Pick A Topic
If you are stuck trying to decide on a topic for your paper, there are a few ways to generate ideas.
- Scan newspaper headlines
- Browse chapter titles in your textbook
- Check out what's trending
- Use the "Browse Issues" section in the Opposing Viewpoints Database
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Opposing Viewpoints in ContextContains about 2000 viewpoint articles, 1000 topic overviews, 700 court case overviews, and 30 full text periodicals and newspapers. The Research Guide provides tips on analyzing issues with opposing viewpoints, distinguishing fact from opinion, evaluating information sources, and recognizing deceptive arguments.
Background Knowledge
When you begin a research project, it is a good idea to take a moment to reflect on your prior knowledge of the topic area. How much do you already know about this topic? How confident are you in moving forward with this topic? In most cases, you will need to do a bit of research to get some general information on your topic.
A great way to gather background information is through searching reference materials. Reference materials such as Encyclopedias and Dictionaries are arranged alphabetically and contain a general overview of a term or subject matter. The library has access to encyclopedias and dictionaries in print and online through particular databases.
Below you will find a list of Reference titles and databases that may be helpful in your research. This list is not exhaustive, but it is an example of the types of materials available.
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Encyclopedia of Food and Culture This new three-volume set presents 600 articles on food and its place in human culture and society, covering everything from agronomy to zucchini. Students, academics and general researchers will find entries on everything from food preparation, distribution and storage to holidays and festivals, nutrition and health, and cultures and cuisines. The "Encyclopedia's multidisciplinary articles--including "Comfort Food," "Ethnicity and Food," "Medieval Banquets" and "Nutrient Composition"--are supplemented by 450 photographs and illustrations, sidebars, recipes, menus, timelines and a comprehensive index.Call Number: REF GT2850 .E53 2003ISBN: 0684805685Publication Date: 2002-12-17 -
Encyclopedia of Food Safety by With the world's growing population, the provision of a safe, nutritious and wholesome food supply for all has become a major challenge. To achieve this, effective risk management based on sound science and unbiased information is required by all stakeholders, including the food industry, governments and consumers themselves. In addition, the globalization of the food supply requires the harmonization of policies and standards based on a common understanding of food safety among authorities in countries around the world. With some 280 chapters, the Encyclopedia of Food Safety provides unbiased and concise overviews which form in total a comprehensive coverage of a broad range of food safety topics, which may be grouped under the following general categories: History and basic sciences that support food safety; Foodborne diseases, including surveillance and investigation; Foodborne hazards, including microbiological and chemical agents; Substances added to food, both directly and indirectly; Food technologies, including the latest developments; Food commodities, including their potential hazards and controls; Food safety management systems, including their elements and the roles of stakeholders. The Encyclopedia provides a platform for experts from the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment to share and learn from state-of-the art expertise with the rest of the food safety community.Call Number: REF TX 537 E53 2014ISBN: 9780123786128Publication Date: 2014-01-30 -
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues by The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues explores the topic of food across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and related areas including business, consumerism, marketing, and environmentalism. In contrast to the existing reference works on the topic of food that tend to fall into the categories of cultural perspectives, this carefully balanced academic encyclopedia focuses on social and policy aspects of food production, safety, regulation, labeling, marketing, distribution, and consumption. A sampling of general topic areas covered includes Agriculture, Labor, Food Processing, Marketing and Advertising, Trade and Distribution, Retail and Shopping, Consumption, Food Ideologies, Food in Popular Media, Food Safety, Environment, Health, Government Policy, and Hunger and Poverty. This encyclopedia introduces students to the fascinating, and at times contentious, and ever-so-vital field involving food issues. Key Features: Contains approximately 500 signed entries concluding with cross-references and suggestions for further readings Organized A-to-Z with a thematic "Reader's Guide" in the front matter grouping related entries by general topic area Provides a Resource Guide and a detailed and comprehensive Index along with robust search-and-browse functionality in the electronic edition This three-volume reference work serves as a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers who seek to better understand the topic of food and the issues surrounding it. Call Number: REF TX349 S237 2015ISBN: 9781452243016Publication Date: 2015-05-08
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Britannica AcademicProvides reference sources in almost all disciplines. Also includes historical timelines, multimedia, selected magazine articles, notable quotations, and a dictionary and thesaurus.
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Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)Explore this database of encyclopedias and reference sources within the Gale eBooks platform. For multidisciplinary research. A collection of full text electronic reference books covering many subject areas. Can be searched by keyword, source, subject, image caption, full text, and audience. Individual books can be combined for cross-title searching.
Locating Online Resources - Databases
Electronic articles can be searched through our databases. There are some general databases and some subject specific databases. To access the databases, click on the database tab on the library homepage. You can then browse through them alphabetically, or browse by discipline (i.e., gender studies, history, etc.).
Below you will find a list of databases that will be helpful for your current assignment. It is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good place to start.
Best Bet Databases for your assignment!
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Opposing Viewpoints in ContextContains about 2000 viewpoint articles, 1000 topic overviews, 700 court case overviews, and 30 full text periodicals and newspapers. The Research Guide provides tips on analyzing issues with opposing viewpoints, distinguishing fact from opinion, evaluating information sources, and recognizing deceptive arguments.
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Points of View Reference CenterContains full-text essays representing multiple sides of about 250 topics; in addition, the database includes political magazines, radio and television news transcripts, primary source documents, and reference books. Designed to provide a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Essays provide questions and materials for further thought and study and are accompanied by thousands of supporting articles from the world's top political and societal publications.
