The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries

Guide to Finding Topics and Information for Papers and Speeches

Databases

CQ Researcher. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. 1991 - .
A weekly magazine providing valuable information on complex and controversial current events and social, political, economic, and international issues. Each magazine includes a summary of the issue, historical perspective, recent development and a bibliography.
Location: Call No. H35.E35, 2nd Floor South.
Available in the library's Article Databases under CQ Library.

CQ Weekly Report. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
Contains facts and analysis of weekly events in Congress.
Location: Call No. JK1.C15. Current year in Reference Services, 1^st floor, on Ready Reference shelf. Prior issues on Microfiche, 2nd Floor South.
Available in the library's Article Databases under CQ Library.

Facts on File. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 1941-present.
A detailed weekly compilation of world events from 70 major newspapers and news magazines from around the world. Index is cumulative by subject and name.
Location: Call No. D410.F3. Bound copies are in the Reference Services, 1^st floor.

Keesings' Record of World Events. London: Longman, 1987-present.
A compilation of monthly world news. Arranged by continent. Also includes cumulative subject index.
Location: Call No. D410.K4. Reference Services, 1^st floor. Also available online through Keesings' Record of World Events.

100 Research Topic Guides for Students by Barbara Borne
A bibliography giving ideas about where to look for information on specific topics.
Location: Call No. Z710.B73 1996. 5th Floor Stacks.

Academic Search Premier Full-Text.
Database of current, popular articles.
Available in the library's Article Databases under: Academic Search Premier Full-Text.

Newspaper Resources
List of full-text newspaper article databases. Available in the library's Article Databases by Subject under Newspapers.

Newsbank's "Hot Topics"
Lists current events and controversial topics that can be found in the Newsbank database and provides search terms to find articles on these topics (look on left side once in the database).
Available in the library's Article Databases under Newsbank.

TopicSearch
Current events database exploring social, political & economic issues, scientific discoveries and other popular topics discussed in today's classrooms.
Available in the library's Article Databases under TopicSearch

Internet Resources

Browse these sites to find news and articles on various issues or topics. As with any Internet resource, the sites listed below are going to present information from different points of view, such as conservative, liberal, or religious. Be sure to look at the "About" page provided on most sites to determine the point of view or bias of the site or organization. In your speech or paper, you may want to include information from several sites that cover your topic.

About.com - News/Issues - http://home.about.com/newsissues/index.htm
Links to About.com sections dealing with Issues/Causes and Current Events.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - http://www.aclu.org
Find news and articles on Death Penalty, HIV/AIDS, Immigration, Lesbian & Gay rights, Racial Equality, Students Rights, Women's Rights and other issues involving the rights of individuals.

American Psychological Association - Resource for the Public - http://www.apa.org/topics/homepage.html
Find information on aging, AIDS, children, depression, disabilities, lesbian & bisexuals issues, mind, body, & health, minorities, parenting & family, and women.

Associations on the Net - http://www.ipl.org/div/aon/
Find official sites for associations and organizations by subject or keyword search. For example, the American Cancer Society, The Society of American Magicians (SAM), or the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Both Sides - National Center for Policy Analysis - http://www.ncpa.org/sid/
Public policy debate center includes topics from crime to welfare.

FrontLine - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/
PBS series devoted to in-depth reporting of controversial and political issues.

How Stuff Works by Marshall Brain - http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Hundreds of articles, with diagrams, on how things work. Topics include things like Engines, Electronics, Food, Computers, Around the House, Your Body, and more.

Media Awareness Network: Media Issues - http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/issues/intro.htm
Covers media issues such as Challenging Online Hate, Media Violence, and Portrayal of Diversity. Also includes statistics.

Social Psychology Links - http://www.socialpsychology.org/social.htm
Topics include racism, sexism, civil rights, affirmative action, gender studies, interpersonal relationships, violence.

SpeakOut.com - http://www.speakout.com/
Find news articles about issues such as Abortion, Death Penalty, Education, Gun Control, Race Relations, and Technology, among others.

USM Government Resources
Find U.S. Government Web sites by agency or subject, or go to Statistical Abstracts of the U.S. to find valuable statistical resources.

Resources for Preparing Speeches

USM Libraries' Media Guide to Preparing Speeches and Dealing with Speech Anxiety
Variety of resources available on video in 2nd Floor South of Cook Library. Includes listing of Great Speeches Video Series.