Recommended Resources

The library has more than 700 databases available for all UNCG students, staff, and faculty to use at no additional cost. Some of these databases are actually designed to present multiple points of view to users and to provide context on the issues they address. Here are a few that we recommend you use:

Points of View is a great place to browse for research topic ideas and to explore different perspectives on a controversial or complex problem. The video below, from the company that created this database, shows you the basic features of Points of View and how to navigate it. As you’ll see in the video, if you select a topic from the category list, the overview of that topic links you to “Point” and “Counterpoint” articles that explore the topic from different perspectives. You can also find popular and scholarly articles related to the topic from the overview page, or by doing a basic or advanced search in the database. As UNCG students, you will need to access this database through our library databases page or from this direct link.

Otherwise, you might be asked to pay for the content, which we never want you to have to do!

Points of View Reference Center - Tutorial from EBSCO on Vimeo.

CQ Researcher is affiliated with Congressional Quarterly, which publishes things related to the United States Congress. This database takes major political issues and has “reports” on each one which provide helpful context and background information on the issues. Many of the reports include Pro/Con pages, where experts on a particular topic write pieces for or against a particular point of view related to the subject. As with Points of View, you should access CQ Researcher through the library databases page or from this direct link.

Even beyond using the sources you can find within Points of View or CQ Researcher, you can also get inspiration for search terms to help you seek out other sources that approach your topic from a different perspective. For example, if you are arguing that animal testing is unethical and should be banned, you might come across a source about the role of animal experimentation in medical research. You now have two additional terms (animal experimentation and medical research) to bring into your search strategy that might help you locate more sources that focus on this alternative perspective on your topic. 

One thing to be aware of with both Points of View and CQ Researcher is that not everything you find in these databases would be considered peer-reviewed. In Points of View, you’re able to limit to peer-reviewed sources, but you’ll find that the point and counterpoint articles typically aren’t peer-reviewed. Be sure to check with your instructor or read your research assignment carefully to see if popular sources (like magazine articles, newspapers, or websites) are acceptable. To learn more about peer review, see this page. 

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