In 2005 Isaiah McPeak and Lisa Alexander launched the sourcebook to address a clear need: people were using pop websites and journalists to create debate cases, and spinning this easy-to-find information as good debate. Our sourcebook is a counter to that approach, aiming at the most credible and thoughtful (though dense), and often hard to find, information. While far less sensational and often breaking down preconceptions and political bias, research from journals and books is the way to truly learn the ins and outs of a debate topic and the best way to be successful in discussing the nuances of policy.
2011-2012 Sourcebooks | Ethos Authors | Sample Evidence | Order
Our goal is for deeper debates that provide clash between major advocated ideas on policy issues. Debaters should walk away from a topic as experts on that topic. You can’t be an expert without engaging in the right conversation and that’s the point of our sourcebook. We want to bring the most up-to-date, relevant, and actually advocated ideas into policy debate, so we spend most of our time in law reviews and books, bringing the best ideas and background information to the top so that you can really walk away from each debate topic with in-depth, cemented knowledge.
That our sourcebook is helpful in winning debate rounds is merely a byproduct. That in 2010-11 we were voted the highest quality sourcebook is also a byproduct. Well-read individuals who have critically thought through the issues, armed with the best facts and analysis available, are far superior to smart people who conjure up ideas on their own and sell them well. We are all about the facts and analysis; how you argue it in a debate round is up to you.