Library Guides: SPCH 140: Finding Sources

Library Databases for Background/Informative and Advocacy

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers all subject areas. Has a mix of magazines and journals including many that are peer-reviewed. Also includes a few major newspapers.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
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Features "viewpoint" articles on contemporary issues that argue a particular viewpoint.
Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new window
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Essays on controversial issues to develop debates or be a starting point in writing a position paper.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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Use to find quick facts, images or background information on various topics in dictionaries and encyclopedias.
America's News This link opens in a new window
Fulltext content from thousands of sources, including local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers, news video, and news blogs. Try adding the words like 'editorial' or "opinion' to find articles that could argue a particular point.
Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Search for recent news content from across the globe all at once, including major U.S. papers such as NYT, WSJ, LA Times, and Chicago Tribune, as well as international news in multiple languages. Some archives go back to the 1980s.
State Newspaper (1891-present) This link opens in a new window
Keyword-searchable, online access to the entire historical archive of Columbia's newspaper from 1891 up to today's issue.
Gamecock, The (1908-current) This link opens in a new window
Are you advocating for something at the university? Digital archives of The Gamecock (Columbia, S.C.) newspaper 1908 to 2006. Also provides link to 2007 to present issues.
iPOLL (Roper Center) This link opens in a new window
The largest source for opinion polling data. Data covers 1935 to the present on a broad range of topics.
Questions can be searched by keyword, topic, date, or source. The database includes polls from many sources: major news organizations (CBS, ABC, Associated Press, etc.), public opinion research centers (Gallup, Harris, Pew, etc.), and major academic and commercial pollsters. Only polls of the United States population at the national level are included, but international datasets are available for immediate download.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Wide range of statistics including consumer behavior, markets, industries, countries and trend forecasts.

Health Related Databases

Do you have a health-related topic but want sources written for a non-medical audience? Try these databases.

Alt HealthWatch This link opens in a new window
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Provides indexing and full text for more than a hundred complementary, alternative, and holistic health care publications, some of which are peer-reviewed.
Consumer Health Complete This link opens in a new window
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Oriented to people outside of the health professions. Covering all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic, and integrated medicine.
Health Source: Consumer Edition This link opens in a new window
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Articles, pamphlets, and reference sources on health for the non-specialist.

MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus is the National Institutes of Health's Web site for patients and their families and friends. Produced by the National Library of Medicine

Additional Resources

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