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Applied Ethics

Decorative

Ethical Issues in the News


About

You may have an assignment that asks you to research an ethical issue in the news that occurred recently (or during the past 3, 6, or 12 months depending on your assignment).  Librarians have some recommended steps to take when beginning this assignment.


Step 1

First, select an ethical issue -- just searching the databases for "ethical issue" won't yield useful results. Your instructor should be able to give you some examples, such as euthanasia, pandemic, law enforcement, etc.  Additional ideas can be located using the topics guide.

**Please check your professor's directions and note any topics that you should or should not use**


Step 2

Once you have selected an ethical issue to research, use a suggested news source to locate articles. The SPC library offers students access to news databases, such as America's News and New York Times.


Step 3

The layout of the America's News database may seem overwhelming. Click on "More Search Options" under the search box. A second search box should appear. In the first box, type an ethical issue and the word ethics. For example, to find articles about the ethics of euthanasia, enter "euthanasia ethics".  In the next box, enter a date range that corresponds with your assignment directions, such as 2021-2021.


Step 4

To learn more about the America's News database, watch the video tutorial. 


Databases


Websites


America's News Database Tutorial