Example
After reading a reference source entry and learning that the artistic style used to depict his reign drastically differed from the traditional art style used by previous dynasties, the focus of this informative speech shifted from Akhenaten's life to how he was depicted.
Amenhotep III (Akhenaten's father)
kairoinfo4u, [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Akhenaten (originally Amenhotep IV)
Lander, [CC BY-SA 3.0]
2. Discover
Searching for Factual Information
- Whether you are preparing to give an informative or persuasive speech, you need some factual information to share with your audience. Reference sources are research tools that contain factual background information on a wide range of topics.
- Start by using one of the reference collections available through University Libraries (digital or the print collection at our campus' library) to gather the information you need for your speech.
- Through reading the sources you collect and learning more about your speech topic, you may even choose to specify your original idea even further!
Resources for Finding Sources
Reference Collections
- Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog) This link opens in a new windowThe catalog contains entries of all materials owned by University Libraries, including information on our campus' print Reference Collection. You can limit to our local collection by selecting "Scranton-Reference Collection" in the "Location" area when doing an advanced search, or stop in to browse the collection in person!
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new windowThis digital reference collection contains subject-specific encyclopedias and other sources on a variety of topics. The entries provide a substantial amount of information on your topic of choice.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowThis databases allows you to explore areas of interest by subject. The brief entries in many of the reference works in this collection can help with learning enough about an unfamiliar topic to narrow it down, or to just explore something new.
- SAGE Reference Online This link opens in a new windowThis collection of SAGE reference works has an array of subject areas within the social science fields. You can search by the type of resource, such as "encyclopedias", to ensure your results will contain the type of information you need.
Articles for Additional Information
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowThis resource has articles and essays related to debatable issues that are often current and controversial. You will may find helpful sources to support your argument and to craft a counterargument for your persuasive speech.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowThis database contains reports detailing issues, including controversial topics, and may provide additional context surrounding the information you gather from reference sources.
- Academic Search Complete (Ebsco) This link opens in a new windowAcademic Search Complete is a multi-disciplinary database with scholarly journal articles drawn from journals in many different academic disciplines. This database is especially helpful if your topic is more academic or if you are looking for newspaper articles on popular topics.
- Wiley Online Library Journals and eBooks This link opens in a new windowMore than 300 online publications (electronic journals, books and reference works) for researchers and professionals in 57 subject areas such as Communication & Media Students, Business & Management, and Cultural Studies.