duPont Library: Rhetoric 101: Public Speaking: Choose a Topic

Choosing a Topic is Research!

Check out this helpful video about the process of choosing a topic!

(Put together by the librarians at North Carolina State University)

Discover Topics

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
A database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text access to differing points of view on current social issues. Brings together viewpoint articles, contextual topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, biographies of social activists, court cases, profiles of government agencies and special interest groups, newspaper and magazine articles, as well as links to more than 1,800 reviewed and subject-indexed web sites.

Procon.org
This site provides a helpful overview of many controversial issues. Beware the pro-con mindset, though! Use the discussion questions, "take action" sections, and references to find a range of perspectives on these topics.

NewsBank Special Reports This link opens in a new window
NewsBank's Special Reports are news articles, images, videos, maps and other useful content grouped for convenience under specific topics and themes. These Reports enable users to quickly locate information on a specific subject while helping them gain better insight into current global issues and events. Each Report features current and retrospective coverage, and new articles are added daily.

Boston Review - Forum
The Boston Review Forum features discussions among experts on different current issues or relevant topics. Some of the topics here might not fit the RHET 101 assignment, but for those that do, the Forum presents more nuanced arguments and different ways of thinking about issues.

Global Issues Library This link opens in a new window
The Global Issues Library will include at completion coverage of 180 issues, topics, and events from the late 1890s to the present that are key to understanding today’s world, including border and migration, atrocities and human rights violations, peacekeeping, climate change, terrorism, revolutions, and human trafficking. Specific events explored include the U.S. and Mexico Border, the Rwandan Genocide, the Arab Spring, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and climate migrants in Asia Pacific. Curated by an international board of scholars, issues and events are presented through a variety of perspectives—personal, governmental, legal, contemporary and retrospective—that demonstrate the interactions and interconnectedness of global issues.The collection includes deep primary sources, essays, case studies, commentary, documentaries and historical news footage.

Polling and Issues Websites

These sites include data and infographics that can help you see what people think about your controversy.

Pew Research Center
"Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world."
Gallup Trends
Trends presented by one of the premier organizations for public opinion polling data
Harris Poll
"From sports to health, politics to the economy, the Harris Poll reflects Americans’ opinions on a wide range of topics and are regularly published by national, local, consumer, business and trade media outlets."

Think Tanks

Think tanks do research and present reports on issues, but they should be viewed with caution by information-seekers, since they are often partisan. Because of this bias, they may be helpful for research into a particular viewpoint. Often the general consensus will align think tanks with a particular place on the political spectrum. Those alignments are noted in the descriptions below.

Brookings Institution
"The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level." (Centrist)
Cato Institute
"The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace." (Libertarian)
Heritage Foundation
"The mission of The Heritage Foundation is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." (Conservative)
Institute for Policy Studies
"IPS is a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action." (Liberal)
Lexington Institute
"It is the goal of the Lexington Institute to inform, educate, and shape the public debate of national priorities in those areas that are of surpassing importance to the future success of democracy, such as national security, education reform, tax reform, immigration and federal policy concerning science and technology." (Conservative)
Policy Archive
"PolicyArchive is an innovative, new digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It makes use of the power, efficiency, and economy of modern Internet technology to collect and disseminate summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research." (Bi-partisan)

Jessie Ball duPont Library

Rhetoric 101: Public Speaking

Remember Goldilocks

Fact-checking Websites

Choosing a Topic is Research!

Discover Topics

Polling and Issues Websites

Think Tanks