of women and the feminine devine within those faiths * Presents reference information about the experiences of women within religions * Directs the user to additional resources via suggestions for further reading and an end-of-work bibliographyPublication Date: 2018-11-16
Book Series - Click a book series title below, then click a book title or the book cover image to view book notes, table of contents and more. Record the call number to find the book on the shelves. Use the catalog "sort" option to put newest titles at the top of the list.
opens new window Contemporary World Issues
opens new windowOpposing Viewpoints and
opens new windowOpposing Viewpoints Unnumbered
130+ titles combined. Includes bibliographies and organizations.
opens new windowTaking Sides (17 titles)
Clashing views on controversial issues.
Selected Journals to Browse
opens new window Journal of Future Studies - The journal mission is to "develop high-quality, futures-oriented research and thinking, based on the evolving knowledge base of Futures Studies / Foresight. Topics include foresight, forecasting, long-range planning, visioning and other related areas."
opens new windowJournal of Religion & Popular Culture - Academic journal covering topics in religion and popular culture.
- Journal Finder + This link opens in a new windowUse key words to find titles relevant to your research topic. Then, browse and issue or search within the issue.
Academic Videos
- AVON: Academic Videos Online This link opens in a new window
Watch a Fun Video - In Living Color
"Why do we associate certain colors with certain things? And do we really see every color of the rainbow or is our world just a 'pigment' of our imagination?.... This is a show about your brain and colors. We're gonna mess with your mind as we put you through a series of games and experiments that will change everything you thought you knew about color." [The video starts at about 2:00mins, so be patient when you begin to watch the video.]