LibGuides: WSU 102 First-Year Seminar in Cross-Cultural Communication: Find background information

Find background information

Cait Barron. (2013, Sept. 26). KSU Photojournalism Students. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/caitbarron/9976137326. Used under the Creative Commons License.

These Reference databases can help if you need to find some facts or background information on your topic.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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Over 400 reference titles from over 70 publishers covering every major subject. Seamless searching of Credo Reference sources, the WSU Libraries Catalog, and other Libraries subscribed databases.
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Video tour of Credo Reference
Encyclopedia Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
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Full-text access to Encyclopedia Britannica and Book of the Year articles. Includes Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Gale E-Books This link opens in a new window
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Collection of ebook reference works in all disciplines including multivolume encyclopedias, biographical directories, business plan handbooks, consumer health references, dictionaries, etc.
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Oxford Reference Online: Premium This link opens in a new window
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Full-text to dictionaries, reference books, and encyclopedias published by Oxford University Press in a broad range of subjects: general reference, language, science and medicine, humanities and social sciences, and Business. 4 simultaneous users.

Web resources

CIA World Fact Book
From the site: "The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map."

Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher

These databases are an excellent source for articles on all types of social and controversial issues. Different perspectives on the issues they cover are provided with topic overviews, pro/con viewpoints, court-case overviews, and more. If you're not sure about your topic, you can browse through a list of current topics and issues to help give you ideas.

Opposing Viepoints

Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window
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A collection of content for exploration into social issues from all perspectives. Providing pro/con viewpoint essays, topic overviews, biographies of social activists and reformers, court-case overviews, podcasts, primary source documents, and more.
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Google Account holders can login using their credentials to easily download and share articles, including highlights and notes, using Google Apps for Education tools like Drive and Docs.

WSU Libraries has a number of print books from both the Opposing Viewpoints series and the Taking Sides series that can assist you in determining topics for a persuasive or informative speech. Search "opposing viewpoints" or "taking sides" in SmartSearch (on the Finding Books & Articles tab to the left).