The Library subscribes to many databases to help with you your research or with your learning experience.  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides a complete source for information on social issues on such topics as Abortion, Child Abuse, Divorce, Medical Ethics, Water Pollution, and more to help you in preparing for a discussion or debate.   Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center draws its information from the acclaimed social issues series of the same name as well as other Gale Group and Macmillan Reference USA sources to provide viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to web sites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

To access Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:

• Go to the library's web site at http://www.ecpubliclibrary.info/
• Click on  Research and then General Research
• Choose Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

There are several ways to search in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:

Browse Issues Search:

• This search is designed to provide quick and easy access to specific hyperlinked terms from the Opposing Viewpoints homepage.
• After selecting a topic, the results of your search will be grouped under tabbed categories according to viewpoints, reference, statistics, magazines and newspapers, images, primary documents, web sites, and SRS search.

Basic Search:

• One of three search options are used when completing a basic search in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:  Search by subject, keyword, or full-text.
• Choose which search option you would like after entering a term in the search box.
• If subject or keyword search are chosen, a list of subject terms most closely matching your term and a list of documents that meet your chosen search criteria will appear.
• If the full-text option is chosen, instead subjects appearing as a result of your search, you will be given data type under the same categories as for a browse issues search.

Advanced Search:

• By using an advanced search, you can search by a particular field such as by title/headline, source, author, subject, full text, date of publication, and more. 
• Documents are grouped by data type and the results list will display the title of the documents and its source.
• Reference and primary documents are displayed according to their relevancy rankings and Magazines & Newspapers will be arranged in reverse chronological order.

The Research Guide portion of Opposing ViewPoints is designed to help in analyzing retrieved information, help in developing critical thinking skills, and to help in preparing for an oral or written presentation of opinion on social issues.  Some of the topics covered in the Resource Guide are:

• Judging opinionated material.
• Review the author's credentials and affiliation.
• Identify the main idea or ideas of the viewpoint.
• Distinguish fact from opinion and bias from reason.
• Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center offers a Toolbox feature to help with writing your report.  Included in the Toolbox are:

• A downloadable worksheet to help you judge your sources.
• Information on how to write a topic sentence and how to make an outline.
• Tips on how to cite a source and organize your report.
• Information on how to build your argument and write a conclusion.
• How to create visual representations of your data.
• How to footnote.

The library also subscribes to Facts.com which contains, as part of its database, Issues & Controversies, an online version of Issues & Controversies On File.  Both the online and print form provides up-to-date, in-depth, and objective information on some of the most prominent and hotly-debated issues of the day which may help you with additional information for your research.