Political Science 406

International Political Economy

Professor Boyle
Spring 2007

Getting Started

Useful Reference Sources

Electronic Reference Tools:

Britannica Online ~ a good place to get started; check out the bibliographies at the end of entries
CIA World Factbook ~ Information--including data, maps, transnational issues, etc--on most world countries
Culturegrams ~ this resource is aimed mostly at kids, but it's not a bad place to start for general information
Gale Virtual Reference Library ~ has many different resources--encyclopedias and dictionaries--try a general search first
xreferplus ~ similar to Gale, there are lots of different resources here as well.

Print Reference Tools: Since you will be choosing topics that are varied and somewhat subject-specific, here are some possible reference sources. There may be others--ask a librarian for help!

Encyclopedia of World Cultures Reference R306.097 E56
Encyclopedia of World Political Systems Reference R320.3 D427e
Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations, Reference R 327.73 E56F
International Encyclopedia of Communications, Reference R 302.2 I61
International Encyclopedia of Population R 304.6 I61
The Europa World Year Book Reference R341.184E89 
The World Almanac & Book of Facts  Reference R317.3W927 
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women, Reference R305.403 R869
WorldMark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life  4 vols.  Reference R305.8003 W927
World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties, 3rd ed. Reference R324.203 W927

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• Use I-Share to find books, videos, and other material on your subject
• Use subject headings to make your search more specific
  • Some subject headings are fairly broad
    • International economic relations
    • International business enterprises
  • These can sometimes be subdivided by country or region
    • International economic relations--Developing countries
    • International business enterprises--Developing countries
    • To search for information on the international economic relations of particular countries, use the following subject heading structure
      • France--Foreign economic relations
    • When two countries are used in conjunction with the subdivider Foreign economic relations, the subject heading deals with the relationship of the first country with the second country
      • United States--Foreign economic relations--Japan
  • Countries and regions are valid subject headings
    • OECD countries--Foreign ecomomic relations
  • Organizations can be used as subject headings as well
    • World Trade Organization
  • Topics can be subdivided by a variety of aspects that make the subject heading more specific
    • Globalization
    • Globalization--Economic aspects
    • Globalization--Social aspects--Africa
    • Globalization--Environmental aspects--Developing countries
    • Globalization--Religious aspects--Islam
  • Other examples of subject headings
    • Free trade--OECD countries
    • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Organization)
    • World Bank
    • International Monetary Fund
    • International finance
    • International trade
    • International economic integration
    • Economic sanctions
    • Economic assistance
    • International business enterprises--Political aspects
  • Sometimes what you think should be a valid subject heading really isn't; you may have to try alternative terminology
    • Developing countries--Foreign economic relations, instead of North-South Relations
• If a book isn't available in the library, order it through Interlibrary Loan
  • Use the online form
  • Or, in I-Share, click on the link Repeat Search in All ILCSO Libraries, and follow the instructions

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Finding Articles in Databases

Academic Search Premier ~ contains articles from both popular and scholarly sources on a wide range of topics, many in full text
ABI/Inform ~ Articles on business and management topics, some in full text
Business Source Elite ~ Articles from journals, trade sources, news sources. Covers business, economics, management, etc. Selected full text.
Lexis-Nexis Academic ~ Despite its quirks, still a great source of news and information on business and economic topics.
Lexis-Nexis Statistical ~ Lots of useful statistics from many areas--business, demographics, etc. You can get downloadeable tables here.

Is this a scholarly journal or a popular magazine?

What if the article isn't available online?

• Use I-Share to determine if the library owns the journal in print or in microfilm
• Check Alphabetical List of Electronic Journals to see if the article is available through another database
• If you cannot find an article at Elmhurst, you can request it through our online Interlibrary Loan article request form

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Evaluating Sources

A word about Google and Wikipedia.

Google and Wikipedia are 2 tools that are available to help you find information on the Internet. Google is an Internet search engine. It will find websites for you on the subject of American Presidents. Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia.It contains lots of information about American Presidents. But you need to be careful when using these 2 tools. Google will just find sites for you. It will not tell you whether or not those sites are accurate, or unbiased, or current. Wikipedia can be useful to help you get started finding information. But because anybody can edit a Wikipedia page, you have to take information you find there with a grain of salt. Wikipedia is a fine source for some information--but always backup information you find there with another source.

 

Here are some resources to help you evaluate the information you find:

Critically Analyzing Information Sources from Cornell University
Evaluating Sources of Information from Purdue's OWL
Evaluating Web Sites from Lesley University
Looking for Articles in Journals and Magazines: Scholarly or Popular? from the University of Oregon

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Selected Websites

If evaluating websites seems like a lot of work, you can use some of these pre-screened websites to help you in your research!

These 2 have links to many other sites that are useful and of good quality:

Librarians' Internet Index
Internet Public Library

Here is a list of other websites you may find useful:

Economic Policy Institute: Trade & Globalization Resources and news from the Economic Policy Institute
G8 Information Centre ~ allows access to analytical studies, fact sheets, bibliographies, and links to information pertaining to the G8
Global Policy Forum ~ an NGO whose goal is "to monitor policy making at the United Nations, promote accountability of global decisions, educate and mobilize for global citizen participation, and advocate on vital issues of international peace and justice"
The Globalization Website This site, maintained by a Sociology professor at Emory University, contains many good resources including links to other websites
The International Forum on Globalization "The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) is an alliance of sixty leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization."
UMich Documents Center ~ an extensive collection of information on national and global government documents, from the University of Michigan
Union of International Associations: Selected Links to International Organizations ~ besides providing links to IGOs as well as NGOs, this listing yields information on conferences, events, and links to other collections of links
World Economic Forum ~ "committed to improving the state of the world;" includes information on industries, regions, and themes, as well as competitiveness profiles
The WWW Virtual Library: International Relations ~ a library of web resources, divided by region, topic, and organization
YaleGlobal Online ~ published by the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, this website features articles on a number of topics and regions pertaining to globalization; there are links to academic papers as well as related web sites
World Bank Globalization Website Many links to information about globalization, look for links on menu on left.

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Writing and Citing Resources

For help with writing your outlines and bibliographies, try the Elmhurst College Writing Center online help page.

You can also try these online resources

Developing an Outline From OWL at Purdue University
College Writing and Citing
Citing Electronic Resources
ONLINE! Citation Styles
Citing Sources from the Duke University Libraries

If you need any help finding articles or writing, you can also contact the Reference Desk any time the library is open:

Reference: 630-617-3173
Email: ref[at[elmhurst[dot]edu
AIM: elmhrstcollibref   |   Yahoo!Messenger: eclibraryreference   |   MSN Messenger: ref[at]elmhurst.edu

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Web Pages for Courses: Communications

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