Guides: COM 180 Public Speaking & Rhetorical Analysis (Wilson): Finding & Researching Topics

Required Textbook

The textbook for this COM 180 class is available online and free of charge. Yea!

The link is https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1NR-sV9tK9P6k_es9wTpM8Rqze-tExzvF?fbclid=IwAR3vSZBBXtfnINQ67FD2RRqNMsZmekzdT8GulVd8faGjFlE1R7QWwa8LeEA

Finding Topics

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
A complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Users have access to viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, interactive maps, videos, streaming audio, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
From immigration to stem cells to texting-while-driving, Opposing Viewpoints in Context delivers 13,000+ pro/con views, 1,000+ court case overviews, and thousands more topic overviews, biographies and profiles.

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the most current and controversial issues of the day. Each single-themed, 12,000-word report is researched and written by a seasoned journalist, professionally fact-checked, and footnoted to facilitate further research. A feature called Hot Topics provides shorter reports on 20 of the most popular subjects.

Finding Academic Articles - Essential Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Primary multidisciplinary database at Pepperdine. Use the "choose databases" link from the main search page to include other EBSCO databases such as Business Source Complete, Education Full Text or GreenFile.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Access to content from CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study. CMMC offers cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for more than 620 journals, and selected coverage of nearly 200 more, for a combined coverage of more than 820 titles.
ERIC This link opens in a new window
Provides access to education literature and resources, including journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. The database contains more than 1.6 million records and links to more than 337,000 full-text documents dating back to 1966.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
The American Psychological Association’s (APA) resource is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. It contains over 5 million records and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s. Journal coverage, which spans from the 1800s to the present, includes international material selected from around 2,500 periodicals in dozens of languages.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Access to the industry’s most used business research database, providing full text for more than 2,200 journals, including more than 1,100 peer-reviewed titles in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Updated daily.
Sage Journals Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the full text of individual SAGE journals, including issues dating back to 1999. SAGE publishes journals in Business, Communication, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine and includes leading international peer-reviewed titles, including high-impact research journals published on behalf of over 245 scholarly and professional societies.
Taylor & Francis Social Science & Humanities Library This link opens in a new window
Access to over 900 online journals from Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and Psychology Press. Featured disciplines include Behavioral Science; Education; Business, Management & Economics; Media, Cultural & Communication Studies; Politics, International Relations & Area Studies; Sociology & Related Disciplines; and Sport, Leisure & Tourism.

Finding Statistical Information

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista.com consolidates statistical data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources and makes it available on four platforms: German, English, French and Spanish. Pepperdine's subscription includes access to the expert tools and the Global Consumer Survey .

Statista Citation Example:
Public Religion Research (2020, September). Religious affiliation in the United States 2017, by age. Statista. https://www.statista.com/

Please note Statista also has its own citation generator; click on the quotes icon on the right hand side of a graph to select the graph's citation format and output.

United States Census Bureau Data This link opens in a new window
The Census Bureau is the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Data access and dissemination system that provides useful facts and information about your community, your economy, and your society. The system will find and retrieve the information you need from some of the Census Bureau's largest data sets.

PewResearchCenter
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.

Finding Newspaper & Periodical Articles

U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
U.S. Major Dailies provides access to the five major U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times (1980 - present), Washington Post (1987 - present), Los Angeles Times (1985 - present), Chicago Tribune, (1985 - present), and Wall Street Journal (1984 - present).
New York Times (ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies) This link opens in a new window
Indexing and full-text access to the New York Times, including extensive coverage of national, international and local news. Covers 1980 to current date.
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window
Indexing and full-text access to the Los Angeles Times including extensive coverage of national, international and local news. Covers 1985 to current date.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for 40 national & international newspapers, including The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Times (London), Toronto Star plus selected full text for more than 330 regional newspapers, including The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, The Miami Herald, Daily News (New York) and San Jose Mercury News.
Full text television & radio news transcripts are provided from CBS News, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, NPR, and others
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis®—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790. For an overview of how to use Nexis Uni, visit this page.
This database is only available to current Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff.

Finding Policy, Images & Reference Information

Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics, and the nation’s premier resource for unbiased information on elections, politics and policy. Ballotpedia is nonprofit and nonpartisan, not affiliated with any political campaign or advocacy group. Ballotpedia currently has more than 390,000 encyclopedic articles; content includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections and candidates.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge. One goal of Creative Commons is to increase the amount of openly licensed creativity in “the commons” — the body of work freely available for legal use, sharing, repurposing, and remixing. Through the use of CC licenses, millions of people around the world have made their photos, videos, writing, music, and other creative content available for any member of the public to use. Use the Openverse link to find CC-licensed and public domain content, video and audio.

Policy Commons This link opens in a new window
Research and reports addressing urban affairs, climate change, agricultural and environmental sciences, economics, social justice, gender equality, international development, sustainability, public health, law policy, public policy, and more. Licensed content comes from Environmental Law Institute, Council of Europe, African Books Collective, and other partners.
Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Access to encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Titles can be searched alone, by subject, or all titles can be searched together.
Encyclopedia of Communication Theory This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive overview of contemporary communication theory. Entries address topics related not only to paradigms, traditions, and schools, but also metatheory, methodology, inquiry, and applications and contexts.
American Decades This link opens in a new window
Spanning American history in the 20th Century, this source offers access to more than 2000 primary source materials including selected speeches, letters, legal decisions, government documents, lyrics, advertisements, literary scripts, recipes, scrapbooks, cartoons, and many other types of material. This resource is continued by American Decades: 2000-2009.