Skip to Main Content

Current Issues

A guide for researching current issues and controversial topics in the news and public debate, with emphasis on writing argumentative essays about these topics.

Get to know your topic by searching news & hot topic databases

Now it's time to explore news, magazine, and journal articles. The library has some of these in print, but the majority are found in databases.

Use the Journal Finder tool if you know a specific newspaper, magazine, or journal title that you would like to find. This tool will direct you to the appropriate database, if we have access to it.

The videos below review advanced search techniques that will help you focus your searches so they are more effective.

Featured Database: CQ Researcher

Featured Database: SIRS

News and Current Issues Databases

Sample Search: "Homelessness"

This search comes from the General OneFile database, to show you an example of the kinds of articles you'll find when you search for your topic in a database.  You can search for articles on any topic using the links in the Current Issues Databases box to the left.

Academic Databases for Scholarly Articles