What is a database?
A database is like a website- it has lots of articles, videos, news, and information for you to use for your research. But, unlike a regular website, all the articles and other stuff in a database has been selected specifically because of its high quality. Database articles have been thoroughly vetted and are all credible sources. Databases cost a lot of money, and part of your tuition goes to pay for them. So take advantage of them while you are here!
What database should I use?
For this assignment, you should use Opposing Viewpoints. This database has many different kinds of information that are helpful for Argument Essays- news articles, videos, images, statistics, and viewpoints (opinion articles that take a stance). Anything you find in this database is a credible source of information!
For more help, watch this video on using Opposing Viewpoints.
How do I find credible sources on the internet?
I could talk about that for hours! For the purposes of this assignment, try to think about 3 main things:
Author
Who wrote this article? What makes them qualified to write this article? Are they a professional journalist, or a researcher, or a specialist? Or just someone who wanted to write an article? If there's no author listed, that's a bad sign!
Publisher
What website is this? Are they a well-known news outlet (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.)? Have you ever heard of them before? Who funds this website? What is the purpose of this site? Do they have a page about the website ("About Us" or "About" page)? Your instructor has recommended these sites for your research: ProCon.org and PewResearch.org.
References
Does this page tell you where they got their information from? Do they provide citations to other sources? Do they provide links to the sites where they got their information?
Want to learn more about all this? The library has interactive tutorials that are fun AND educational!
