Source Types

Besides general searches, there are a lot of specific sources online that will serve you well in debate. Databases are excellent places to search for evidence because they are organized by topic and generally contain more scholarly works. Some common databases are JSTOR (history focus) and Lexis Nexus (legal writings and news) among others. Check and see what databases your school buys access to; often you won’t be able to access a database without a paid subscription. It’s also a good idea to make friends with someone at a local college so that you can access the college’s databases. These are guaranteed to be more expansive than your high school’s offerings.

Here and elsewhere online you will find Scholarly Journals. These are great because they are topic specific as well as peer-reviewed, meaning that in order to be published they have been reviewed and edited by other academics in the field. These journals are great sources to find definitions of key terms, provide more sources to reference in the bibliography section, and are generally very credible. When reading a scholarly article, always start with the abstract, or short summary, at the beginning to determine if the article is worth reading. Also use the table of contents to identify sections pertinent to your research. Rarely will it be worthwhile to read an entire article. Generally the conclusion or discussion sections are most helpful because they discuss the thesis, findings, and implications of the research. You should paraphrase these sources in round because of the density of information and of language. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize the findings more concisely than the author.

Think Tanks are good sources for arguments. These are written for the purpose of arguing one side of an issue (sometimes, though rarely, presenting both sides). Think Tanks are organizations that research and write academic or policy papers; they can be both privately funded and governmentally funded. These tend to have political leanings and therefore you should always know what type of funding/organizational bias might exist. Common Think Tanks you find in Public Forum are The Heritage Foundation, Brookings Institute, CATO Institute, among many others.

News Organizations and Editorials/Opinion pieces are another great resource. Recent articles keep you abreast of the topic and will often point you to other sources, authors, or avenues of research. News articles are also written at roughly a fifth grade level, meaning they will give you good quotations and ways to explain more difficult ideas to your judge. You most likely know these sources well: The New York Times, the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, etc. National Newspapers are more recognizable. There are also sites that are News Aggregators, such as The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, etc. These sites draw articles from other news publications. Always cite the original publishing organization or author rather than the aggregating site. The value of aggregators is that they can have multiple articles or authors writing on the same topic, and often will provide commentary on this content as well. Some sites, such as the Huffington Post, also have their own journalists who write content for that publication.

You can also find Magazines online and in print. Magazines tend to be topic specific and present a more in depth look at an issue through full-length articles and investigations. Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report, The Economist, and others are great sources for you to use. Go find your friendly neighborhood Extempers and I’m sure they will share.

Blogs are another internet resource, but one you should scrutinize before using. Blogs can be written and published by anyone, meaning that you must take extreme care believing and using as evidence. Always check out the author and the author’s credentials. Even if Joe the Plummer is the one blogging, he may present information that can help you think of an argument. This does not mean you would cite Joe. You want to find another publication or author with credentials who supports Joe’s argument. Some blogs, on the other hand, are written by professionals in the field or academics, such as the Becker-Posner blog hosted by the University of Chicago Law School. A good rule to use for evidence is don’t cite it until you know who writes it. If you want to look for blogs, search for authors you have found helpful to see if they write independently of publication. You can also check various organizations’ websites to see if they have a blog where they post discussions about the issues they study and research.

Books are another resource you should use carefully. Books are great, but in terms of debate, they often weigh you down. Due to the in-depth nature of books, they are published sometimes years after they are written. The information can be out of date or out of the current context. Books also are so in-depth you could spend all of your research time reading them and get nowhere.  To make your book research effective, first peruse the shelves of the library to see what is out there. This will give you an idea of what topics you may want to read up on or directions for your research in general. Next, skim the table of contents of books you find useful and select sections to skim. Read enough to understand the author’s logic and central conclusions. Books are generally best for background knowledge and if on a focused topic, arguments.