Recommended Resources - ENG 130 - English Comp (DiDomenico) - Library Home at Assumption University

Fact Checking Websites

These sites are non-partisan, and great for quick-checking claims on any "news" media.

Snopes
"The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation."- website
FactCheck.Org
"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. " - website
Politifact
PolitiFact is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Non-partisan.
SciCheck
A division of FactCheck wholly dedicated to Scientific claims.
Health News Review
As of 2018 stopped current checks, but has great information on ongoing critical evaluation of health information.

Public Opinion Stats

Gallup Poll: Great reputation as a nonpartisan poll/survey examiner for news "based on US and world polls, daily tracking and public opinion research." Use the resources pull down, and go to topics A-Z, or just enter your basic terms in the search box.

Pew Institute: A nonpartisan site that uses polls/surveys to examine current issues and trends affecting America and the world. Use the search box to look for a specific item, or the topic index (tab at the top) or search by general overview. Scroll down in each issue, as there are several survey questions shown for each.

Roper Center for Public Opinion : Hot Topics, statistics archived since the 1930's to present. Entire site is useful, but the topics area narrows it down. Very useful.

Crime Statistics

Many links are from the Uniform Crime Reports, from the FBI, a voluntary submission of statistics from various departments related to law enforcement.

FBI-Crime stats
A series of statistical crime reports and publications, detailing specific offenses and outlining trends that can help you better understand crime threats both nationally and locally. Up to 2014.
Gun Violence Statistics
Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States.

Library Databases

Academic OneFile
A general academic database with a majority of the articles in full text. Contains podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC, as well as full-text New York Times content 1985 to present.
Academic Search Premier
Provides full text for nearly 3,970 journals covering the social sciences, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, education, and much more.
Academic Video Online (AVON)
67,000 titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. Includes: documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, demonstrations, original and raw footage, award-winning films, Academy®, Emmy®, and Peabody® winners.
Global Issues In Context
Focuses on broad issues, such as war, genocide, terrorism, human rights, poverty, famine, globalization, world trade, nuclear proliferation, and global warming, as well as more specific events and topics that are related to these broader issues.
Opposing Viewpoints
Covers timely issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana. This cross-curricular resource supports science, political science, current events, and language arts classes. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills and draw their own conclusions.

News from all angles

AllSides
Shows issues from political right, left, and center perspectives. Has media bias ratings. Only American news topics.
ProCon.org
This site looks at controversial topics from many different angles.

News

National Public Radio (NPR)
NPR presents fact-based, independent journalism that examines and airs diverse perspectives.
The Rand Corporation
A nonprofit institution that conducts research and analysis on the important issues of the day, such as health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more. Their goal is to improve policy and decisionmaking through unbiased research and analysis.
BBC- British Broadcasting Group
Very authoritative, good news source.
Brookings Institute
Known as a highly respected source for current information and as a “think tank” for the US, has some demographics information worth noting. Enter “demographics” in the search box, as a good place to start.