Section Two C: Research Topics - Research Strategy - CQ Researcher

CQ Researcher

An excellent place get ideas and background information for a research project, CQ Researcher, is a database with full text reports on current and controversial topics. Reports provide background information, Pro/Con views, maps and graphs, and bibliographies with additional information sources.

• To access CQ Researcher, from the Library homepage select Articles & Journals, located at the bottom of the page under Using the Library. Then search for CQ Researcher or select it from the alphabetized database list.
• You can find topics by browsing reports in the left menu (Topics, Pro/Con), or search for a topic in the QUICK SEARCH window. CQ Researcher is a small database, so a general keyword search works best.

• Scan through the results list to see if any of the reports look relevant to the topic you are considering. If a result looks useful, be sure to check the dates to make sure the report is a recent publication.

• If you find a report that looks relevant, click the title to access the full text. You can read the full report or access various parts of the report from the menu on left side of the page. To cite the report in your paper or presentation, click the CiteNow! button and select the format style required for your class (APA, Chicago, MLA) but double check the result. Citation tools are rarely completely accurate.