LibGuides: Current Events, Opposing Viewpoints, and Controversial Issues: Current events, opposing viewpoints, and controversial issues

Not Sure Which Topic to Choose?

Look at and the "Possible Topics" box below for help brainstorming your topic. Also, our Research Process guide can help you throughout your research process.

Recommended Databases

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
- CQ Researcher is the choice of researchers seeking original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Published online 44 times a year, CQ Researcher offers in-depth, unbiased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on a wide range of topics including: health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, the U.S. economy, crime, and civil liberties. Each CQ Researcher report is a unique work, investigated and written by a seasoned journalist, professionally fact-checked, and footnoted to facilitate further research. A feature called Hot Topics provides shorter reports on 10 of the most popular subjects.
- About
- University alumni may have access to the content hosted on Sage and CQ Press platforms through their university library, based on their university's current and active holdings. All alumni registered with subscribing or purchasing libraries will be able to access these resources, including more than 1,000 scholarly and professional journals at no extra fee. University libraries already support current students and scholars with access to online resources through both on-site and remote services. This license extends this offering to alumni via IP address, ATHENS, or SHIBBOLETH through the institution’s account. Sage does not have the information or systems necessary to authenticate an individual as being an alumnus of a particular institution. Because of this, institutions will need to manage the authentication process and provide alumni with a route through the institutional IP network or with an ATHENS or SHIBBOLETH profile. Please contact techsupport@apu.libanswers.com for access issues.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
- Contains a collection of more than 600 dictionaries and encyclopedias, along with thousands of topic pages, mind-maps, images, audio files and videos to help you start research projects.
- About
ProCon.org This link opens in a new window
- Controversial topics and debates are useful for learning about different perspectives on the same issue. For a general internet search, try the keyword phrase policy debate to find trending or hot topics in the news or from policy institutes. The website ProCon.org presents articles on current debates in the news and society. This site is directed toward students and educators.
- About
- Lesson Plans
Pew Research Center This link opens in a new window
- Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis, and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.
- About
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
- Electronic version of the Oxford English Dictionary, a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words.
- About
Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
- Have you ever needed to dive into a new topic but felt overwhelmed by the amount of research? See if a Very Short Introduction can get you started!
  This series offers concise introductions to a diverse range of subjects—from artificial intelligence to folk music to medical ethics—in 35,000 words or less.
- Each one of these big little books provides intelligent and serious introductions written by experts who combine facts, analysis, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make even the most challenging topics highly readable.
- About

Newpaper Sources

Critical Thinking about Issues from ProCon.org

Possible Topics

2020 Census Abortion Abstinence-only education Affirmative Action Affordable Care Act Alternative medicine Alt-right America's global influence Antifa Artificial intelligence Arming teachers Assisted suicide Atheism Bilingual education Biofuels Bitcoin Black Lives Matter Border security Book banning Capital punishment Censorship Charter schools Childhood obesity Civil rights Climate change Cloning Concealed weapons Concussions in football COVID restrictions Cryptocurrency Cyber bullying Cybersecurity DACA Death penalty Drug legalization Early voting Eating disorders Energy crisis Equal Rights Amendment Ethnic Adoption Executive order Extremism Factory farming Filibuster	Foreign aid Fracking Freedom of speech General Data Protection Regulation Gay rights Gender neutral restrooms Genetic Cloning Genetic engineering Government shut down Gerrymandering Green New Deal Hacking Hate speech Health insurance Human trafficking Identity theft Immigration Impeachment Israel-Palestine relations Judicial activism Labor unions Land acknowledgments Lethal Injections Local food movement Marijuana legalization Mandatory National Service Mass incarceration Mass shooting Medical Devices #MeToo movement Minimum wage Misinformation Net neutrality Migrant crisis Minimum wage Nuclear energy Offshore drilling Online anonymity Organic food Outsourcing PFAs Plastic Surgery Polygamy Police reform Political activism Poverty gap	Prescription drug addiction Privacy QAnon Racial profiling Recreational Marijuana Recycling Refugee crisis Reparations Roe v. Wade Russian hacking Sanctuary city School Safety School uniforms Screen addiction Second Amendment Self-defense laws Self-driving cars Sex education Sexual assault on campus Smart speakers Social Security Socialism Standardized testing Stem cells Stimulus packages Student Loan Debt Supreme Court confirmation Super PACs Sweatshops Syrian civil war Title IX enforcement Trade tariffs Transgender rights Ukraine and Russia Urban agriculture Vaccines Vaccination mandates Vaping Violence in the media Voter ID laws Voting fraud and security Warehouse Working Conditions (Amazon, UPS, Walmart) White nationalism Wildfires Women's rights Zero tolerance policies Zoos

Idea Generator
Use the broad categories provided to browse through a variety of keywords and phrases associated with them. Provided by Old Dominion University
Blog Ideas Generator
Fill in the fields with terms (preferably nouns) that you'd like to write about, and we'll come up with a week's worth of relevant blog post titles in a matter of seconds!

Data & Statistics

Other Website Resources

Above the Noise
Short videos that provide background information on a number of controversial issues. Selected sources accompany each video.
AllSides
A website that presents news articles from the left, center, and right of each issue.
Background Notes from the US State Department
These publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.
The Better Arguments Project
A national civic initiative created to help bridge divides by helping people have better arguments. The website includes resources for the classroom.
Brookings Institution
Independent research, recommendations, and analysis on a full range of public policy issues.
CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
Debatabase
Published by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA), the Debatabase website provides background, arguments, and resources on a variety of debate topics.
IntelligenceSquared Debate Videos
Each video features two teams of experts arguing for and against the most important public policy issues facing America today.
Internet Public Library (IPL)
ipl2 is a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment.
NPR (National Public Radio)
"This site has current radio news transcripts along with audio recording, an excellent source to practice listening."
Public Agenda
A non-partisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization with information on major policy issues.
Quinnipiac Poll
Frequently cited by journalists, public officials and researchers, the independent Quinnipiac University Poll regularly conducts surveys about political races, state and national elections, and issues of public concern, such as schools, taxes, transportation, municipal services, and the environment.