Public Speaking Resources  

ZSR Library Homepage

Ask a Librarian

Personal Research Session

Citation Style Guides

Interlibrary Loan

Student FAQs

LexisNexis Congressional: Provides indexing and full text of federal bills, laws, and regulations as well as information on Congress, voting records, legislative histories from 1789 to the present, and current legislative activities.

Statistical Abstract of the US

Budget of the US

• Non-Governmental Organizations Search (custom google search that searches the web sites of hundreds of non-profit organizations)
• Public Policy Issues and Groups From Vanderbilt University
• C-SPAN Public Policy Organizations

This research guide is designed for students doing research for their informative speeches and/or their persuasive speeches. As many of these tend to take you into current issues, hot topics, popular culture, that is where these sources will point you. If your speech is about something more specific or if run into any obstacles, don't hesitate to contact me.

~ Rosalind Tedford

In the Reference Department on the 4th floor of the Wilson Wing in the ZSR Library we have reference materials on many issues. Below are listed just a very few examples. To see what we have come visit us at the desk, or use our Ask Page for more ways to contact us.

Online Background Sources

• CQ Researcher and CQ Global Researcher provide excellent starting places to learn about current events, hot topics and global issues. 
• Gale Virtual Reference Library allows you to search across dozens of online subject specific reference sources.
  
• ABC-CLIO Ebook collection is another collection of subject reference materials
  

Examples of Background Sources in the Reference Area (4th Floor Wilson Wing)

• Energy Use Worldwide Ref TJ 163.2 M62 2007
• Global Warming in the 21st Century Ref QC 981.8 G56 J643 2006 (4 vols.)
• Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook Ref HV 7436 C36 2006
• Illegal Immigration Ref JV 6483 L45 2007
• World at Risk: A Global Issues Sourcebook Ref JZ 1242 W67 2002
• Encyclopedia of Abortion In the United States Ref HQ 767.5 U5 P35 2002
• Social Issues in America: An Encyclopedia Ref HN 57 S624 2006

Use the Online Catalog to locate books and other materials in Reynolds Library.

To find books on US Policy Issues, search on the policy and "United States" from the Guided Keyword tab. For example:

• "Gun Control" AND "United States"
• "Economic Regulation" AND "United States"
  

This can lead you to perfect books like The politics of gun control by Robert J. Spitzer.

When you find a book on your topic, be sure to look at the subject links at the bottom of the record, as those can lead you to other books on the same subject.

When you are locating a book in the stacks, be sure to check out the books that are shelved with it, as those may be on your topic as well and may even be better than the one you are looking for!

Online Databases

• Academic Search Premier
  Good all-around database that covers national news sources, popular publications and scholarly journals as well.
• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International
  The PAIS International database contains references to more than 553,300 journal articles, books, government documents, and more. Be sure to include "United States" as a search term.
  
• Sociological Abstracts
  Provides citations and abstracts to articles published in some 2300 journals in sociology, social welfare, and social policy, as well as other related topics in the social and behavioral sciences.
  
• Military and Government Collection
  Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of these sites. 
• LexisNexis Academic
  For legal, statistical, and current events info
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (citations and abstracts with WFU Full Text Options)
  This database covers US as well as international politics. Click the Advanced Search tab and search on multiple terms at once.
• America: History and Life
  America: History and Life is the definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.