The resources listed on this page provide background and statistical information for developing a Persuasion Paper.
Databases - General and Subject Specific
Click on the blue Browse All Databases button the main library page.
On the resulting page search alphabetically by database title, subject, type, or vendor.
Databases - General - Multi-disciplinary
Databases – By Title or Subject
Search for databases alphabetically by name.
Search specific subjects by clicking on the arrow in the All Subjects box.
Primary Sources are first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
A Primary Source (or original source or evidence) was created at the time under study.
Primary sources vary by discipline and can include historical and legal documents, eye witness accounts, results of an experiment, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects.
Examples of Primary Source Material:
Databases for current and historical newspapers:
Proquest: Historical Newspapers – Back issues of the NY Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, The Guardian, and the Observer from 1700 and 1800s through 2000s.
US Newsstream – Full-text newspapers, newswires, blogs, and
news sites from 1980 – present
Books of historical American history documents:
Annals of America – multi-volume set covering 1493-1986
The American Republic: Primary sources – U.S. history from 1600-1865.
Issues & Controversies: Facts on File - Provides coverage of current and historical events related to controversial topics. It presents background on the particular issue being debated, supporter’s arguments, opponent’s arguments, links to media clips, editorials, news reports, and discussion questions. Look here for ideas of issues currently in the news
CQ Researcher - Full-length articles with in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day, including an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, and resources for additional research
Pro/con.org – Supported by Encyclopedia Britannica, this website presents the pro and con opinions on many social issues. It claims to be impartial in its coverage.
Business
Business Source Ultimate - Full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly articles covering management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and more (Updated daily)
Emerald Insight - Full-text journals in the broad discipline of management, including accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, health care management, and library/information science
Communication/ Mass Media
Communication and Mass Media Complete - Covers all aspects of communication and mass media, offering full text for over 450 local and international journals and citation coverage for additional sources. Also includes author profiles.
Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice Database (Proquest) - Articles from U.S. and international scholarly journals, correctional and law enforcement trade publications, dissertations, crime reports, crime blogs, and other material relevant to criminal justice, law enforcement and related fields
Education
ERIC (EBSCO) - Education Resources Information Center is the world’s largest digital library of educational literature, including journal articles, books, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers, and other education-related materials.
Environment
Greenfile - Index and abstracts as well as some open-access full-text of research related to the environmental effects of individuals, corporations, and governments and what can be done at each level to minimize negative impacts
Music
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature - Citations, abstracts, and subject indexing for music-related articles published in journals and conference proceedings, covering all levels from classical to popular music, from ethnomusicology to music therapy, from elementary music education to advanced music theory (Updated monthly)
Political Issues
Proquest Congressional - Congressional documents from 1789 to the present, including Congressional hearings as well as House and Senate publications
Social Issues
SocIndex with full text - Full-text journals and magazines, including many peer-reviewed journals, as well as indexing for books, monographs, conference papers, and other non-periodical sources covering a broad range of sociology studies, including gender studies, criminal justice, social psychology, religion, racial studies, and social work with coverage back to 1895
Statistics
Statista - Global statistical data on wide variety of topics including markets, consumers, businesses, industries, and culture