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International studies

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International Studies Research Guide

This guide was created to help you navigate the Library's resources related to International Studies. Don't forget that if you find ONE book related to your topic, the likelihood of finding more on surrounding shelves is very high, as our books are categorized by subject matter, or topic. Browse the shelves to find more related materials. And don't forget to Ask-A-Librarian for help!

In addition to this guide, please look at the Country Information Research Guide, which has additional web and print resources that will benefit your research on nations and regions around the world.

 

Reference Materials

  • The Europa world year book. 2006. Reference 341.184 Eu74
  • Statesman's year-book. 2007. Reference 310 St1 2007
  • Political handbook of the world. 2007. Reference 2007. Reference 320.2 P757
  • International encyclopedia of human rights. 2000. Reference 323 M26i
  • World encyclopedia of political systems and parties. 2006. 3 vols. 4th edition. Reference 324.203 W89P
  • World at risk: A global issues sourcebook. 2002. Reference 327 W89
  • Encyclopedia of international relations and global politics. 2007. Reference 327 En19G
  • Worldmark encyclopedia of cultures and daily life. 1998. 4 vols. Reference 305.8 W89
  • Counries and their cultures. 2001. Reference 306.03 C83
  • Encyclopedia of world cultures. 1998 with 2002 supplement. 10 vols. Reference 306.097 En19
  • Culture Shock series. Various Call Numbers.
    Search the online catalog by the key words "culture shock".  Culture shock will be the subtitle after the name of the country.

 

Finding Books

  • Online Catalog

    • Find books, as well as a variety of other materials in the TU Libraries.

    • Use the Advanced search option to specify material format, campus, language, and date range.

  • WorldCat

    • Find books, among other things, to request via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).


Finding Articles

Try these databases and other electronic resources to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, as well as some other governmental and various other organizational reports on nations around the world.

  • CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)
    CIAO bills itself as "the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs." It lists materials from a wide variety of sources, such as think tanks and NGOs, in addition to coverage of selected books and periodicals.
  • CountryWatch
    CountryWatch is a great place to get started with research on foreign countries. The Library pays for access to this database which provides an up-to-date series of publications for each country including demographic, political, economic, business, cultural and environmental information, as well as daily news coverage for every country in the world and a significant news archive made up of the compendium of regional news carriers. A new feature includes a five-year macroeconomic forecast for each country and a 20-year forecast of energy demand, supply, and pricing for every country. You can find images, data, reports, and all sorts of other useful sets of information here at CountryWatch.
  • Project MUSE
    This collection of 400 journals represent the publications of 100 not-for-profit organizations. Every article available in Project MUSE is in full-text, meaning you will immediately be able to view, print, or save the article for later use.
  • Academic Search Premier
    An excellent source for all kinds of information, ASP is a great place to search for journal, magazine, and newspaper articles on various parts of the world and the issues that are affecting those areas. A good launching point for your research.

 

 

Find Journals of Interest

The sources below are specific journals that relate to International affairs and studies. These are all available through various Library electronic resources, like JSTOR and Academic Search Premier, among others.

  • International Studies Quarterly: a publication of the International Studies Association
    (JSTOR 1967-2002; Academic Search Premier 1992-present; Embargo: 1 year)

 

 

Find Web Resources

Again, see the Country Information Research Guide for more web resources.

  • Human Rights First
    This organization "believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence.

    Human Rights First is practical and effective. We advocate for change at the highest levels of national and international policymaking. We seek justice through the courts. We raise awareness and understanding through the media. We build coalitions among those with divergent views. And we mobilize people to act."

    Full of media articles, videos, and other news items in various forms, this site is a hub of human rights efforts worldwide. It also provides citations for many human rights related publications that can possibly be found through Interlibrary Loan or purchased from this site. Contact a Librarian if you need help.
  • Witness.org
    Started in 1992 by artist Peter Gabriel, this organization is dedicated to human rights awareness and action around the world. Their mission, as stated on their web site: "WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change."
  • Country Studies. (Library of Congress)
    Produced by the U.S. Library of Congress, these resources provide a plethora of information about most countries around the world. Because these were originally printed as books, some of the information is dated, but many are fairly current. Well worth perusing for specific geographic, economic, social, and governmental information on countries around the world.
  • World Factbook. (CIA)
    From the U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency, these reports includes sections on geographic, environmental, population statistics, health statistics, religions, literacy, government, and many other things.
  • Background Notes. (Dept. of State)
    Out of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs, this resource combines "facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty." The date of most recent revision is beside the name of the country.
  • Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
    Offers easily accessible information on the exploitive practices of businesses worldwide. Search by company name, human rights issue, country, or general topic. They attempt to give balanced coverage.

 

Other Research Tools

  • Credo Reference
    A conglomeration of specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias that allows you to search for definitions and encyclopedia articles, as well as develop ideas for expanding or refining a research strategy.
  • Oxford Reference Premium Online  
    Oxford University Press produces a number of extremely useful reference materials, many of which they have made available here. You can search by keyword, but you can also choose particular subjects and from there, particular books within which to search. This willl provide you with all sorts of background and broad spectrum information on a particular topic.
  • Biography Resource Center  
    Find background information about people, authors, famous personalities, and others. Search by first or last name. 

 

Citation Help

One of the least favorite aspects of research papers are the citations, documenting the sources where you gleaned your information. To make that a little easier, the Library offers a few resources.

  • The Citation Style Guide is a place where you can find call numbers for print Style Manuals and Handbooks, as well as online help from several different universities around the States. Check it out and see if it helps!
  • RefWorks
    is a Citation Management program. Fully available online, and linked from the Library's home page, it allows you to keep it all ELECTRONIC. Download your citations from the various databases you're using into RefWorks. This program will create the Works Cited page for you with little effort. In a database, look for the option to EXPORT - that is where you'll find this gem of a program.
  • Automatically Generated Citations can be found in our Library Catalog (to the right of the item on the Results page), as well as in most EBSCO databases (like Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, Communications and Mass Media Complete, etc.). Most databases either provide an instant citation in a couple of different styles, or they allow Exporting to RefWorks (see above). Ask a Librarian for more help in managing your citations and creating your bibliographies and works cited pages faster.
  • WorldCat.org
    "Cite this item" within individual item record lists the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and more.
  • The Writing Center is also a solid resource. Available in the Library, this is run by the English department. If you'd like face-to-face help individually with citing or any aspect of writing and editing your paper, the Writing Center is the place to go. For more information, see their page on the Portal, or you can contact them at writingctr@taylor.edu.

 

Created by Lana Wilson, Reference Librarian

Last revised October 30, 2009 - 10:38 AM