Try These Databases
CQ Researcher is noted for its in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. You can browse CQ Resercher by topic, track specific controversial topics by date or look up topics in their Pro/Con section. Pro/Con offers succinct articles by experts arguing for and against given topics.
Issues and Controversies offers accurate discussions of over 250 controversial topics in the news supplemented with chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, contact information, and bibliographies including primary source documents and news editorials. It has a subject index and a section featuring pro/con articles on a number of topics.
Full text of over 600 U.S. newspapers and over 260 English language newspapers from other countries worldwide. Includes Detroit News (1999- ) and many other Michigan newspapers, Chicago Sun-Times, The Times (London), etc. Includes text only--no photos, charts or ads.
Understanding Your Topic
The resources on this page will help you find out background information about your topic. You can use this information to further develop your paper's argument, or to learn enough about the topic to begin to narrow it down into a manageable paper topic.
Encyclopedias
- Encyclopaedia Britannica OnlineEncyclopaedia Britannica's latest article database (including hundreds of articles not found in the print edition), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, and the Britannica Book of the Year (1994- ), with thousands of web links selected by editors.
- Encyclopedia of Life SciencesProvides 3000+ peer-reviewed articles, images, a glossary of terms, news, and some multimedia files on a wide variety of life sciences topics.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryProvides online access to the complete full text of over 100 reference works from Gale, Macmillan, and other publishers. Includes: African American Almanac, Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Datapedia of the U.S., Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia Judaica, Encylopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, World Press Encyclopedia, etc.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (IESBS)Online version of the largest reference work published in the social and behavioral sciences. Subjects covered include: anthropology, psychology, demography, economics, education, gender studies, law, linguistics,public policy, sociology, urban planning, etc.
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology This link opens in a new windowAn online, multimedia encyclopedia and dictionary covering all major scientific disciplines.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowOver 400 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
- SAGE KnowledgeSage Reference Online is a searchable collection of over 130 scholarly encyclopedias in the social sciences and other fields, including: anthropology, communication, education, geography, health, history, law, management, politics, psychology, and sociology.
- Other U-M Library EncyclopediasLinks to over 140 encyclopedias in U-M Library's collections.