Additional Databases!
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Academic OneFileProvides over 54,000,000 articles, most full-text, from about 13,000 scholarly journals across most academic subject areas. Coverage is from 1980 to the present.
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Academic Search CompleteFull text for about 8,500 periodicals including over 7,300 peer-reviewed journals across most areas of academic study as well as indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 magazines and journals. Coverage is from 1887 to the present.
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CQ Researcher (1923-present)Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries of the issues. Full text. Five simultaneous users.
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Gale General OneFileProvides indexing (with 60% full-text) to about 11,500 general interest magazines and newspapers. About 100,000,000 articles are available. Coverage is from 1980 to the present.
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GreenFILEAddresses human impacts on the environment. Offers indexing and abstracts for about 300,000 records. Some full-text. Coverage is from about 1915 to the present.
Can be used for course content: Extensive full-text content. -
Humanities SourceIncludes both Humanities Full Text and Humanities International. Contains over 1400 full text journals with citations to over 3,500,000 articles.
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MasterFILE PremierDesigned for public libraries. Full text for about 1700 general interest publications. Coverage is from 1975 for some titles.
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Project MuseFull text of over 100 scholarly journals and books from university presses in fields including literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, political science, gender studies, and economics.
Can be used for course content: Includes books from many university presses and scholarly journals
Database Searching Tutorial
Searching databases may be new to you. While the content in databases will differ, some of them are owned by the same company. This fact means that the searching platform will look the same across multiple databases. Below is a video tutorial on how to search an EBSCO database called Academic Search Complete.
Locating Print Sources at Milne Library
One way to locate print resources is through the Milne Library Catalog. To access the library catalog, click on the “library catalog” tab on the library’s homepage. You will need to remote checkout the book.
The second way is through Worldcat. To access Worldcat, click on the Databases link in the left hand side menu. Then click on the W. Then scroll down until you see “Worldcat (OCLC First Search Legacy Interface). By searching through Worldcat, you have the ability to see books that Milne Library and other libraries worldwide own. If you would like a book that Milne library doesn’t own, you will request it through ILLiad.
***You can also check out items at Hartwick College with your SUNY Oneonta ID card.***
Below are a few titles that may be helpful for your research.
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Creating Organic Standards in U. S. States by The organic food and agriculture market has greatly expanded over the course of the past forty years. Once considered a fringe practice and market, organic food and agriculture now receives mainstream acceptance and political support in the United States. The USDA's National Organic Program regulates the current U.S. market, but organic regulations were originally developed in the states starting in the 1970s. From 1976-2010, thirty-eight states adopted organic food and agriculture regulatory legislation. A majority of state legislatures adopted initial legislation in 1989 and 1990, the same year as Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act that effective began the development of national level standards. Grounded in the policy diffusion and diffusion of innovation literature, Creating Organic examines why and how state legislatures decide to adopt legislation that regulate the organic food and agriculture market. The consequences for early and continual state involvement in this policy domain impact national policy trajectories and reshape the sustainable agriculture market. The evidence from this evaluation demonstrates a host of conditions led to the diffusion and evolution of organic regulatory legislation in the U.S. California, Vermont, and Georgia are case studies that illuminate the complexities of adoption decisions and evolution of state regulations over time. In turn, there are a number of lessons to be derived for how state regulatory design has influenced today's organic market and federal policy development.Call Number: KF3864.85 .M67 2017ISBN: 9781498554404Publication Date: 2017-06-02 -
A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism by Capitalism drives our global food system. Everyone who wants to end hunger, who wants to eat good, clean, healthy food, needs to understand capitalism. This book will help do that. In his latest book, Eric Holt-Gim#65533;nez takes on the social, environmental, and economic crises of the capitalist mode of food production. Drawing from classical and modern analyses, A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism introduces the reader to the history of our food systemand to the basics of capitalism. In straightforward prose, Holt-Gim#65533;nez explains the political economics of why--even as local, organic, and gourmet food have spread around the world--billions go hungry in the midst of abundance; why obesity is a global epidemic; and why land-grabbing, global warming, and environmental pollution are increasing. Holt-Gim#65533;nez offers emblematic accounts--and critiques--of past and present-day struggles to change the food system, from "voting with your fork," to land occupations. We learn about the potential and the pitfalls of organic and community-supported agriculture, certified fair trade, microfinance, land trusts, agrarian reform, cooperatives, and food aid. We also learn about the convergence of growing social movements using the food system to challenge capitalism. How did racism, classism, and patriarchy become structural components of our food system? Why is a rational agriculture incompatible with the global food regime? Can transforming our food system transform capitalism? These are questions that can only be addressed by first understanding how capitalism works. Call Number: HD1436 .H65 2017ISBN: 9781583676592Publication Date: 2017-10-24 -
Just Food by Who has access, and who is denied access, to food, and why? What are the consequences of food insecurity? What would it take for the food system to be just? Just Food: Philosophy, Justice and Food presents thirteen new philosophical essays that explore the causes and consequences of the inequities of our contemporary food system. It examines why 842 million people globally are unable to meet their dietary needs, and why food insecurity is not simply a matter of insufficient supply. The book looks at how food insecurity tracks other social injustices, covering topics such as race, gender and property, as well as food sovereignty, food deserts, and locavorism. The essays in this volume make an important and timely contribution to the wider philosophical debate around food distribution and justice.Call Number: HD9000.5 .J837 2015ISBN: 9781783483860Publication Date: 2015-11-16
