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- Controversial Issues
Controversial Issues
Provides resources focusing on current issues from a variety of perspectives, including background information and pro/con.
Librarian
What Everyone Needs to Know
A series of short books on current and controversial topics from a balanced point of view. You can find by searching "What Everyone Needs to Know" in QuickSearch. A few examples from the series are listed below.
The Opioid Epidemic by Publication Date: 2019
Marijuana Legalization by Publication Date: 2016
Climate Change by Publication Date: 2018
Sources for Topics
- Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new windowProvides information on contemporary social issues including pro/con viewpoint articles, statistical tables, charts and graphs, primary documents, biographies, court case overviews, images, video and audio files, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles. Periodical content includes Lexile reading levels. Updated continuously.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowProvides in-depth, analytical reporting on the most current and controversial issues of the day. Every week a new report examines a single topic of public concern giving the reader a broad overview of the subject, including historical background, and a discussion of current controversies and initiatives, highlighting the range of opinions among experts.
- Pew Research CenterNonpartisan research and statistics on a number of topics including immigration, social trends, U.S. politics, religion, the media, technology, and more.
News Sources
News databases can provide a source for topics, as well as opinion pieces and a variety of perspectives depending on the intended audience of the source.
- NewsBank This link opens in a new windowProvides access to databases containing full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers, journals and magazines, newswires, government documents, and worldwide radio and TV broadcasts. Also includes the digital Archive of Americana: Early American Imprints Series I (Evans - 1639-1800) and Series II (Shaw - Shoemaker- 1801-1819) collections.
- Access World News (NewsBank) This link opens in a new windowSelected full-text news articles from thousands of U.S., African, Asian, Australian, and European newspapers, newswires, and blogs. Most sources are in English with some Spanish-language sources from the Americas. Does not include paid advertising, photographs, or images.
-- Texas newspapers
-- Access Business News - Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowFull-text current and historical newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority presses of the U.S. and Canada. Provides the unique viewpoint of Hispanic, Native Peoples, African American, Caribbean, Asian/Pacific Islander, European/Eastern European, and Jewish communities. Dates of coverage: 1959-current.
- Alt-PressWatch (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowProvides the full text of over 170 regional newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press across a range of topics, including ecology, grassroots organizing, labor, indigenous peoples, public policy, and genetics. Alternative newsweeklies provide reviews of local theater, movies, books, and local attractions.