Online Resources: Opposing Viewpoints
About Opposing Viewpoints
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Opposing Viewpoints is an online library of current event topics. It is useful for all majors for finding information on contemporary social issues such as censorship, immigration, stem cell research, terrorism and many more. The sources in this database allow you to explore the various sides of an issue.
You can search by keywords in Opposing Viewpoints, but the easiest way to get started is to use the Browse Issues feature.
The contents include:
- Pro and con viewpoint articles, especially helpful for debate assignments and persuasive essays.
- Full-text magazines, academic journals, and newspapers.
- Statistical tables, charts and graphs.
- Podcasts, including NPR programs.
Accessing Opposing Viewpoints
- Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window This database provides viewpoint essays, reference sources, statistics, magazine and newspaper articles, primary documents and recommended websites and images to present various sides of an issue.
Do I have to log in?
If you are using a campus computer or campus WiFi, you should be able to directly access the resource. If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log in using your Single Sign-On username and password. Contact the library if you have any problems accessing the resource.
Searching in Opposing Viewpoints
Basic Search:
OR
Click the “Browse Issues” button (placement will vary depending on how large your screen is, as shown in above examples) to browse the topic list of subjects, OR
You may do a specific search by entering a term(s) in the search box. A search assist function suggests topics as you type in a search term. Topic pages will appear in bold and italicized.
Advanced Search: This search allows you to search in multiple fields, like article title, subject, author, or company name. Add rows to your search to make it as specific as you want. You can also limit this type of search by document type, date, and source type.
Learn the basics about how to navigate Opposing Viewpoints by watching Gale's video:
Search Results
When you conduct a search, in the top section of your results page, you'll find a breakdown of all of the types of content the search found and the number of each type of content. Click on a content type (e.g. Videos) to go directly to those resources.
Scroll through the center section of the page to view each of the titles your search returned, grouped by type. In addition to the title, the source (e.g. NPR Morning Edition) and date of each item are also listed. Dates can be very important if you're looking for the most recent information on your topic.
You also have the ability, on this page, to limit (reduce the number of) your results to Full Text Documents (you can read the entire document in the database) as well as apply other limiters (e.g. Date Published, Subjects) using the buttons on the right side of the page under the heading "Filter Your Results."
If you select a topic from the Browse Issues list, you will be taken to the topic page for the selected issue (see below).
To get a link to the page you are using, click the Get Link icon at the top of the page. A box will po
p up with a url that can be copied & pasted.
Topic Pages in Opposing Viewpoints
When you select a topic from the Browse Issues list, you will be directed to the topic page. Topic pages include an overview article on the topic and links to relevant resources about the issue.
You can connect to many of these types of resources from a topic page:
- Position essays (Viewpoints)
- News stories
- Academic journals
- Videos
- Podcasts (audio)
- Websites
- Related topics
- Reference materials
Using Opposing Viewpoints: Finding and Narrowing a Topic
Opposing Viewpoints is also a good place to start your research or to find a topic.
This video will help you narrow your topic and select sources.
Library Database References
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is typically not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Business Insights, Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source, but your professor may request that you include them.
- Business Insights This link opens in a new window
Your business intelligence resource containing case studies, statistical data sources, news articles, academic journals, and other material organized by country, company and industry.
The citation tool above results in this for an article:
Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating Community, Consciousness and Capital on Campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3). Retrieved from https://bi.gale.com/global/article/GALE|A597895516/48398b0d65e763958fb4d0e51125f445?u=centpenn_itc1#
The correct citation will not include the database information because the article can be found in other databases or through an online search. If there were a DOI, the DOI url would be included. If there were page numbers, they would be included after the issue number. Since there isn't a DOI, or page numbers, and the URL would take the reader to a login page the URL is not included. The reference ends after the volume number.
Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating community, consciousness and capital on campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3).
In Business Insights there is a good chance you will be retrieving items that are not articles, but reports and other data. These sources do not have the citation tool option. These reports might not be found elsewhere so the name of the database is included, along with the retrieval date if they update over time and are not archived.
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.
OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.
For example:
GlobalData. (2019, March). Starbucks Corp - Financial and strategic analysis review. Business Insights.
New Constructs. (2022, February 19). Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) [Investment report]. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from Business Insights.
Starbucks Corp. [Company profile]. (2019). Business Insights. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from Business Insights.
