Do you know about our debate books?

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CQ Researcher, Databases, Debate Books, Do you know, Library Newsletter, Newsletter, Opposing Viewpoints

Our Debate Books Collection

Do you have to make a persuasive or argumentative speech? Do you have to write a persuasive or argumentative research paper? Or do you assign one? Do we have the both the book section and databases for you.

The most important step in researching a persuasive speech or paper is to select your topic. It should both interest you and be a topic that there are clearly at least two sides to.

HINT: Do NOT choose topics such as abortion, death penalty, etc. Everyone writes about those and your instructor would be in a much better mindset when grading your paper if you don’t make them read their 5,000th paper on one of those topics. AND you will write a better paper if it’s something that you’re at least a little bit interested in.

How do you find different and interesting topics? That’s where are debate books section comes in. It is mostly made up by two major series, Opposing Viewpoints and Current Controversies. Both series design books on a particular subject, which is then broken down to more detailed sections and then to questions for and against. Anyone of these questions would make an excellent topic. As a bonus they also give you the opposing viewpoint so you can argue against it.

The Debate books are found in a section in both the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City branches of Kirkwood Library Services. Their design makes them the easiest to browse in paper. They don’t circulate. However, we do also carry two online options.

The first is CQResearch which gives in-depth background reports that are useful for any project. You can also search for Pro/Con sections within these reports that argue both sides of an issue side by side.

The second is the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database which is put out by the same company that produces the series of books. You want to look for Viewpoints which are the same as the essays in the books. The also have direct access to a limited selection of journal articles, new articles, statistic reports, etc. which show up in a basic search. Unfortunately on the website the essays and articles aren’t paired pro and con so you may have a harder time finding the opposing viewpoint. Also, it can be hard to find all the articles within a book. Make sure you have the names of the essays from the table of contents if you want to find everything in a book online. Some recent titles may not be available online even if they are available in paper.

Ask a reference librarian if you need more help.

Important Notes

The Library link has returned to the bottom of the Kirkwood homepage. After moving off the page right before the semester started and staying off for a couple of weeks we were finally moved back into the second column of the list at the bottom of the page.

If you use APA in your classrooms there has been a change in how doi format. Learn more.

There has been a change in the Iowa City Kirkwood Library’s hours. They are now:
Mon-Th: 7:30am-9pm
Fri: 7:30am-5pm
Sat: 11am-4pm
Sun: Closed

Major Databases Changes came July 1st

Links to Some of The Books Recently Added to the Collection:

Agriculture and Agribusiness
Alex Awards 2016 – check out these best fiction and nonfiction books written for adults at an popular reading level
Best Books from School Library Journal for 2016 – check out these books which are a mixture of picture books and young adult books.
Collections of True Stories About Women
Culture Smart! Book Series Updates
Directors, Movies, Actors
Memorial Day Books about Veterans and the Armed Forces
Top Science Books of 2016 by the Smithsonian
YALSA 2016 Best Books for Young Adults – check out these fiction books selected to appeal to college age students by librarians who work with them
Odds and Ends 37
Odds and Ends 38
Odds and Ends 39
Odds and Ends 40

Our Special Display This Month

Hispanic Heritage Month

Banned Books Week will be September 24-30, 2017. Contact the library for a button to wear. Stop by during Banned Books Week or the week after to check out this year’s display. (See last year’s display.)

Check out this list of Cultural Events happening at Kirkwood this fall.

Our Database of the Month

Major Databases Changes came July 1st

Books and Authors

EVENT – SPECIAL HOURS

Kirkwood Campuses Closed at Noon on Fridays through July 28th. This Friday closure pattern will carry over to next summer. Dates are not yet available, but will likely run from the beginning of summer classes through the end of July next year also.

Research Tips

Librarians Wrote Articles in The Communique last year. Watch for our articles in upcoming issues.

Want a Specialized LibGuide for an assignment to help your students find stuff?

Click Here

Want to schedule time in the library or for us to come into your class?

Click Here

What if the library doesn’t have a book you want?

Click Here

And remember you contact us at the library any time by phone, e-mail, chat, or stop on by! We’re always glad to see you! Look for the next issue of our newsletter. And remember you contact us at the library any time by phone, e-mail, chat, or stop on by! We’re always glad to see you! Look for the next issue of our newsletter.

Featured Database: CQ Researcher

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Congressional Quarterly, CQ Researcher, Databases, Library Databases

Library Databases are collections of articles where the library buys the rights for you to access, read, link to, and print the articles. Although EBSCOhost is the best known provider of databases in Iowa, there are many others. Today we highlight another library database. All of our databases can be accessed both directly on any Kirkwood computer or by logging in with k number and password from anywhere off campus.

