Welcome to Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

Whether you're writing a critical essay, researching a report or term paper, or preparing for a debate, or you just want to be better informed, you'll find a variety of reference materials, commentaries and viewpoints, periodical and news articles, primary sources, statistics and multimedia in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some common questions to help you get started:

What kind of materials and sources will I find?

An overview of the content in this collection can be found here. Click the Title List link on the toolbar for a complete list of sources used in this collection.

How do I get to all the different types of searches and other features in this database?

Use the banner bars at the top of the page.

What page first appears when I start this database?

That's the home page, which offers easy ways to begin searching.

Besides Basic Search, what other ways are there to search?

Explore the complete list of search options.

What is the Critical Thinking module and how do I know if this database has it?

The Critical Thinking module, which can be purchased separately as an add-on module that integrates with this database collection, provides additional content and features focused on critical thinking. You can easily tell if you have access to the Critical Thinking materials in this collection if the Critical Thinking title and logo appear alongside the database name at the top of the page, as Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: Critical Thinking.

How can I find Critical Thinking materials?

First, your school or library must have purchased the Critical Thinking module. There are several ways in which Critical Thinking documents may appear as part of your search results. Here's a good starting point to use when you are studying a specific topic and want to get an overview of the topic as well as "for" and "against" arguments: click the Critical Thinking link on the search path bar, click on the appropriate category, and then click on the term that matches what you are studying. A special Critical Thinking results list page will be displayed. Additional ways to search for Critical Thinking documents are explained here.

What's different about a Critical Thinking document?

Critical Thinking documents have a unique sidebar in the left-hand margin that links you to special features found only in the Critical Thinking module, including: study questions, vocabulary words, an audio version of the article, and links to take a quiz, complete an enrichment activity and read more on the topic.

I'm reviewing my search results. What do all the icons/links mean? And how can I view a document?

Refer to the Guide to What You'll Find on the Results List Help page. To view a document, simply click its title from the results list. You'll be able to view the document, be it an essay from an encyclopedia or a picture.

My results list is too long! How can I narrow this list?

You can limit a lengthy results list to more precisely target the type of documents you are looking for. Also, if you have too few results, you can expand your search.

What if I want to take a document with me? Can I print it? E-mail it? Download a copy?

Sure! Use the toolbar to print, e-mail and download. Please note that images cannot be e-mailed. You can also download an audio version of the document read aloud.

What does the term "document" mean?

Refer to the What is a Document? page.

What does the "thinking head" icon mean?

It means you have access to Critical Thinking materials in this database. In addition to seeing the icon on the page banner, you'll also find it along side the document type on your search results list when your results contain Critical Thinking documents.

I've found so many good documents that would help me with my assignment, but I can't keep track of them.

You may want to create a Marked Items list so that you can "set aside" documents that interest you the most. Then you can click the Marked Items link on the toolbar to view them all at once. From there you can print, e-mail and download. Please remember that Marked Items are not saved once you log off.

I'm a teacher and I want a way for my students to access a specific document or a reading list I've created containing numerous documents.

This can easily be done using InfoMarks. While viewing a document, results list, or a Marked Items list you have created, click the InfoMark link on the toolbar.

In addition to providing information to use in my research, how else does this database help me with my assignments?

Visit the Toolbox to find out.

How do I cite the sources I've found?

This database will generate citations for you. Please note that while the data elements for the citations that the system generates have been formatted to meet the latest citation standards set forth by the respective agencies, these citations provide the available publication data for the document cited and should only serve as a guide and not as a replacement for the latest guidebooks – or those required by your instructor. Please refer to the provided MLA and APA examples for proper formatting.

Is there any way to know what is the suggested or recommended reading level of a document?

Yes, content level icons and Lexile scores may be available for this database.

What do the colored symbols ( ) mean on the results list?

Those are the content level icons: Green means Basic, yellow means Intermediate and red means Advanced content. These icons can help guide you to the content that is most appropriate for your reading level. You may also find Lexile scores displayed for periodical content. Both the content level icons and the Lexile scores must first be enabled by your library.

Is there any way to listen to an audio version of a document? In other words, does this collection support any text-to-speech or speech-enabled web pages?

Yes. An audio player dashboard appears on those pages that you can hear aloud. You may listen to an entire document, or just to a highlighted portion you select. Note that audio playback is not available for documents from the Multimedia tab. Read more about this feature.

How do I hear a document aloud?

Perform a search of any type and select an item from your results list. This takes you to the document display page. You may listen to the entire document, or to just a portion you select. The audio can be heard when the Play button is pressed on the player dashboard. Read more about this feature.

Can I use wildcards in my search? Does it matter if I capitalize the words I'm searching for? What is a "stop word"?

Find answers to these questions in the General Search Tips. See also the Tips for Searching in this Collection page for additional hints on how to improve your searches.

How do I exit this database?

Simply click the Logout button on the Title bar.

How do I go to a different Gale database?

Click the Change Databases button on the Title bar. You'll be returned to the Database Menu, which lists all the Gale products to which your library subscribes.

Can I search this database along with other Gale databases and view results from all databases on a single results list?

If enabled by your library, you can cross-search multiple Gale collections at once. Click here for more information.

I need more information on how to use these Help pages.

Check out the How to Use Help page and what Gale has done to make this database more accessible to all users.

How do I contact Gale?

Follow the links on the Getting Additional Help page.