Reference and Collection Development Librarian
Free Full Access To The New York Times
Background Information-Reference Articles
First, read the various points of view about your topic in these databases. Use the texts as a way to begin thinking critically about your issue. You will find ideas that support your position as well as opposing viewpoints. You may even read something that makes you think about something you hadn’t considered.
- In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Opposing Viewpoints offers material to support differing views to help develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia. Find overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of today's important social issues, including racism, capital punishment, global warming, and voting rights with reference sources, newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly journals, court cases, government documents, viewpoints, maps, images, audio, video and websites.
Search Environmental Encyclopedias
Try Statista to Find Data and Statistics
- Statista This link opens in a new window Use Statista for immediate access to over one million statistics and facts. Statista is an online platform specialized in market and consumer data, which offers statistics and reports, market insights, consumer insights and company insights in German, English, Spanish and French. Additional modules include Company Insights, Ecommerce Insights, Consumer Insights. The reports, charts, infographics, and statistics found in the database can be viewed online or downloaded.
Some sample searches:
Climate Change
Renewable Energy in the US
Sustainability
Endangered Species
Statista sources cover business and industry as well as education, political and social issues. The service also provides tools that allow you to create beautiful charts that can be downloaded as PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, or graphics formats.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
- EPA.GOVThe Environmental Protection Agency conducts environmental assessment, research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and the federally recognized tribes. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions, and other measures. The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.
Magazines, Journals, & Newspapers
Articles are good sources for:
- most recent research or information on a topic
- coverage of a very narrow topic
- coverage of current events
- contemporary accounts of past events and research
MLA Citation Style
Evaluate Sources
Think about the sources you are using in your paper.
If you are not sure about a website, judge it based on the CRAAP test.
Currency - When was the information published or last updated?
Relevance - Does the information answer your research question?
Authority - What are the author’s credentials?
Accuracy - Are there statements you know to be false?
Purpose - Is the author’s purpose to sell, persuade, entertain, or inform?
How good is your source? Use this form to help you determine its value.