Research Guides (LibGuides): First Amendment/Freedom of Speech: First Amendment/Freedom of Speech

About This Guide

This guide provides information on First Amendment/Freedom of Speech issues, provides listings of potential speech topics related to the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech, and delineates databases to search for researching a freedom of speech topic.

If you need assistance with your speech preparation research, please contact me via the contact information under my picture.

-Joel Atkinson
Head of Public Services
Butler University Libraries

Research Activity

Definitions & Speech Topic Ideas

The following websites will help you define the issues surrounding the First Amendment and free speech and can provide speech topic ideas.

First Amendment Topics - NPR - type "First Amendment" or "freedom of speech" into the search box to find headlines to generate speech topic ideas.
First Amendment Topics - New York Times - Additional First Amendment-related headlines to assist with speech topic ideas.
First Amendment Topics -The First Amendment Encyclopedia- Topics listed in categories about different issues regarding first amendment rights to assist with speech topic ideas.

Freedom Forum - Articles are listed by category, and are also searchable.

Databases to support your Speech Topic

When conducting research for a speech, the following databases will lead you to both popular and scholarly information on topics.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
This large multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,770 journals, including full text for over 4,000 peer-reviewed titles.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Communications and Mass Media Complete combines two previous resources related to communication and mass media (CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index). It provides full text for over 200 journals and contains citation coverage for more.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
CQ Researcher includes reports that offers in-depth coverage of political and social issues, such as health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni provides access to the full text of hundreds of major business and legal journals, magazines, and U.S. and international newspapers. Company financial, country, tax, medical, federal and state legal information, and accounting information can also be accessed.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
A variety of reference materials, commentaries and viewpoints, periodical and news articles, primary sources, statistics and multimedia to help present different sides of controversial topics. Highly recommended for argumentative/persuasive research topics.
U.S. History in Context This link opens in a new window
History Resource Center: U.S. provides integrated access to over 4,000 historical (primary) documents, articles from more than 30 reference titles, and over 110 full-text journal covering themes, events, individuals and periods in U.S. history from pre-Colonial times to the present.
World History in Context This link opens in a new window
From ancient Europe to Latin America and from the Far East to the Renaissance, World History in Context is a collection of reference, full-text articles from leading scholarly publications, an array of primary sources, and images, maps and charts which provide expansive geographic and chronological research materials for the study of world history.

More Butler Libraries Databases
Additional subscription-based databases classified by broad subject area.

WorldCat Discovery

Search Butler Libraries

REMEMBER: Use WorldCat Discovery to find:

Books, (ebooks, print books)
Media (Streaming video, DVDs, CDs, etc.)
Magazine and journals articles

Be sure to use the limiters on the left-hand side of the screen to narrow down your results!

Also, REMEMBER: Work out some of your search strategy before going online! Think about your topic. Write down key terms, concepts, titles, and the names of key people whose thinking or work is relevant to your topic. Be sure to include synonyms of key terms and concepts. Also, consider important geographic locations and time periods (i.e., geographic and chronological limiters).

InterLibrary Loan (ILL)

If you find materials in WorldCat that Butler Libraries do not own, you can obtain these through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). This is a service that enables Butler students to have access to library resources NOT OWNED by the Butler Libraries. You make Interlibrary Loan requests directly from the catalog or a database by clicking the "Request" button. If there is no request button, log on to your Library Account.

From your account you can: