How do I choose a speech topic? A great way to find a speech topic is to read a newspaper or read a news transcript. What captures your interest?
PressDisplay (NewspaperDirect) PressDisplay provides electronic access to over 700 newspapers from 76 countries in 38 languages in full-color and full-page format. Users can browse articles and other key content, such as pictures, advertisements, and classifieds.
- User Guides:PressDisplay User Tips
Wisconsin Newsstand (ProQuest/CSA)
Access ended July 1, 2009
Due to BadgerLink's efforts to offer more online resources, Newspaper Source Plus from EBSCOhost replaces this database. Provides newspaper coverage of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal and the Madison Capital Times, plus selected coverage of other regional sources.
Start with Reference Materials Taking a few minutes to read about your topic in a subject encyclopedia, dictionary or handbook may be one of the most effective and time saving research tips.
Search the Library Catalog The Reference collection includes books that can help you focus your topic. These books are good places to start your research when you know little about a topic, when you need an overview of a subject, or when you want a quick summary of basic ideas. They are also useful for discovering leaders in the field, as well as specialized vocabulary. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by carefully selected bibliographies which can lead you to new resources.
Select Subject Encyclopedias By searching the library catalog (as shown above) you can locate ALL of our reference materials. The link above includes a much smaller collection of our subject specific encyclopedias available electronically.
Librarians' Internet Index Librarians' Internet Index (LII) is a publicly-funded website. High-quality websites are carefully selected, described, and organized by a team of librarians. Topics include current events and issues, holidays and seasons, helpful tools for information users, human interest, and more.
Gather Background Information Use these four library resources to build your background knowledge of your topic. Note important keywords that describe your topic as you will use these terms to search article databases for scholarly research on your topic.
Is the book you need not available or already checked out? No problem, request it from another UW library through Universal Borrowing. Your request will be delivered to the circulation desk @ Murphy within several days. Using Universal Borrowing
CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online (Columbia University Press) Citations, abstracts, and selected full-text of journal articles, working papers, and conference papers in topics such as: international affairs, economics, environment, and politics. Also includes case studies, course packs, and a schedule of events with calls for papers.
GAO Reports and Testimonies Reports ("blue books") by the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office, commonly featuring statistics and graphs, that analyze and investigate how federal government programs spend taxpayer dollars. Topic areas include: Agriculture & Food, Budget & Spending, Business/Industry & Consumers, Civil Rights, Education, Employment, Energy, Environmental Protection, Housing, International Affairs, Justice & Law Enforcement, National Defense, Natural Resources
Contact Your Librarian: Jen Holman
Jen Holman is available to answer questions regarding research topics or any of the resources on this page:
Where/How:
- e-mail: holman.jeni@uwlax.edu
- phone: 608-785-8395
- chat via the box below when I'm online
- in person, Murphy 117
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