This afternoon I created a 5-minute video, showing how to use the EBSCOhost database Academic Search Complete. My comments are directed toward students enrolled in a Communications 101, or speech, course.
While I'm on the subject of videos, I just learned that there's a free web tool out there called TubeChop, which allows anyone to specify which part of a video they want to see and create a link to it or save it within a presentation. Librarians at Information Literacy meets Library 2.0 made me aware of this, and apparently they found out on Twitter from Phil Bradley.
Showing posts with label speeches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speeches. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Term Paper, Project, and Speech Ideas
Websites with Ideas for Topics
• Speech Topics Help, Advice & Ideas
• Good Speech Topics
• Best Essay Topics: Essay Topics Suggestion
• About.com: Homework/Study Tips
• Custom Writing: Top 50 Ideas for Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Topics
Find ideas for all kinds of speeches and papers: persuasive, argumentative, funny, popular, demonstrative, definition, controversial, compare/contrast, informal, expository, research, response, etc.
Titles Worth Browsing
1. 10,000 IDEAS for Term Papers, Projects, Reports & Speeches (REFDESK REF LB1047.3L35 1995)
2. Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (REF HN57.E594 2004)
3. Encyclopedia of Social Issues (REF HN57.E59 1997)
4. Social Issues in America (REF HN57.S624 2006)
For more titles, see the Library Catalog.
Digital Titles to Explore Topics
How can reference materials be helpful?
• make it easy and quick to browse potential research projects.
• point to other sources that are quotable.
• provide basic background you should know.
• offer ideas that can help you narrow down your topic and create a more interesting report/project/paper/speech, etc.
• give keywords to increase searching efficiency & effectiveness in the databases.
• Speech Topics Help, Advice & Ideas
• Good Speech Topics
• Best Essay Topics: Essay Topics Suggestion
• About.com: Homework/Study Tips
• Custom Writing: Top 50 Ideas for Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Topics
Find ideas for all kinds of speeches and papers: persuasive, argumentative, funny, popular, demonstrative, definition, controversial, compare/contrast, informal, expository, research, response, etc.
Titles Worth Browsing
1. 10,000 IDEAS for Term Papers, Projects, Reports & Speeches (REFDESK REF LB1047.3L35 1995)
2. Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (REF HN57.E594 2004)
3. Encyclopedia of Social Issues (REF HN57.E59 1997)
4. Social Issues in America (REF HN57.S624 2006)
For more titles, see the Library Catalog.
Digital Titles to Explore Topics
- Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- Social Issues in America
- Wikipedia
- Google
- Google News
- Google Scholar
How can reference materials be helpful?
• make it easy and quick to browse potential research projects.
• point to other sources that are quotable.
• provide basic background you should know.
• offer ideas that can help you narrow down your topic and create a more interesting report/project/paper/speech, etc.
• give keywords to increase searching efficiency & effectiveness in the databases.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
CQ Researcher
One of my favorite databases is CQ Researcher, which provides articles on "hot topics" each week by qualified writers. Not long ago I wrote a few potential blurbs about this database and sent them to the editor of our bathroom newsletter. It occurred to me just yesterday that these blurbs would be good for this information-literacy blog. This type of database seems like it would be particularly useful to those in Speech and lower-division courses where students need to discuss or write about current topics of interest. The editor's final edition appear at the end of this post.
Blurb #1
"Mexico’s Drug War: Is the violence spilling into the U.S.?" This is the title to a recent report published by CQ Researcher. This database discusses issues of current interest each week in the same format, looking at the past, present, and future of a particular phenomenon. Some students like the section where two experts take opposing sides to the question at hand. Others appreciate the extensive list of references at the end as it launches them on a fruitful research trajectory.
[Trajectory: adj. 1. Physics. Of or pertaining to that which is thrown or hurled through the air or space. N. 1. a. Physics. The path of any body moving under the action of given forces; by many modern writers restricted to that of a body not known to be moving, like a planet, in a closed curve or orbit; esp. the curve described by a projectile in its flight through the air.]
