Cover Art: N/A
Title: Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Publisher: Gale
Copyright: 2011
Access Information: I accessed this database through the Alameda County Library. A library card is required.
Description
Opposing Viewpoints in Context describes itself as “the premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration.” It is designed to help high school students “research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.” The database includes a wide variety of resource types, including “viewpoint essays,” biographies, court-case overviews, articles, statistical tables, images, and podcasts. There are many ways to explore these resources—through lists of issues, topic categories, curriculum standards (both national and by state), etc. The search bar allows you to limit your search to a particular medium with a single click. Under the “Maps” tab you can select issues from the scroll bar at the top of the page. Each issue listed has associated maps of the U.S. illustrating data related to that issue. For example, if you click on “Agricultural Subsidies” you see a map showing agricultural subsidies by state and year in dollars. A sidebar provides links to current headlines in The New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek.
Critical Evaluation
This database has some superficial problems: the frame for the slideshow of featured issues on the homepage is too wide, which distorts the photos that appear in it. The tutorial videos are slow to load, and their introductions get cut off part of the way through when the video skips ahead to the main topic. The “Tools for Getting Started and Wrapping It Up” page lists links to an external website, galeschools.com. Once on that page, there is no way to navigate back to the list of links other than using the back button. These issues are serious because they make the website look unprofessional and negatively impact usability.
Overall, though, this is a wonderful, user-friendly resource. The tutorial videos are short but clear. The “Tools for Getting Started and Wrapping It Up” include concise, helpful instructions for making outlines, citing sources, etc. The topic or portal pages, available for over 250 issues ranging from abortion to standardized testing to the World Trade Organization, provide thorough yet readable overviews of the topics and usefully organized additional resources. Especially helpful are the viewpoint articles that argue for and against positions relating to the topic. On the abortion page, for example, the following viewpoint articles are listed:
Why is this title included?
This database is designed specifically for high school students and provides great resources for research on current events and issues.
Title: Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Publisher: Gale
Copyright: 2011
Access Information: I accessed this database through the Alameda County Library. A library card is required.
Description
Opposing Viewpoints in Context describes itself as “the premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration.” It is designed to help high school students “research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.” The database includes a wide variety of resource types, including “viewpoint essays,” biographies, court-case overviews, articles, statistical tables, images, and podcasts. There are many ways to explore these resources—through lists of issues, topic categories, curriculum standards (both national and by state), etc. The search bar allows you to limit your search to a particular medium with a single click. Under the “Maps” tab you can select issues from the scroll bar at the top of the page. Each issue listed has associated maps of the U.S. illustrating data related to that issue. For example, if you click on “Agricultural Subsidies” you see a map showing agricultural subsidies by state and year in dollars. A sidebar provides links to current headlines in The New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek.
Critical Evaluation
This database has some superficial problems: the frame for the slideshow of featured issues on the homepage is too wide, which distorts the photos that appear in it. The tutorial videos are slow to load, and their introductions get cut off part of the way through when the video skips ahead to the main topic. The “Tools for Getting Started and Wrapping It Up” page lists links to an external website, galeschools.com. Once on that page, there is no way to navigate back to the list of links other than using the back button. These issues are serious because they make the website look unprofessional and negatively impact usability.
Overall, though, this is a wonderful, user-friendly resource. The tutorial videos are short but clear. The “Tools for Getting Started and Wrapping It Up” include concise, helpful instructions for making outlines, citing sources, etc. The topic or portal pages, available for over 250 issues ranging from abortion to standardized testing to the World Trade Organization, provide thorough yet readable overviews of the topics and usefully organized additional resources. Especially helpful are the viewpoint articles that argue for and against positions relating to the topic. On the abortion page, for example, the following viewpoint articles are listed:
Abortion Is a Form of GenocideOpposing Viewpoints makes its resources easy to download, email, and cite. The database is continuously updated both to keep its information current and to reflect the issues of the moment. It not only makes it easy for teens to do good research, it teaches them what good research is.
Abortion Is Not a Form of Genocide
Abortion Increases the Risk for Breast Cancer
Abortion Does Not Increase the Risk for Breast Cancer
The U.S. Supreme Court Should Overturn Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court Should Not Overturn Roe v. Wade
We Should Strive to Reduce the Number of Abortions
Why is this title included?
This database is designed specifically for high school students and provides great resources for research on current events and issues.