Research Guides: English 101: Donnellan: Home

Rhetorical Action Project 1: What do you want to say?

Get ideas for your debate and/or find extant debate examples.

CQ Researcher Online This link opens in a new window
Provides in-depth, non-biased reporting and analysis of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new window
Articles, primary sources, websites and graphics to support K-12 students with research, study and homework.
Points of View This link opens in a new window
Contains essays that present multiple sides of current issues and encourage critical and evaluative thinking. Database covers more than 280 topics, with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), and counterpoint (opposing argument). Essays are written in plain, easy-to-understand language. Includes links that help guide students in basic research tasks, such as forming a topic sentence.

Library Catalog
Search our print and electronic books for overviews of your topic.

Find Possible Vehicles for your Op-Ed

Find credible research on your topic (to demonstrate expertise).

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Premier covers the expansive academic disciplines offered in colleges and universities. It provides comprehensive content, including PDF backfiles to 1975 for many journals and searchable cited references for more than 1,000 titles.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar is a web search engine that finds scholarly literature, including papers, theses, books, and reports. By searching Google Scholar from the library’s webpage, you will have free linked access to the library’s subscription holdings. Other links from Google Scholar may prompt you to pay for articles, but DO NOT PAY for articles. We will help you get the articles you need.

Google Advanced Search
Did you know you can refine your searches in Google to get better results? Check these tips.

Evaluate Your Sources

As you come across news sources, how can you tell if they are left, right, or center-leaning? These tools can help.

Interactive Media Bias Chart by Ad Fontes
This chart will help you identify significant news outlets and understand their target audiences.

Find statistics on news source readership and common opinions by social or political groups.

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista is a statistics portal that integrates data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest. Use it to find information on how your target demographics (women, college students, rural residents, political parties) interpret events/the world.

Pew Social and Demographic Trends
This project studies behaviors and attitudes of Americans in key realms of their lives, including family, community, health, finance, work and leisure. The project explores these topics by combining original public opinion survey research with social, economic and demographic data analysis.

Find research on the role of emotions in persuasion.

Tips:

Limit to your main 2 to 4 key terms. For example, "rhetorical strategies persua*" "emotional appeal women fear" or "effect anger rhetorical appeal."
Check the first 10 or 20 results before you modify your search terms.
If you find a great article, check its works cited and the CITED BY link you see in Google Scholar.

PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive, international index to the literature of psychology: journals, dissertations, book chapters, and more. Includes abstracts and links to available full-text articles.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar is a web search engine that finds scholarly literature, including papers, theses, books, and reports. By searching Google Scholar from the library’s webpage, you will have free linked access to the library’s subscription holdings. Other links from Google Scholar may prompt you to pay for articles, but DO NOT PAY for articles. We will help you get the articles you need.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Premier covers the expansive academic disciplines offered in colleges and universities. It provides comprehensive content, including PDF backfiles to 1975 for many journals and searchable cited references for more than 1,000 titles.

Email Me

Contact:

sksteiner@wcu.edu
828.227.3417
Hunter Library office 119

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