I researched armadillo and giraffe in SIRS Discoverer and was blown away by the number of sources that are available. This is so helpful, as teachers often require more than one source, it is like a "one stop" guide.

My daughter recently returned from a trip to China, so enjoyed all the information available of foreign countries.  For her group it was a whirlwind adventure, but enjoyed mapping her route and the many places she visited.  Also enjoyed the history and population facts, as one thing she talked about was how many people live in China.  She talked at length, too, of the farming practices they saw.

Using the SIRS Issue Researcher, I searched teen suicide articles.  I found that it offered suggested topics related to suicide, along with many sources about suicide in teens.  In using a search engine for suicide in teens, there were many web sites that came up, but not knowing if the information is accurate, a bit leery of what I learned.  The SIRS site, I felt offered more reliable information and a wider variety of sources.

Civic discussion on water restrictions could be supported by researching aquifers and wells, and historic weather information.