99 Jumpstarts to Research: Topic Guides for Finding Information on Current Issues »

Peggy J. Whitley is Director of Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education, Kingwood College, Kingwood, Texas.

Catherine C. Olson is Associate Professor of English, Tomball College, in Tomball, Texas.

SUSAN GOODWIN is Reference Librarian, Kingwood College, Kingwood, Texas.

This book provides research assistance for 99 current and provocative issues students can use to write a brief argumentative paper.

School Library Journal

A useful book for developing good research habits in high school students. Each Jumpstart (usually two pages) includes suggested search terms; questions to think about related to the topic; sources for background and statistics; a listing of specific LC and Sears subject headings; magazines and newspapers; Internet sources with specific URLs and suggestions for locating additional Web sites; and agencies both private and public. The 99 alphabetized topics range from abortion, alternative medicine, cults, political ethics, and hazardous waste to medicinal uses of marijuana, work ethic, and youth crime. Bibliographies include database and print sources used in the text, followed by a subject directory. With this book, and by creating one's own Jumpstart topics, media specialists could plan a staff development for teachers and public library personnel to initiate a dialogue between those who assign the topics and those who hustle to find the resources. This might lead to the development of an "Assignment Alert" form to encourage continued communication. As dialogue continues, additional topics suggested by teachers and librarians could be added to the list, using the same format to extend the model presented in the book. This is a timely, practical, no-nonsense approach to research. All librarians serving high school students will want it. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.