Leadership for Business Excellence
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Chippewa Valley Technical College
620 W. Clairemont Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Generating Topic Ideas
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The Library provides access to some great resources to start your research process. These are great places to get background information and initial, credible sources for your paper or project!
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Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new windowUpdated weekly, Issues & Controversies helps researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot-button topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture.
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Global Issues This link opens in a new window Content is provided from over 366 geographically diverse newspapers, magazines, and journals, including 171 newspapers that are published in countries other than the United States. Users can find information on business and economics, conflict and diplomacy, society and culture, environment and climate change, and more.
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Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints In Context is the premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to marijuana. Also provides access to The Leader Telegram.
Using AI for Topic Ideas
While you should not use or cannot trust AI for every step in the research process, it is a great tool for helping you narrow down and refine a topic you're interested in researching. See this example using ChatGPT:
Learn About Your Topic and Its Context
It is always easier to research a topic when you know more about it. Before using library databases you should confidently be able to speak about your topic on a basic level. |
To learn more about your topic, just Google it! Look for overviews or sites that summarize the topic. Books often provide an overview, and you can find them using the search box on the library's homepage. Use Wikipedia to find definitions, timelines, key players and explanations. (You still shouldn't cite Wikipedia in your final paper, but it can and should be used as you learn about your topic.)
Understand your topic and its context:
- to search better
- to understand more
Potential starting places include Book Chapters and Websites, but CVTC recommends the following as well:
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WikipediaDespite what everyone was taught, Wikipedia is now one of the great encyclopedia's available. It's still not something you should cite, but use it to learn about your topic and follow the cited references to other great sources!
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Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints In Context is the premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to marijuana. Also provides access to The Leader Telegram.
-
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new windowUpdated weekly, Issues & Controversies helps researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot-button topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture.