UC MERCED LIBRARY TUTORIALS

Using Opposing Viewpoints in Context

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Introduction

This tutorial will show you how to access and use Opposing Viewpoints in Context, a great database for finding information on political and social issues.

Use the active webpage on your right to complete the tutorial.

Finding Opposing Viewpoints

Opposing Viewpoints in Context is one of many databases available through the library's webpage. To navigate to Opposing Viewpoints:

• Click on the Databases tab in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page.
• Type or copy and paste the words opposing viewpoints in the search box and click Go.

Click on Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale).

Browse for Your Topic

The Opposing Viewpoints homepage gives you the option to browse or search for information on your topic.

Browsing

• Scroll down the page to Browse Issues.  These issues are divided into categories. 

Let's say you are interested in researching about the growing use of digital currency.

• Digital currency would probably fit under the category of Law and Politics.
• Click the Law and Politics heading.

• At the Browse Issues page with Topics: Law and Politics, look for digital currency.
• Click on digital currency.
• You are now at the topic page for digital currency.

Different Information Formats

At this topic page for Digital Currency, look at the On This Page box for links to available content types. 

• Featured Viewpoints include selected essays (both pro and con) that are recommended because they are current and relevant. There are usually a small number of Featured Viewpoints.

What is relevance?

• Viewpoints is a larger collection of relevant essays. These articles may be less current but can still be useful.
• Academic Journals are articles written by researchers. Most are scholarly, but there may also be some commentaries and essays based on opinion.
• Statistics are research-based data and related facts.
• Reference includes short articles with background information.
• News has articles from major newspapers and wire services.
• Websites are all from reputable/credible sources.
• Magazines are articles that are credible and serious, but not scholarly.

Take a few minutes to click on some of these links to see all the many types of information sources available for your research!

Search for Your Topic

Let's return to the homepage of Opposing Viewpoints.

• Click on the Opposing Viewpoints banner.

Searching

You can also search, not just browse, in Opposing Viewpoints.

• Locate the Search box at the top of the page.
• Type in the word cryptocurrency.
• Hit Enter or click the magnifying glass icon.

As you type, you will see suggested terms in the drop down menu.

Various sources will appear. They are organized by Content Types which we just explored on the Digital Currency topic page.

You can Filter Your Results using the options at the right such as Date Published or Document Type.

Let's return to the Digital Currency topic page.

• Click the Digital Currency hyperlink under the Suggested Topics box.

Tools

• Locate an article of interest e.g. viewpoint, academic journal etc.
• Click on the title of the article.
• Now at the top right-hand side of the article, look for Tools.

Most databases have tools to assist you with your research. Here are some tools you can use in Opposing Viewpoints.

• Cite will create citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago, and will let you export citations to Citation Managers like RefWorks.
  
• Send to helps you send yourself a link to this page via Google Drive, One Drive, or email.
• Download allow you to create and save a PDF.
• Get link will give you a URL you can use to return to the article later.
• Dictionary (at the bottom of the page) allows you to look up words you don't know.

Take a few minutes to try out these time-saving tools!

More Great Tools

Opposing Viewpoints has many other great tools that can make researching easier.

From an article page, you can:

Translate the article into another language.

Listen to an article as you read. The audio may take a few seconds to load before starting.

Multimedia

• Use the browser's back arrow, or the back arrow found to the left of the search box, to return to your search results for cryptocurrency.

• Scroll down until you see Images and Videos. 
• These multimedia sources can be useful for your research papers and presentations.

Multimedia sources include:

• Audio
  
• Videos
• Images
• and sometimes Interactive Maps
  

Take a few minutes to explore these multimedia sources!

Conclusion

This concludes the Using Opposing Viewpoints in Context tutorial. Now that you've finished:

• Complete the short 3-question quiz on the next page.
• Enter your email and your professor's email when prompted.
• Send the email.
• Print your quiz results if desired.
• Let us know what you think about the tutorial by clicking on the feedback link.

Thank you!

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Certificate

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