COMM 111- Rolain-Jacobs

Couple Research Tips

Pay attention to dates. When you are looking to address a policy change, you need

to know the current state of the policy. What is being decided locally, at the state

level or national level. 

       Pay attention to Jurisdiction. Where does the authority for change lie? 

3 Research Steps to Successful Research 

1. Explore and pick a topic

       2. Learn the basics of your topic: Who, what, when, where, why. You should be able to talk for a minute,

          without repeating yourself, on your possible topic.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 When you participate in research or scholarship, you are entering into an ongoing conversation; you

 have to listen or read about that conversation before finding an interesting, relevant  question. Many

 try to skip this step and end up frustrated. You wouldn't want to go up to two strangers on the street

 and join their conversation before you knew what they were talking about.

      3. Find an interesting question--not too easy, not too fuzzy, not too many parts, not too impossible.

          Should require analysis and thought.

Steps #1-3 Topic Exploration

Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS)

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and

Members of Congress.CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early

considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight

of enacted laws and various agency activities.

Very Short Introductions

Offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides discussions of the central issues in a given topic combining facts, analysis, and new ideas to make often challenging topics highly readable.

CQ Researcher

The CQ Researcher explores a single hot issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range

from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There

are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context

The premier online resource covering all sides of contemporary social issues.

ProCon.org

        ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit nonpartisan public charity that provides well-sourced pro, con, and

        related research on more than 50 controversial issues, from gun control and death penalty to illegal

        immigration and alternative energy. 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-- Opinion Columns

Public Agenda Online - Public debates on hot topics offering various views, pro and con. Click on the

Priorities tab at the top

Rand Corporation – a nonprofit institution that addresses the challenges facing the public and private sectors

around the world. Their website contains research and hot topics.

Government Search

       For current information on the state of a particular issue or bill, try searching in the Government

       domain online. For example; 'your search term site:.gov'

       Data Use: statistical data can be a tremendous support of for your persuasive speech. 

        For congressional bills go here

        US Data and Statistics Home - scroll down to review all government data sources- explore one

        that relates to topic

Journal, Magazine and Newspaper Articles ( Only after you have a tentative question

and keywords)

Academic Search Complete

Academic Search Complete contains more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc.

LexisNexis Academic

Academic Universe provides access to nearly 5,000 publications on a wide range of topics: news, business, legal, and reference information. In Business, it includes company financials, SEC Filings and reports, directories, accounting journals & more

Ethnic NewsWatch

Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. A rich collection of articles, editorials, columns, and reviews provide a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints -- the other sides of the stories. This resource is searchable in both English and Spanish.

Environment Complete

Use for environmental topics

SocIndex with Full Text

Use for topics concerning social topics or society

Political Science Complete
Political topics

SportDiscus

Topics related to sports and athletics

References 

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Great information on citing a variety of sources in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. This site also includes a lot of good information on the

writing and research process.

Citing References in Your Paper

Great site from the UW Madison Writing Center. 

Images (Public domain and copyright friendly images)

        Pixabay

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Google Images

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