McDonald's Corp. (2020). [McDonald's Corp. interim - last 5 periods Income statement]. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from Business Insights.
** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A great place to start your research. Credo provides 24/7 access to general reference works (dictionaries & encyclopedias) as well as charts and images. Among other tools there are thousands of topic pages to assist research by highlighting additional resources provided by the library.
In Credo, either use the citation tool at the top of the page or find the APA citation following each entry.
Copy and paste the citation, and then make any necessary corrections.
This is how a citation from a reference work is generally structured.
Author's last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work (edition). Publisher name.
This is what the copied citation looks like using the citation tools in Credo:
Almost correct, but it does not need the URL in 7th edition APA. This is how it should look:
Posluszny, D., Spencer, S., & Baum, A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In S. Ayers, A. Baum, C. McManus, & et. al. (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
The following example, is if there is no author.
Hormone therapy. (2016). In Merriam Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
Ebook Central offers full-text access to thousands of books. In your personal bookshelf, you may customize your content by adding notes and highlighting text. Use your Blackboard account information to log into your personal bookshelf.
Ebook Central has a Citation tool available both on the Detail Page and in the Reader view of the ebook. 
Book and ebook citations are treated the same. They require the following elements: author(s), year of publication, book title, book edition (if applicable), and publisher name. Ebook Central does not need to be listed as the database.
Author's last name, initials. (year of publication). Title of book: With only capitalization of first word of title and subtitle and any proper nouns. Publisher. DOI or URL
Change the format in the drop-down box to APA. The citation ends after the publisher's name because there is no DOI and the URL will not work without logging in. "Dark Knight" is one of Batman's most well-known nicknames, and the name Batman is also a proper noun, so all three words should be capitalized. You also don't need to include the business structure information (Limited). The corrected citation is:
Brooker, W. (2012). Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-first century Batman. I.B. Tauris & Company.
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost Web is our most powerful periodicals database, offering the most full text access to scholarly journals, magazines, news articles and e-books.
When you click the Cite tool button the popup screen provides citations in a variety of styles. Scroll down to find the APA citation. Copy & paste it into your paper and then correct it for 7th edition style if necessary. Articles should follow this format:
Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL
In the example below, the first word of the subtitle (after the colon) should be capitalized, but the 'of' in the Journal title should not be.
Corrected citation:
Dury, R. (2016). COPD and emotional distress: Not always noticed and therefore untreated. British Journal of Community Nursing, 21(3), 138–141. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.3.138
Business reports are treated differently because these reports might not be found elsewhere; in this situation the name of the database is included. If the information updates over time and is not be archived, include the retrieval date.
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.
OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.
Citation example of corrected MarketLine report in Business Source Premier:
MarketLine. (2019, October 28). Company profile: Netflix, Inc. Business source Premier.
[You'll find the date on the first page of the PDF, bottom left.]
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Films On Demand This link opens in a new window
Films On Demand is a Web-based digital video delivery service that allows you to view streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime, anywhere, 24/7! Choose from thousands of high-quality educational titles in dozens of subject areas.
Films on Demand does have a Citation tool available directly below the video frame.
HOWEVER--Films on Demand citations for APA are usually incomplete and should not include a URL (APA citations should only have a retrieval date if the content might change).
You can start with the citation from Films on Demand, but you will need to correct it and finish it yourself with help from a style guide, a librarian, and/or your professor.
Here is an example citation from a Films on Demand video:
As you can see, the video director or producer is missing. However, that information is easily available in the database.
In the image below you can see, in the Details section, that the video producer is Java Films.
A correct APA citation for this film would be:
Java Films (Producer). (2014). The mobile revolution [Video].
Many videos in Films on Demand are divided into segments, and sometimes you might only use a segment in a project/presentation.
To cite a segment: Add the segment name and number to the citation
Java Films (Producer). (2014). Disruptive technology [segment 13]. In The mobile revolution [Video].
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
This collection of databases contains extensive coverage in business, physical sciences, information science and technology, medicine, terrorism, criminal justice and much more.
Articles should follow this basic format:
Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL
This is the citation that Gale displays:
Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10+. Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612694392/AONE?u=centpenn_itc1&sid=AONE&xid=64436e81.
It should be:
Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: Clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/JCI134708
The page numbers indicated (10+) weren't correct. Downloading the article you are able to find the page range on the PDF, and there was a doi provided.
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