Northern Kentucky University

Introduction

Researching a current event is a great way to stay up-to-date with hot topics in the news today. Plus, finding information about a current event is relatively easy, because most news agencies publish recent articles online. In addition, Steely Library provides many online and print resources covering various current issues. These library resources may provide more in-depth information on an issue than an article from the local paper. This tutorial will discuss how to find a current event topic and how to use library resources to find information related to your chosen issue.

Getting Started

A good place to start is the daily newspaper. Go to www.nky.com and read the headlines. What did you see? Are there any headlines that interest you? If you don't see anything of interest, try a larger paper, such as The New York Times. When you find something interesting, try and focus on the issue, not the event. For example, you may find an article about an upcoming election in Connecticut. Unless you're from Connecticut, you may not be interested in the "who", "when", and "where" of the election, but you might be interested in some of the issues surrounding the election.

Library Resources

A news article will provide some good information about an event, but it probably won't provide a lot of in-depth/background information on an issue. Steely Library provides access to a number of resources (print and online) aimed at providing detailed information on current topics and issues. There are many resources you could use. This tutorial will highlight the following:

• Facts on File: Issues and Controversies (online)
• NewsBank NewsFile (online)
• Opposing Viewpoints (print)

Let's start with the online resources. Go to the library's website, http://library.nku.edu. From the Quick Links menu at the top, select "Articles and Databases." This will allow you to choose a database from an alphabetical list.

Facts on File: Issues and Controversies

This online database is available on and off-campus. If you log in off campus, you'll be prompted for your NKU username and password. Facts on File: Issues and Controversies provides in-depth reports on hundreds of current issues. When you connect, you'll notice the resource looks similar to a news site, with headlines and a featured article on the front page. This resource can be helpful if you do not have a topic, because you can browse through topics to find one that interests you. For example, in the bottom left corner, you'll notice a box labeled, Issues: Pro and Con. You can select one of the topics listed or click on the link for "MORE" to view hundreds of topics, listed alphabetically. Each topic provides a link for a full report on the issue.

If you already have a topic, you'll want to use the search box on the left of the front page. This is where you can use keywords and type in your topic. For example, you might type in: oil spill and click "Go."

This will pull up a handful of articles. On the results screen, tabs across the top will direct you to not only articles, but also online encyclopedia entries and statistical information on your topic. Some of the articles will be in-depth articles, such as the first article, Deepwater Oil Drilling. This article provides background/historical information on the topic, different points of view on the issue, bibliographies, and discussion questions related to the issue. Plus, the article will provide links to related articles.

For further help using this resource, Ask Steely Library.

NewsBank NewsFile

This online database is available on and off-campus. If you log in off campus, you'll be prompted for your NKU username and password. This online resource provides access to full-text news articles and broadcast transcripts from local, national, and world news agencies. This resource has a unique feature in the top left corner – the "Current Events" section. This section can help the user choose a "hot topic" or browse through News Headlines. The Special Reports section gives users in-depth coverage of various current issues. To search for articles on a specific topic, select a resource (i.e., The Cincinnati Post) or a geographic area (i.e., United States) to find articles related to your topic. For more help using this resource, please use one of our Ask Steely Library services.

Opposing Viewpoints

The Opposing Viewpoints series is a set of books available for check out at Steely Library. Each book in the series focuses on a different issue and contains several essays written by professionals in that field. The essays contain different points of view related to each topic. Steely Library holds hundreds of these titles. There are a couple of ways to search for them.

You can search for Opposing Viewpoints and 2 other popular book series at the library's Find a Book on Your Hot Topic webpage, or use the instructions below to search the library catalog by individual series.

Go to http://library.nku.edu. In the Quick Links box, select "Library Catalog - NKUIRE." On the next screen, click on the icon to "Search the Library Catalog." Click on the "Advanced" tab.

Type in: opposing viewpoints in the first search box. Change the "All Fields" box to "Series." This tells the computer to search for the series "Opposing Viewpoints" in the catalog. When you search this, you will see a list of all the books in the Opposing Viewpoints series that are housed in Steely Library.

If you would like to narrow your search, add another word in the second box above, such as crime. This will tell the computer to search for only the books in the Opposing Viewpoints series that have something to do with crime.

If you need help locating a book on the shelf or using NKUIRE, please come to the third floor Public Service Desk or use any of our Ask Steely Library services.

Other Resources

The resources mentioned above should get you started when looking for current event information. However, there are many other resources available in Steely Library that might be useful for a current event assignment. Check out the Current Events and Issues Research Guide for other suggested resources.