Fundamentals of Communication: Library Resources

Opposing Viewpoints in Context is a great database to use for finding:

• Current hot topics to generate ideas for your own research topic
• A range of different opinions about a specific issue
• Examples of opinion or argument essays
• Other supporting materials such as magazine, journal and newspaper articles; videos; statistics; primary sources and encyclopedia articles
• Find Opposing Viewpoints anywhere you see the "A-Z Databases" link

1. The opinion or argument essays are called "viewpoints" in the database

There are several different types of articles in the Opposing Viewpoints database, so it helps to choose the type of article you want after you run your search. Select the "Viewpoints" type to see the opinion essays. (See the screenshot below)

2. Search your specific keywords to get an idea of what articles are there.

This means you can begin by trying to find an article that is exactly on your topic, but be aware that Opposing Viewpoints is a smaller database compared to many, so you may not find something that is a perfect match. However, that doesn't mean you won't find anything useful...

3. In addition to searching your specific keywords, also search a broader or more general topic to see all the information that might be helpful to you.

For example, if your specific keywords are: agricultural runoff water pollution, the database may return that there are no viewpoints that match your terms. So you could try a broader search: agriculture industry, then scan those results for mention of "water". Or search water pollution and scan the results for mentions of agriculture, pesticides, or fertilizer. 

4. Opposing Viewpoints database can be a good source for statistics.

If you need some statistics to help support your argument, or need a chart to include as a visual aid, Opposing Viewpoints is a great place to look.