Pro/Con Resources for Argumentative Topics

Jane LongMLIS, University of OklahomaMA, Wright State University

Reference Services LibrarianAl Harris Library jane.long@swosu.edu

Pew Research Center

Where Do You Fit ?

Potential Topics Based on Current Issues

• What can be done to maintain our natural resources?

• Do Americans need health care? What does the taxing of health care mean?

• Is traditional marriage going out of style?

• Do Americans need more security when they are using the Internet?

• What has happened to the automotive industry in the United States?

• Why are U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan?

Where do I start finding ideas for my topic?

– Library Catalog• Reference Area• Search the catalog for:

– Books, ebooks, videos

– Databases• TOPICsearch• CQ Researcher • Issues and Controversies• Points of View Reference Center• Newsbank Access World News,

Newspaper Source Plus

Helpful Keywords to Use

• Issue• Controve

rsy • Statistic• Ethical• Rights• Debate• Attitude• Trend• Conditio

n

Examples:• Rights and poverty• death penalty and Controversy

• household spending and Statistics

TOPICsearch

• An Ebsco product• Use Limiters to Narrow

Search

• Example: Environment– Current Events– Full Text– Topics– Document Type

Pro/Con Resources

• Ebooks– Greenwood Ebooks– Ebrary

Academic Complete Collection

Pro/Con Resources• CQ Researcher

– contains in-depth, unbiased coverage of current issues

• Issues and Controversies– provides up-to-date, objective

information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day

• Points of View Reference Center– provides a variety of essays

presenting multiple sides of a current issue

Argumentative Information• Identify your topic• State the position you will support• Highlight points of your discussion• Use quality information to support

your position– Pro/Con Materials– Opinion Polls– Statistics

Opinion or Fact?

• Whales are mammals.• Whales are superior to dolphins.• Stephen King is talented.• Stephen King is a prolific writer.• Abraham Lincoln was the best

president the United States has ever had.

• John Adams was the second president of the United States.

Which sounds better?

• Oil over $100 is cause for concern.

• Harvard economists believe oil over $100 is cause for concern.

– A COLLECTIVE OPINION IS STRONGER THAN A SINGLE OPINION

Which sounds better?

• A lot of freshman drop out of SWOSU each academic year.

• 40% of freshman drop out of SWOSU each academic year.

– NUMBERS CARRY WEIGHT, PEOPLE ARE INFLUENCED BY STATISTICS

Opinions vs. Facts• Pros (Strengths)

– A consensus of opinions are much stronger than a single opinion

– Reflects the culture and society that experience these issues and events (primary resource)

• Cons (Weaknesses)– Less concrete– A view formed by

someone’s belief which can be biased

– Not necessarily the truth

– Opinions can differ widely

• Pros (Strengths)– Very concrete– Based in

scientific/research methodology

– Data supports arguments

– Statistics helps determine the accuracy of information in the evaluation process

• Cons (Weaknesses)– Data can be

manipulated– Unless data collection

is a regular practice, data can become outdated and irrelevant

Opinion Resources• Editorials on File

– Ref 070.43 Ed48 (from 1970 to 2003)

• Gallup Poll – Ref 301.154 G13g– http://www.gallup.com– an organization studying human nature

and behavior for more than 70 years through public surveys

– collects attitudes and opinions of individuals and key groups within the American population concerning national and international issues and events

Statistical Resources

– American Attitudes• 303.38 M6958a 2000

– Americans at Play• 790.068 W462a

– Education Statistics of the United States• 370.9021 Ed836

– Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics• 364.973 B9524 2003

– Statistical Handbook on the American Family• 301.421 St295 1999

– World Almanac• 317.3 W89

Statistical Resources

• Government Information– Provides statistical information

directly from the U.S. Government and the agencies who collect the data.

– Google U.S. Government Search http://www.google.com/ig/usgov

Online Surveys & Reports• Pew Research Center (Main Site)

– http://pewresearch.org• Pew Global Attitudes Project

– http://pewglobal.org• Pew Internet & American Life Project

– http://www.pewinternet.org• Pew Hispanic Center

– http://pewhispanic.org• Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

– http://pewforum.org

World Wide Web: Resources• CNN Special Reports• http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/• Includes facts, statistics, interviews of supporters and

opponents, and much more on key issues. The site maintains an archive going back to 1995.

• National Center for Policy Analysis• http://www.ncpa.org• NCPA is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research

organization whose goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector.

• SpeakOut.com• http://speakout.com/activism/issues/• Provides issues arranged by topic categories. The site is

devoted to promoting activism in a variety of areas.

Pro/Con

Environmental Change:

Yes or No?

Study the ResourcesConsider Topic PossibilitiesFormulate a Research Question

Topic: Environmentally Friendly TransportationPeople around the world are considering the significance of conserving our resources. For many, this changes the way they think about travel within their communities.

Question: How can methods of transportation be changed to save natural resources and improve community spirit?

Questions?

• Contact me:– Jane Long

• 774-3030• jane.long@swosu.edu• http://faculty.swosu.edu/jane.long

Thanks!