LibGuides: Election Issue Research: Home

Research Guidelines

ELECTION ISSUE RESEARCH

Objectives: Democracy functions better when citizens make informed choices based on factual evidence about candidates and the policies they espouse. Some citizens are driven to support a specific candidate, while others are committed to advocating for a policy position of importance to them. Today with 24-7 media coverage and near universal access to Internet sources of news, it is easier than ever to gather information about candidates and issues. But also today, with the polarization of the electorate and media outlets, it is harder than ever to assess the validity of that information and to discuss it productively with others who may not share your views. In this project, you will investigate an issue using the most credible sources possible, while also utilizing a wide range of views.

Election Issue Research.doc

Chicago Citation Examples
Via University of Maryland Global Campus
Chicago Manual of Style: Quick Citation Guide
Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations
CMOS sample paper
Via Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
NoodleTools
Use NoodleTools to cite your sources and take notes. Share your project with your teacher's project inbox.

Databases

Environmental Studies in Context
Gale Environmental Studies in Context contains journal articles, magazine articles, and other resources on issues ranging from global warming, to food safety, to access to health care, to the impact of economic development on international relations, today's important environmental issues are shaping the future and reach far beyond the United States.

Username: balt23720
Password: balt23720
Points of View Reference Center
Containing resources that present multiple sides of an issue, this database provides rich content that can help students assess and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issuesand develop analytical thinking skills.

Username: roland
Password: ParkCS2023!
Gale In Context High School
Gale In Context High School offers cross-curricular content aligned to national and state curriculum standards and reinforces the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Learners can access news content including full-text newspapers and periodicals like The Economist, The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Popular Science, Smithsonian, and more. Empower learning with hundreds of thousands of images, videos, and audio selections that include archival film clips, broadcast video, BBC News, New York Times video, and NPR.

Username: balt23720
Password: balt23720

Candidates' Websites

News Sources

Ethnic News Watch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives. The database now also contains Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, which provides historical coverage of Native American, African American, and Hispanic American periodicals from 1959-1989.

Username: rolandpark
Password: rolandpark
US Newsstream
US Newsstream enables users to search the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format. For academic and public libraries, US Newsstream offers exclusive access to the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and co-exclusive access (with Factiva) to The Wall Street Journal. US Newsstream also offers one of the largest collections of local and regional newspapers, and is cross-searchable on the ProQuest platform.

Username: rpcs2016
Password: rpcs2016#

Think Tanks

Centrist Think Tanks: Congressional Research Service
Informing the legislative debate since 1914
Centrist Think Tanks: Rand Corporation
The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous.
Conservative Think Tanks: American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world. The work of our scholars and staff advances ideas rooted in our belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of our society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.
Conservative Think Tanks: Heritage Foundation
We are ramping up our efforts to get them conservative policy solutions that will shrink the size of government, reform the tax code, dismantle Obamacare, and secure our borders.
Conservative Think Tanks: Hoover Institution
With its eminent scholars and world-renowned Library and Archives, the Hoover Institution seeks to improve the human condition by advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity, while securing and safeguarding peace for America and all mankind.
Liberal Think Tanks: 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.
Liberal Think Tanks: Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country.
Liberal Think Tanks: Urban Institutes
The Urban Institute is the trusted source for unbiased, authoritative insights that inform consequential choices about the well-being of people and places in the United States. We are a nonprofit research organization that believes decisions shaped by facts, rather than ideology, have the power to improve public policy and practice, strengthen communities, and transform people’s lives for the better.

Candidate Issue Research

Meet the Candidates
18 Questions. 21 Democrats.Here’s What They Said. We tracked down the 2020 Democrats and asked them the same set of questions.
Vote Smart
Vote Smart's mission is to provide free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to ALL Americans.