Kazumi Reads

Bibliographic Information:
Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

Figure 1

About the Database:
This database is a great resource for teens who not only want to get caught up on current events, but provide evidence on issues they feel strongly about for educational purposes. This site is fairly streamlined (Figure 1) where users are not overwhelmed; in fact, they have plenty of options they can choose from that focus on current events (which is what teens are looking for). Another great feature of this database is the "Featured News" section that contains videos and links from popular new sources such as: Newsweek, New York Times, and USA Today.  As users begin their search, they have several options: they can use the "Search Bar" at the top right-hand corner and restrict their results using the fields that are provided: "Viewpoints," "Reference," "Images," and "More."

Figure 2

Critical Evaluation:
Opposing Viewpoints in Context provides students with articles and visuals that covers a large scope of issues that are not only controversial, but events that affect them locally and nationally. According to Gale: "Opposing Viewpoints in Context helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, and creating presentations and more" (para. 1).  As mentioned before, the interfaces are simple and easy to use so teens do not have to feel overwhelmed. When conducting a search, using the "Issues" option, I looked up "Body Image" and got a plenty of information regarding the issues and other related topics. There is no shortage of information in this database; moreover, everything is up to date, which is essential since these topics are always changing.


Information about the Database Company:
According to Gale, "Opposing Viewpoints in Context contains more than 700 Greenhaven Press, Gale, Macmillan Reference USA™, Charles Scribner’s Sons® and U·X·L titles. New reference content is added on an ongoing basis, and new full-text periodical and newspaper articles are added every day" (para. 3). Based in Farmington, Michigan, Gale has offices all over the world, which makes it one of the more popular companies in this business; Gale is "[b[est known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform" (para. 1). 



Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up