Presearch:

How to Use Wikipedia for Gaining Background Information


Use this worksheet to record background information:


Pre-search Step #2 Worksheet:

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Academic Research Resources:

Search Engines and Other Directories:
SweetSearch Every Web site in SweetSearch has been evaluated by research experts.
Instagrok instaGrok presents each topic as a interactive visual interface, allowing the user to quickly grasp important concepts, key facts and relationships.

Databases:
Issues
EBSCOhost (INFOhio)
NewsBank (INFOhio)

Books:
Online Catalog
Use this to search for books on a variety of topics.
Internet Resources:
Adapted from Sprague Library, Montclaire State University
Guides & Directories to Alternative Viewpoints

• NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks
• Opposing Views (links to sources of views a wide variety of viewpoints; from the Univ. of Washington)
• Political Advocacy Groups: A Directory of US Lobbyists (links to the sites of US "cause lobbying" groups)

Sources of Multiple Viewpoints

• Directory of National News Sources (links to general and special interest sites; from Politics1.com)
• NewsLink: Political and Opinion Magazines
• Public Agenda Online ("educational materials that help explain policy issues to the public in a balanced and easy-to-understand way")
• ProCon.org Arguments from both sides of controversial issues.

Conservative & Right Websites

• CNSNews.com: Cybercast News Service ("The Right News. Right Now")
• CNSNews.com Media Links (links to media "resources for savvy surfers looking for more of the right news, and less of the spin")
• NewsMax.com (contains, among other things, links to news stories)
• RealClear Politics (articles that attempt "to counterbalance the common liberal bias of the mainstream press")
• WorldNetDaily ("a free press for a free people")

Left & Progressive Websites

• Alternative Viewpoints on the Internet (from the Alternative Press Center)
• AlterNet.org ("a mix of news, opinion and investigative journalism")
• Common Dreams News Center ("breaking news and views for the progressive community")
• Moving Ideas ("leading sources of easily searched and sorted progressive policy information")
• Holt Labor Library Internet Links (links to current news sites and online periodicals)

Media Criticism Sites (from all sides of the spectrum)

• Center for Media and Public Affairs ("a nonpartisan research and educational organization which conducts scientific studies of the news and entertainment media")
• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (an "anti-censorship" and "progressive" group)
• Institute for Public Accuracy ("a nationwide consortium of policy researchers [that] seeks seeks to [give] media access [to] those whose perspectives are commonly drowned out by corporate-backed think tanks and other influential institutions")
• Media Research Center ("bringing political balance and responsibility to the media" from a conservative perspective)
• STATS: Statistical Assessment Service ("a resource for journalists [that provides] analysis of current statistical and scientific disputes")
• TomPaine.com (left-oriented " ideas, opinions, and analyses... often overlooked by the mainstream media")

Intent, Scope, and Disclaimer

• Intent: This guide is designed to facilitate access to material from a variety of political viewpoints in order to promote critical thinking and informed debate.
• Scope: This guide points to resources on the Internet that provide alternative viewpoints from the left and right side of the political spectrum [we acknowledge that these labels are not always accurate]. The guide does not link to individual publications, but rather to sites that link to a variety of resources. There is also a section of links to sites that provide critical commentary on the media.