Finding Viewpoint Articles -- Variations Created by AIs
AIs can use this page to upload exercises/assignments/approaches they have created or modified for their course.
1. Explanation that can be used in all classroom environments:
1.1 What are databases and why would you use one?
- Databases are collections of information. Many library databases are collections of articles from newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. The Libraries subscribe to these databases on behalf of all students, which means we pay to have access to these collections.
- Google cannot index the information in most library databases, which means the information in the databases usually can't be found in a web search unless the publications included in the database have made their content available for free on the web. Databases give you access to large amounts of published information that are not available for free elsewhere.
- You need to go through the Libraries website and directly into the database to access UT's subscription to that unique collection of information. You can access most of the databases from home, but you'll be prompted for your EID.
1.2 Choosing a database to search
- A list of the databases that the Libraries provide access to can be found at:
- Most databases can be categorized as either Subject-specific or Multidisciplinary
- Subject databases collect the literature of a particular academic field. For example, ERIC includes journals articles, research reports and other information from the field of education. To view a list of subject databases, click Databases by Subject and choose a discipline that might provide information about your controversy. Click "About" next to a database name to learn more about what it contains.
- Multidisciplinary databases are collections of articles from newspaper, magazines, and journals that represent a variety of subject areas. Multidisciplinary databases are great places to start your research to learn more about which fields are writing about it. These databases work especially well when you're researching a controversy because individuals from many different subject areas can have a viewpoint on a controversial issue.
- Shortcuts to Selected Resources at the bottom of the Find Articles Using Databases page provides you with the three multidisciplinary databases listed below that are useful starting places for your research. (You may also want to look at InfoTrac Newspapers listed under I.)
1.3 Searching a database for viewpoint articles
Searching library databases does not work the same way as a Google search. When you do a Google search, you can type in almost anything and something will come back. For example, if you type in “should school lunch programs use local agriculture?” you will get 100,000s of hits. However, when you do the same search in a library article database, you will most likely get nothing. Why is that? Library databases require that you search by concept or key word and connect these using AND and OR. Before you start your research, you should spend at least a few minutes brainstorming key words that you can use in a database. That way, if your first search doesn't get you what you need, you have other key words on hand to use immediately.
- Academic Search Complete, Academic OneFile, InfoTrac Newspapers and LexisNexis Academic provide three search boxes connected with AND. This allows you to represent each concept in a box and link those concepts together. Within each box, use OR to include a variety of terms representing a concept.
- Once you've linked your concepts together, each database has its own methods for allowing you to limit a search to editorial and opinion content.
- Each database usually provides a way of emailing results to yourself. Use this strategy to gather the best results of your research in your inbox for future reference.
Sample search in LexisNexis Academic
1. Choose News
2. Enter your search terms connected by AND. Within each box, use OR to include multiple keywords.
3. Next to “Add index terms” click Show. Under the Subject menu, choose Editorials & Opinions and run your search.
1.4 Evaluating Viewpoint Articles
Your students will probably have a difficult time distinguishing between informative articles and viewpoint articles. Here are some characteristics to discuss with them that will help them decide if the article they find is a viewpoint article, if it is representative of one side of their controversy, and if it is an informed viewpoint.
- Author: Who is the author? A journalist or a researcher reporting facts? Or someone from an organization, a columnist or an expert who is representing a side of the controversy?
- If there is no information on the author in the article, try searching in Google for more on that person. If the name is common one, use a keyword from the topic (ex. Susan Jones and National School Lunch Program)
- Taking a side: Does the author present both sides of the controversy or just one? If just one side, is the article advocating that side, or simply reporting about it?
- Is this author representative of that side? What gives them the authority to represent that side? (ex: is it the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture? A small farm owner? A reporter for a student newspaper?)
- Language: Does the author use language that indicates one side of a viewpoint? (ex. - anti-lunch program reform = affordable lunch program; pro-lunch program reform = sustainable lunch program)
- Section: What section of the newspaper or magazine does the article come from? Viewpoints don't usually appear in a regular news section. If it is from the opinion/editorial section, or if it is labeled as a ‘column’ or ‘editorial’ it is likely to be a viewpoint. Explain to students that op/ed sections contain letters to the editor, too, which can be from anyone, and explain how to identify them.
- Source bias: Does the news source generally lean to a particular side of controversies (examples: liberal vs. conservative; free market economics vs. government regulated economy)?
TIP! The database Library PressDisplay provides a useful visual representation of newspaper publications, including the division of sections by content. Learn more about Using Library PressDisplay in the Classroom.
2. Next steps - No technology in the classroom:
Resources:
Explain databases that are likely to contain viewpoint articles and how to get to them. You can refer them to databases on the Resources for RHE 306/309 Students page on the Libraries web site.
Activities:
- Take-home exercise: Finding Viewpoint Articles
Since you don't teach in a hands on class, this is an assignment that will get your students to search for viewpoint articles and evaluate the ones that they choose.
- In-class discussion: After your students have found an article on their own, discuss what kinds of articles they found and what steps they took to determine that they were viewpoint articles, and that these viewpoints were representative and informed.
- Alternate in-class exercise: Print a viewpoint article in advance and give copies to your students. Have them form groups and analyze/evaluate the article and pick out clues as to why it is a viewpoint (since they can't go online, these should be from within the article - section of the newspaper, a line about who the author is, language the author uses, etc.) and whether it is informed and representative.
3. Next steps - Instructor station only:
Resources:
Explain databases that are likely to contain viewpoint articles and how to get to them. You can show them the databases on the Resources for RHE 306/309 Students page on the Libraries web site, and talk briefly about what they will find in each.
Activities:
- Choose a database and do a search for a sample topic. Have students guide you through the process of choosing and evaluating an article that is likely to be a viewpoint (you might choose a representative example in advance). If you have time, find two articles that are different, for instance one that is obvious and one that that is more difficult to evaluate.
4. Next steps - Hands-on/Networked classroom:
Resources:
Explain databases that are likely to contain viewpoint articles and how to get to them from home. Guide them to the databases on the Resources for RHE 306/309 Students page on the Libraries web site., and talk briefly about what they will find in each.
Activities:
- Finding Viewpoint Articles
Use this exercise after you have discussed the topic. This will give your students the opportunity to find an article that they can use for one of their research summaries.
- Alternate activity
Break students up into groups and have them choose a database and search for articles on a topic. Have each group choose a viewpoint article and evaluate it. Discuss the different databases groups chose, what search terms they used, and the article they chose and how they evaluated it.
5. Suggested Resources/Databases
See the Finding Articles Section. You may also want to suggest that your students find Radio and Television News Transcripts and Speeches.