CQ Researcher – What it Is, Why to use it

The CQ in CQ Researcher stands for Congressional Quarterly and that’s how the company started out, doing simplified reports on in-depth research topics when they came up in Congress for the benefit of legislators. The company spread its target audience and began making those reports available to the public, first in a paper format and now as a database.

Their focus has remained on in-depth background research and it’s a great place to start a research project. Included in the reports are timelines, charts, and citations to where the information came from if you want to track it back and learn more. At the end of reports are suggested bibliographies for the subject in general and specific subtopics. Contacts for related organizations give you an idea of who to follow up with for more.

Also, many reports have a pro-con section that, unlike the set up in Opposing Viewpoints database, gives both a pro and a con essay that are linked to each other. So it’s also a great place to get ideas for topics on persuasive papers or speeches. They are very useful both to find arguments for your side and to figure out and counter points your opponent might cite.

Individual reports will vary and may not have all these sections, but normally within the report you will get:

• Overview
• Introduction
• Background
• Current Situation
• Outlook
• Short Features
• Maps/Graphs
• Chronology
• Pro/Con
• Bibliography
• The Next Step
• Organizations to Contact for more information
• Footnotes
• About the Author

Very short summary reports can be accessed from the Hot Topics column on the right hand side of the homepage. These reports have few of the features listed above and can only be printed clearly by using the 4th method described below under printing.

Search CQ Researcher by clicking here.

You can also find the link directly by clicking on the All Kirkwood Databases link on the Kirkwood Library Services home page and scroll to C for Congressional Quarterly. If you are accessing it from off campus you will have to log in with your K number and password at this point.

Tech tips

Find pros and cons 

One of the most useful features of CQ Researcher is the section where they offer dueling persuasive essays on a topic clearly paired with each other. To find them easily, hover your cursor over “Browse Reports” and click on “Pro/Con” at the bottom of the list. A list of topics will appear. Click on the one you are interested in.

Watch dates

Although they are constantly adding and updating reports, sometimes they do not come back to a subject for a long time or chose a slightly different tack than the previous report. In those cases older reports can remain on the system for some time, so make sure you check the date on anything you use. While even the older reports can provide excellent background, if you use an older report make sure to use other sources to bring your research information up to date.

Printing and Permalinks

Print

Printing is probably the strangest part of CQ Researcher. You have four different ways to print.

• At the top of the report, click “View PDF” by the PDF symbol. It will open and you can print like you normally print a PDF.
• Go under the drop down menu that says “Print.” Then you can choose “Full Report” from the drop down menu and it will print the entire report.
• Go under the drop down menu that is labeled “Print.” Then you can choose whichever individual section of the report you want from the drop down menu and it will print just that section.
• Locate the band of colorful social media boxes in the upper right hand side of the page. Hover over the orange box with the plus sign. Click on print in the dropdown menu. NOTE: While you can print any report this way, it’s the ONLY option for printing if you are in one of the shorter Hot Topics reports.

Permalink

To find a permalink (so you can always be directed back to the correct article):

1. Open individual report
2. Locate the band of colorful social media boxes in the upper right hand side of the page
3. Click on the olive green box with an envelope on it for e-mail
4. When the e-mail blank pops up copy the URL form the bottom of the e-mail form

More Information

All of the numbered footnotes in the report are clickable. They will bring you down to the bibliography at the end. Some of these resources will then let you access them immediately in full text, others you will have to find on your own. There is normally a section of recommended organizations to contact for more information.

Citations can be found by clicking “Cite Now” at the top or at the bottom of the report – it defaults to APA, but other formats can be chosen. Note: Database generated citations are often in error, double check before you trust your grade to one.

Sarah Uthoff is a reference library at Kirkwood Community College. LIKE the Kirkwood Community College Library on Facebook and find links to Sarah all over the web at her About Me Profile.

CQ Researcher

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CQ Researcher, Research Tip

We have added a new database to the library collection.  It is called CQ Researcher and is available at:
https://resources.kirkwood.edu/login?url=http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/

CQ Researcher is published by Congressional Quarterly and provides unbiased accounts of issues on the public agenda.

• Coverage: 1991-present
• Full-text
• Published 44 times/year

Each report (1991-present) includes the following sections:

• Introduction
• Overview
• Background
• Current situation
• Outlook
• Pro/Con
• Chronology
• Short Features
• Voices from Abroad
• Maps/Graphs
• Bibliography
• Next Step
• Contacts
• About the Author

Off-campus access: If you are prompted for a login, please contact the library (toll-free: 1-866-452-8504) for a username and password.