Communications

CQ Researcher -an excellent place to get an idea for a topic. Either browse by topic or look at the recent reports.

Opposing Viewpoints - lists lots of popular topics

ProCon.org -a pro/con issues website

In order to be successful in finding sources for your papers, it is important to have a topic that is:

• narrow
• specific
• doable-meaning it is something that has been researched by others-hence there are sources available on it.

It is very helpful to do some background reading before you jump in and starting searching for sources such as journal articles. Even a half hour spent reading about your topic will allow you to:

• get ideas for specific, narrow topics
• determine whether your topic is doable

Background reading may consist of:

• encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries
• textbook
• quality websites (such as .org,.edu, .gov)