Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN102 Techniques of Reading & Writing II, Prof. Dickison

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Here are a few good places to start your search for journal articles on any topic that might be considered controversial:

SIRS Knowledge Source

To get some ideas about possible topics for your research paper, click on the "Suggested Research Topics" in the lower right corner of the screen.

Opposing Viewpoints

Use blue Subject Headings on opening page to search by topic. Contains information on current topics and controversial issues. Access persuasive essays, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and articles.

Academic Search Premier

Full text articles from 4,600 scholarly publications, indexing and abstracts for 3,500 peer-reviewed publications. Covers all subject areas.

Expanded Academic ASAP

Indexes over 3,500 titles; more than 2,000 of these are full text. Covers all subject areas.

CQ Researcher

This database covers topics that have come before Congress. Each report specifically addresses the pros and cons of the issue. PRINTING?: Beware; these reports are 20-30 pages long.

National Newspapers

Five national papers from the mainstream press: Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and Baltimore Sun.

GenderWatch

Minority press collection with special focus on gender-related perspectives.

Ethnic NewsWatch

Minority press collection with special focus on minority or international community perspectives.

Results can be sorted by date or relevance. To print, use the button within the database.

Remember that your search expression will consist of keywords (tend to be nouns); the Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT); punctuation (parenthesis used with OR, quotations marks for phrases), and possibly a truncation symbol (asterisk). Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

"usa patriot act"

iraq AND (occupation OR war) AND (withdrawl OR aftermath)

"slot machines" AND maryland AND ehrlich

"global warming" AND "alternative energy"

"intelligent design" AND evolution AND "public schools"

fema AND "homeland security" AND disaster AND prepar*

(immigration OR immigrants) AND jobs

immigra* AND jobs

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FirstGov.gov

The official site for all government information. (U.S. Government)

H.R.3162: USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

The bill's name is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. Click on the link labeled "Summary." (Library of Congress)

Semple Links: National Security & National Defense

Headings include Statistics, Terrorism, 9/11, Iraq, Vietnam. (Pat Semple, Librarian)

Semple Links: Think Tanks

A collection of national think tanks, many pushing their own agendas or opnions; search by topic for their reports on your issue. (Pat Semple, Librarian)

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Here is a six-page MS Word document on formatting MLA citations: MLA: Works Cited Page

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