Thursday Resource: CQ Researcher

What do you do when you have to write about a current topic you don't know enough about to feel confident writing a paper on?  CQ Researcher can help!

CQ Researcher Online is a wide-ranging database of reports on important topics in current events, culture, and politics, covering subjects like climate change, drug abuse, poverty and homelessness, and many others.  It is published by CQ Research, which has been producing these reports since 1923 to help the American public stay informed about important topics in public life.  Each weekly report 1,200 words (22-25 pages) long and written by experienced journalists.  These reports can be excellent sources of information on topics that we need background information on or that are brand new to us.


From the home page, we can search for topics by keyword (A) or browse for topics (B) as
well as access the hot topics short reports (C).  These reports are much shorter (6-8 pages) and address a very current concern around the topic.

When we go to a report, we can skip to specific sections of the report that interest us (A), download a PDF copy of the report or print it (B), or look at reports on related topics (C).

Beyond giving good background information on their topics, these reports contain a pro/con section that can help us see multiple points of view, as well as a bibliography and footnotes that can guide us to other sources on the topic.  

One thing we need to keep in mind as we work with these reports is that they are not peer-reviewed, meaning that other experts have read them to certify that they are accurate.  However, they have all been written by reputable journalists and have passed a review by CQ editors, so they could be considered trustworthy, non-scholarly sources.