Library Guides: CAS 100: Effective Speech (Harrisburg): Choosing a Topic

Penn State Harrisburg Librarians

Behavioral Sciences and Education:
Bernadette Lear
(BAL19@psu.edu or 717-948-6360)

Business:
Emily Mross
(ELM43@psu.edu or 717-948-6130)

Humanities:
Heidi Abbey Moyer
(HNA2@psu.edu or 717-948-6056)

Public Affairs and International Students:
Emily Reed
(emilyreed@psu.edu or 717-948-6373)

Science, Engineering, and Technology:
Andrea Pritt
(ALP5088@psu.edu or 717-948-6071)

Welcome!

Welcome to Penn State Harrisburg's research guide! Below are some resources for choosing a topic. To the left are links to help you find books, images, and other resources.

For information about our campus library's hours, equipment, and study spaces, see the Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg site.

Advice and Tutorials

Do you need some advice on how to pick a topic?

The following tutorials can help you get started.

Resources

In addition to providing basic information, these databases and web sites have tools that enable you to brainstorm ideas.

Wikipedia
Not a quotable resource for most assignments. But Wikipedia can help you identify keywords, narrow your topic, and explore related topics.

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Click on "browse topics" to explore ideas. Each report typically includes background information, pro/con essays, and other resources.
The CQ Researcher is a collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, archive, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews. CQ Global Researcher (formerly a stand alone DB) content was merged into CQ Researcher.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
Provides brief encyclopedia articles.
A collection of over 2000 reference resources.
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Click on "browse issues" for hundreds of topic ideas. Also provides persuasive essays, news articles, and other resources for each topic.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides research and background information on social issues. The database contains the essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series, supplemented by statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews.
Global Issues This link opens in a new window
Similar to Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher, but looks at social issues outside of the United States.
Offers current, international news and perspectives on a variety of topics and events throughout the world. It brings together an array of sources to explain the historical and contemporary conditions in a wide range of subject areas, including sociology, civics, politics, science, economics, cultural/religious studies, women's studies, and human rights. Updated daily.

JSTOR Daily
Commentary on current events that are popular in scholarly journals.