Blurb #2
Do you need to know more about an issue of current interest? Congressional Quarterly Researcher can fulfill your need. Each week it publishes substantive articles that deal with important phenomena in our society, typically with deep political ramifications. Take a look at the most recent issues, browse by topic, or search for issues important to you. Topics include cyberbullying, the drug war in Mexico, obesity in children, steroids in sports, global warming, etc.
Blurb #3
Will you need to write a term paper or a speech this semester? Take a look at one of the Library’s most interesting databases, CQ Researcher. It includes salient articles relevant to today’s most pressing issues, from Mexico’s drug wars to financial bailouts, gun rights to declining birth rates, and gay marriage to internet accuracy. Experts take sides on issues, outlining the pros and cons from their own perspectives. A large bibliography or works-cited section also proves useful for those willing to do more fulfilling, in-depth research.
Blurb # 4
Are you ready to branch out from the normal databases you usually access? This database, CQ Researcher, can help you understand issues of importance for our country, including a breakdown of its history, current situation, and future outlook. Find articles on China’s human rights, Mexico’s drug war, cyberbullying, race and politics, and much more. Each article offers other sources of information for digging deeper into the subject.
Editor's Final Edition Titled:
"For Current Events & Controversial Issues!"
Need to write a speech or a term paper on a "hot topic"? Try CQ Researcher, one of the Library's most interesting databases. Weekly reports focus on specific topics, from financial bailouts to Mexico's drug wars; gun rights to declining birth rates; gay marriage to Internet accuracy. Each includes:
• an overview of the topic
• an in-depth discussion of the current situation
• a Pro/Con section
• a very useful Chronology
• a bibliography
• an "Issue Tracker" for Related Reports.
Written by experts, all information is accurate and trustworthy. For help with CQ Researcher or any library resource, just ask at the Reference Desk!
Blurb #1
"Mexico’s Drug War: Is the violence spilling into the U.S.?" This is the title to a recent report published by CQ Researcher. This database discusses issues of current interest each week in the same format, looking at the past, present, and future of a particular phenomenon. Some students like the section where two experts take opposing sides to the question at hand. Others appreciate the extensive list of references at the end as it launches them on a fruitful research trajectory.
[Trajectory: adj. 1. Physics. Of or pertaining to that which is thrown or hurled through the air or space. N. 1. a. Physics. The path of any body moving under the action of given forces; by many modern writers restricted to that of a body not known to be moving, like a planet, in a closed curve or orbit; esp. the curve described by a projectile in its flight through the air.]
Blurb #2
Do you need to know more about an issue of current interest? Congressional Quarterly Researcher can fulfill your need. Each week it publishes substantive articles that deal with important phenomena in our society, typically with deep political ramifications. Take a look at the most recent issues, browse by topic, or search for issues important to you. Topics include cyberbullying, the drug war in Mexico, obesity in children, steroids in sports, global warming, etc.
Blurb #3
Will you need to write a term paper or a speech this semester? Take a look at one of the Library’s most interesting databases, CQ Researcher. It includes salient articles relevant to today’s most pressing issues, from Mexico’s drug wars to financial bailouts, gun rights to declining birth rates, and gay marriage to internet accuracy. Experts take sides on issues, outlining the pros and cons from their own perspectives. A large bibliography or works-cited section also proves useful for those willing to do more fulfilling, in-depth research.
Blurb # 4
Are you ready to branch out from the normal databases you usually access? This database, CQ Researcher, can help you understand issues of importance for our country, including a breakdown of its history, current situation, and future outlook. Find articles on China’s human rights, Mexico’s drug war, cyberbullying, race and politics, and much more. Each article offers other sources of information for digging deeper into the subject.
Editor's Final Edition Titled:
"For Current Events & Controversial Issues!"
Need to write a speech or a term paper on a "hot topic"? Try CQ Researcher, one of the Library's most interesting databases. Weekly reports focus on specific topics, from financial bailouts to Mexico's drug wars; gun rights to declining birth rates; gay marriage to Internet accuracy. Each includes:
• an overview of the topic
• an in-depth discussion of the current situation
• a Pro/Con section
• a very useful Chronology
• a bibliography
• an "Issue Tracker" for Related Reports.
Written by experts, all information is accurate and trustworthy. For help with CQ Researcher or any library resource, just ask at the Reference Desk!
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