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International studies

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International Studies Research Guide

Unsure where to start your research? For International Studies courses and assignments, this is the place. Browse through the resources below to find online articles and eBooks, along with print books and other resources in the Zondervan Library.

Make an appointment with your librarian, Linda Lambert, if you would like help getting started or using Library tools.

 

Finding Articles

The following collection of resources is most useful for the research of International Studies students. Please contact a Librarian if you have difficulty accessing any of these resources.

  • Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)

    CIAO is the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs, publishing a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs.

  • CountryWatch

    Provides up-to-date information and news on the countries of the world in a concise and useful form. Includes cultural, political, economic, and business information and maps.

  • GreenFILE Periodical Provided by the INSPIRE Network

    Offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment, including scholarly, government and general-interest titles on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. Provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as full-text access for more than 4,700 records.

  • Statista (Trial)

    Categorized into 21 market sectors, the statistical information within this source provides direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets. Other information with the statistics includes source, release date, number of respondents, and any other relevant details to facilitate verification of all statistical information. Many of the statsitical presentations and graphs are downloadable for cited appropriate use.

Other Useful Databases

Though the following databases are not specific only to the subject of this guide, they will have relevant and useful resources in them. Give them a try!

  • Academic Search Premier Periodical Provided by the INSPIRE Network

    Covers a wide range of academic areas including business, social sciences, humanities, general science, education. It provides abstracts and indexing for over 3,200 scholarly journals, plus the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Christian Science Monitor. Full-text articles are available for 1,000+ journals, with 380+ titles from 1990-present.

  • Google Scholar

    A more narrow, manageable, and reliable set of information from the Google web--determined "scholarly" and thus more appropriate for research projects. Though not all results will be available for free, Google Scholar is an excellent identification tool from which you can search library databases or request articles and book chapters through Zondervan's Interlibrary Loan service. The advanced search screen allows you to specify phrases to search, words to exclude, author last names, and even subject categories.

  • JSTOR

    Provides searchable full text of the complete back files for hundreds of important scholarly journals in a broad spectrum of topics and disciplines. Coverage generally includes the first volume through issues published prior to the most recent 3-5 years (current issues are not available in JSTOR).

 

Finding Books

  • Primo
    • Find books, as well as a variety of other physical materials in the Zondervan Library, along with a plethora of online resources, like eBooks and magazine and journal articles.
    • Use the Advanced search option to specify material type, language, and publication date.
  • WorldCat
    • Listed under Essential Tools on the Library's home page.
    • Find books, among other things, to request via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Finding Journals

 

Web Resources

We have collected several free web resources that are relevant for International Studies research. Access them on the Web Resources page.

 

Additional Research Tools

Should you have a need for our diverse online Reference resources (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and biographies), peruse the following tools to access thousands of articles and reports available online.

  • 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  
    Search by keyword, or choose particular subjects and select individual Oxford Press books within which to search. Broad subject coverage.
  • Biography in Context   
    Find background information about people, authors, famous personalities, and others. Search by first or last name.
  • Contemporary Authors
    Provides complete biographical and bibliographical information and references on more than 120,000 U.S. and international authors.

 

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 Chicago Manual of Style.
      Call #: Reference & Main Collections 808.042 Un3c

    • Zotero
      Freely accessible on the web, this citation tool is an addon for Mozilla's Firefox browser. With Zotero you can capture citations, store them (along with the pdfs), produce bibliographies and works cited pages, and more. It has an addon for MS Word to enable in-text citations and insertion of bibliographies. Recommended by librarians everywhere!

    • 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 databases (like Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, Communications and Mass Media Complete, etc.). Databases often provide an instant citation in a couple of different styles.

    • WorldCat.org
      "Cite this item" within an individual item record lists the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago, and other styles.

    • Citation Style Guide
      A specialized guide for the variety of citation styles used on this campus. Provides call numbers for print Style Manuals and Handbooks in the library as well as links to online help from several different universities around the States.

    • The Writing Center
      Available in the Library and open 3-5p and 7-10p on Mon.-Thurs. Students can find individual guidance from English majors with any aspect of the process for writing and editing a paper, including citation questions. For more information, see their page on myTaylor, or you can contact them at writingctr@taylor.edu.

     

    Created by Lana Wilson, Research Librarian

    Product descriptions on this page are incorporated from reviews and product descriptions from various sources.

    Last revised May 31, 2012 - 03:58 PM