Three Resources for Debate Research
Unlike impromptu styles of debate like British Parliamentary, many styles are either entirely prepared or include rounds of prepped debates. These include World Schools Debate, Canadian National styleGeneral Definition: How one delivers speeches, including techniques like tone, pitch, rate, facial expressions, gestures, volume, eye contact, word choice, etc. • Public Forum: Commonly used. In PF, style is typically evaluated as part of a debater's "Speaker Points", although it may influence the judge's perception of their arguments as well. • World Schools Debate: Commonly used. In WSD, this More, and Public Forum.
For these styles it’s important to develop strong research skills, in order to build strong cases with creative, topical arguments that are supported by highly credible evidenceGeneral Definition: In debate, a supporting argument for why a claim is true, including examples, logic, studies, data, or expert opinion. Evidence may also refer to research in prepped debates. See also "Justification" and "Warrant". Public Forum: see general definition. World Schools Debate: In WSD, research is not prioritized as much as analysis in "Prepared Motions", and is not allowed at More.
In this article we’ll discuss a few different sources for debate research and how to use them.
Before looking at each resource however, let’s cover the research basics for online research. There are a number of ways to modify search terms to refine your results and focus on specific sites, keywords, information types, and date rangers.
- At the very start you should probably use general searches, but try to narrow your focus as soon as possible to start really digging into the details. Putting quotation marks (” “) around keywords or terms will give you results including those exact phrases, instead of a range of closely related words.
- By adding a plus sign (+) you can combine these exact searches to return results with multiple exact keywords, for example, [“nuclear weapon” + “second strike capability”].
- You can also restrict a search engine to return results from just one website, for example, [site:ndu.edu “directed energy weapons”]
1. Google News
In debate, you need to keep your sources up-to-date and informed by changing world events. Even minor updates to the status quoGeneral Definition: The current state of affairs; the present system. Arguments should usually begin with analysis of the status quo so the audience understands what is happening now before the motion is passed. • Public Forum: Commonly used. See also "Uniqueness". • World Schools Debate: see general definition. • British Parliamentary: see general definition. • Canadian National Debate Format: see More can significantly alter the strategyGeneral Definition: Decisions made in the debate to optimize your likelihood of winning. Strategy can include argument choice, time allocation, the balance of offense and defense, rate of speech, and questioning approaches. • Public Forum: see general definition. • World Schools Debate: In WSD, this is 20% of a judge's ballot. Strategy evaluates whether or not you are allocating time More one side or another should use in a debate round, so you should always look for recent and updating news sources.
One way to do this is by setting Google alerts for specific keywords and terms related to your debate topicGeneral Definition: The central premise being debated, often called the "Motion" or "Resolution". • Public Forum: Not a common phrase in PF, where "Resolution" is used instead. • World Schools Debate: Not a common phrase in WSD, where "Motion" is used instead. • British Parliamentary: Not a common phrase in BP, where "Motion" is used instead.. • Canadian National Debate More. That way you won’t miss an important or useful new update to a story that could affect your topicGeneral Definition: The central premise being debated, often called the "Motion" or "Resolution". • Public Forum: Not a common phrase in PF, where "Resolution" is used instead. • World Schools Debate: Not a common phrase in WSD, where "Motion" is used instead. • British Parliamentary: Not a common phrase in BP, where "Motion" is used instead.. • Canadian National Debate More.
It also helps you avoid the embarrassing problem of having a key detail your points rely on being eliminated by a new development, such as a politician losing their election or a law being overturned.
2. Google Scholar
While Google news lets you search through aggregated recent news articles, Google scholar helps you find the deepest dives on any topicGeneral Definition: The central premise being debated, often called the "Motion" or "Resolution". • Public Forum: Not a common phrase in PF, where "Resolution" is used instead. • World Schools Debate: Not a common phrase in WSD, where "Motion" is used instead. • British Parliamentary: Not a common phrase in BP, where "Motion" is used instead.. • Canadian National Debate More.
In fact, many news articles will summarize or quote from peer-reviewed studies and papers. The problem is that many articles will overlook key details or oversimplify the arguments made by the academic experts.
So while news articles are good for providing context and overviews, you should dig down into the academic studies they cite. That way you can actually provide the specific arguments and figures, rather than a reporter’s second-hand summaryGeneral Definition: A method for synthesizing the debate and resolve disagreements by explaining why one argument should win over another. May also refer to the third speech of a debate that accomplishes a similar goal. • Public Forum: In PF, a three-minute speech used to extend key arguments/clash and weighing, as well as establish each team's strategy for winning the More.
In addition, academic papers often present unique and creative interpretations or approaches to debate related topics, so they can help you choose higher-impact caselines and more unique impacts.
3. Local Library
You don’t always need the most cutting edge sources for debate research. Oftentimes it’s best to start with a good background sourceGeneral Definition: The person, persons, or organization responsible for writing evidence used in debate. Source analysis includes discussion of their credibility, bias, and epistemology. • Public Forum: see general definition. • World Schools Debate: In WSD, sources may only be used for prepared motions and should be used largely to provide examples and context for arguments. • British Parliamentary: Not More to help introduce you to the basics of a complicated topicGeneral Definition: The central premise being debated, often called the "Motion" or "Resolution". • Public Forum: Not a common phrase in PF, where "Resolution" is used instead. • World Schools Debate: Not a common phrase in WSD, where "Motion" is used instead. • British Parliamentary: Not a common phrase in BP, where "Motion" is used instead.. • Canadian National Debate More. In those instances you can’t beat going to a local library, whether it’s through your city, school, or a nearby university.
Librarians are experts in information technology, databases, and often the subjects that their libraries specialize in, so they can often help you find not only the exact book you were looking for, but sources you didn’t even know to ask about.
About VDA
Vancouver Debate Academy is an internationally recognized private institution that offers debate and public speaking training to students from Grade 4 to 12 in Canada and abroad. Our skill-focused program improves students’ public speaking, critical thinking, research, leadership, and teamwork skills and fosters intrinsic learning.