Newspaper and magazine
articles on the current year's topic
are usually
listed in the July
spotlight of the debate topic year (National High School Debate
Topic).
Speak Out -
http://www.speakout.com
An
activism site that provides
background information on issues grouped into fifteen broad
catagories. Each category is further divided by questions or
issues prompted by recent events. Each question or issue is
represented with a perspective summary outlining the various points of
view on a topic, links to related articles, and links to all types of
advocacy organizations interested in the issue.
Law/Legislation Sites
FindLaw - http://www.findlaw.com
Browse
FindLaw to locate federal
and state laws and court cases. Topical directories (adoption,
education, employment, healthcare, etc.) provide links to articles,
legal forms, FAQs and related resources on these topics. Use the
search feature to find resources within FindLaw, on other legal Web
sites, or on government sites.
GovSpot - http://www.govspot.com
A
government information portal
for federal, state, and local information. This site will help
you find appropriate sites for legislative information online as well
as link to government news.
Thomas - the US Congress on the
Internet - http://www.thomas.loc.gov
The
definitive and official site
for federal legislation. Search for proposed federal bills and
public laws by keyword or by number. Recently considered
initiatives are highlighted on the top level page. It is also
possible to find how congressional members voted on the bills.
Data Sites
AllAcademic -
http://www.allacademic.com/search/
Indexes
over 200 freely availabel
refereed journals and provides a browsable list of 350 academic
journals listed by discipline or alphabetically. Also, included
are scholarly works in the form of books, magazines, convention papers,
working papers, scholarly projects, editorials, and book reviews.
Be sure to keep your search statements short and simple (e.g., instead
of "stem cell research," try "stem cells").
American FactFinder -
http://factfinder.census.gov
Published
by the US Census Bureau,
this site helps you find population, housing, economic, and geographic
data.
FedStats - http://www.fedstats.gov
Portal
to data and government
agencies that have data on all aspects of American life.
IPoll : Online
Database of Public Opinion ; Roper Center for Public Opinion
Research - http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ipoll/html
Contains
survey results on
hundreds of thousands of questions done for academic, commercial, and
media survey organizations. The
full service requires a paid subscription, but users can log in for
free access. Free access users can search the database and
will receive up to ten sample
answers
out of the total number retrieved. These may or may not be the
most current available.
LookSmart's Find Articles -
http://www.findarticles.com
A
searchable database of thousands
of articles from hundreds of magazines and journals going baci to
1998.
Opinion-Pages -
http://www.opinion-pages.org
Search
opinion pages, editorials,
and letters to the editor from over 600 newspapers around the
world. The strength of this source is in finding local
ideas. The interface is a little clunky and unprofessional
looking, but there is no other tool like it!
Pew Research Center for People and
the Press - http://people-press.org
The
Center is an independent
opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press,
politics, and public policy issues. All survey results are
available free of charge. Search for keywords in questionnaires
or browse surveys by broad topic: business and economics, domestic and
social policy, politics, foreign policy, global attitudes.
Polling Report -
http://www.pollingreport.com
For
truly timely topics this site
provides extensive information on public opinion. However, for
topics of general interest that might not be currently in the
headlines, results are less predictable. This site is browsable
only, not searchable as is IPoll.
WHS
Library Media Center