Information Sources for International Relations

Selective guide to Resources for I.R. 10: Introduction to World Politics

Table of Contents

Reference Works


The following books provide background information and may be useful to you during your research:

Europa world year book. London, England: Europa Publications Limited, 2003  914 E89a  Linderman- REF

The International year book and statesmen's who's who.   East Grinstead, West Sussex, England : Kelly's Directories, 1999
   305.8 I61 1999  FM-1-REF

The Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Relations. Osmanczyk, E.J. (1985).  New York: Taylor and Francis.
    341.2303 O83e 1990 FM-1-REF

Global development : a reference handbook . William Savitt, Paula Bottorf.  Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c1995.
     338.9 S267g  FM-1-REF

The Oxford Companion to the politics of the world. 2nd ed. Joel Krieger, ed.  New York : Oxford University Press, 2001
    320.03 O98  FM -1- REF
    Electronic version: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t121

The Penguin dictionary of international relations .  Graham Evans and Jeffrey Newnham. London ; New York : Penguin Books, c1998.
     327.03 E92p     FM-1-REF

Political Handbook of the World.  New York : Published for the Center for Comparative Political Research of the State
     University of New York at Binghamton and for the Council on Foreign Relations by McGraw-Hill Book Co.
    329.9 P76 1997 FM-1-REF

The Statesman's Year-book; Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World. (latest). London, New York, Macmillan, St.
     Martin's Press.     305 S797  FM-1-REF

The Times atlas of the world : tenth comprehensive edition. New York : Times Books, 1999.
    912 T58 1999    FM-1-ATLAS  or    L-1-ATLAS.    Note: the libraries have a wide variety of atlases that may be useful for your work.
    New  editions are frequently added. Check the Atlas cases  in both libraries.

Yearbook of the United Nations. United Nations. 1947-
    341.1 U5805  Latest edition in  FM-1-REF

Ziring, L., Plano, J.C., and Olton, R. (1995) International Relations : A Political Dictionary. (5th Edition). Santa Barbara, Calif. :
     ABC-CLIO. , c1995.
    327.03 P712i 1995  FM-1-REF

Lehigh Library Online Catalog - ASA


     Search ASA to find those books, journals, government documents  and electronic resources owned by the library. It is often
     useful to begin your search with a keyword search. After you have located a few materials on target for your topic, utilize the
     hypertext linked subject headings to expand your search to other materials cataloged under that same subject heading.

    You can search ASA to locate those journals owned by Lehigh in either print or electronic form.  If you know the title of the journal, perform
    a Browse/Periodical Title search.


U.S. Government Documents

Lehigh's  Fairchild Martindale library receives over 50% of  the federal document published by  U.S. government agencies and legislative bodies. Most of these are cataloged and can be located using the ASA library catalog. Increasingly these materials are made available on the Web. An ASA search will link you out to these materials. The library also subscribes to a variety of indexes to help you identify government materials.

Marcive Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1976-present)

Lexis Nexis Congressional  (1970 - present) : focus on Congressional materials.

 

Return to Table of Contents

Databases and Indexes to Periodical Literature and News Sources

These databases can be accessed from the Library's database page.

     Academic Index (Infotrac)
     This database indexes and abstracts a wide range of journals in the social sciences. It includes the full text and graphics of many
     of the articles it indexes. Coverage goes back to 1980. Uses SFX technology to provide access to full text of articles if they are available from other sources.

    America: History and Life
    Covers the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Coverage of over 2,000 journals published worldwide.

     CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online
    This database specializes in international affairs and foreign policy issues. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 on that
    includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and
    proceedings from conferences. It also provides access to abstracts (and at times the full text) of articles from 26 International Relations
    journals.

   CQ Researcher
   While not a database of articles from a variety of journals, CQ Researcher is a easily accessible introduction to a variety of topics. Each CQ Researcher             issue reports on one particular topic, many of which deal with foreign affairs, international relations current events. The reports provide background information, a chronology, current situtation, outlook and presents a balance of perspectives on the topic.

    Historical Abstracts
    Indexes materials published since 1971. It covers publications about the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding North America).

     PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service
     PAIS indexes periodicals, books, government documents and to some degree publications of International organizations on a
     wide variety of public affairs topics. The database covers the years 1972 - present. Lehigh also owns the printed index back to
     1923. INDEX  FM-3-SOUTH  016.3 P976.

     Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe
     Contains the full-text of articles in many major U.S and international newspapers. Some foreign language newspapers can also be
     accessed. Selected journals, magazines and newswires are also part of the product. The service is updated daily and although
     the coverage varies, content can go back to the 1980's.

    Research Library
    This interdisciplinary database provides scholarly and popular articles on a variety of topics. Uses SFX technology to link out to the electronic full text of articles.

     World News Connection
     Index to the FBIS translated full-text of foreign news broadcasts, newspapers and periodicals. One user liscense. Please be sure
     to exit the system properly or other users will have trouble. Covers past 5 years.

Return to Table of Contents

Web Sites

Criteria for Evaluating Information on the Internet :

Accuracy

     Are facts and statistics documented?
     Is information properly cited?
     Is the site well researched?

Reliability/Authority

     Can the author or sponsor be identified?
     What are the credentials or qualifications of the author or sponsor?
     What is the institutional affiliation?
     Is contact information provided?

Objectivity

     Are there biases in the document? Is it designed to sway opinion?
     Are the aims or goals of the author/sponsor clearly stated?

Timeliness

     When was the site or information last updated?
     Are the links up-to-date?

Coverage

     How does the information compare with other sources available on the topic?
     How in-depth is the material?

     Additional Readings on this topic:
      Evaluating Web-Based Information  (Follow all "next" links)
      Evaluating Internet Information
      Evaluating Internet Research Resources

Return to Table of Contents

General Web Searching

Two very good search engines to use for general Web searching are Google and Altavista. A collection of some other good search  engines and web directories can be found on the InfoDome Search Tools page.  You might also want to start with the Librarians' Index to the Internet (http://lii.org/). Tip: try looking by subject under "Governments-- International"

 

Web Gateways, Portals and Recommended Web sites

The Lehigh librarians have developed an Information Portal named InfoDome to help you identify websites, databases and print resources that may be of assistance when beginning your research. Try the International Relations and Political Science components in the Social Sciences section  of InfoDome. It can suggest a number of important websites in addition to those listed below  that support student research in our classes for those departments.

    Metasites

    Foreign Affairs Online
    http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html

    WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs
    http://www.etown.edu/vl

    Political Resources on the Net
    http://www.politicalresources.net/

Governments and International Organizations:

     Europa - European Union Server
     http://europa.eu.int/index-en.htm

    Foreign Goverment Resources on the Web (UMich Documents Center)
    http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html

     Governments on the WWW
     http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/

     GPO Access
     http://www.access.gpo.gov/
     An Online database with access to the full texts of  U.S. government publications. Also includes links to government agency homepages.

     Nations of the World:. U.S. Library of Congress.
     http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/nations.html

    International Monetary Fund
    http://www.imf.org

    International Court of Justice
    http://www.icj-cij.org/  

     ISN: International Relations and Security Network, Center for Security Studies and Conflict Research, ETH Zurich.
     http://www.isn.ethz.ch/
     In Particular try their LinksLibrary by Subject (i.e., International Relations-Journals) by Region (i.e., Middle East), or a Directory (i.e.,
     International Organizations).
     http://www.isn.ethz.ch/linkslib/

    Yahoo International Organizations
     http://www.yahoo.com/Government/International_Organizations/

    United Nations
    http://www.un.org/english/

     UN and International Organizations and Related Links.
     http://undcp.org/unlinks.html

     World Bank
    http://www.worldbank.org/

     

Country Information and Regional Resources:

     Asian Studies Online Virtual Library
     http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html

     Background Notes.
     http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
     http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes   (Archive)
     The State Department's electronic version of Background Notes on the Countries of the World.

     CIA WorldFactbook
     http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

    The United Kingdom
    http://tug.lib.uwaterloo.ca/gp/a_uk.html

    Country Studies
     http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
     Sponsored by the Department of the Army, this series is also called the "Area Handbook Series", earlier editins, in printed volumes are also
    available in the Library collection. Search ASA, the online catalog for locations.

     Internet Resources on the Middle East (Harvard)
     http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~mideast/inMEres/inMEres.html

     Latin American Network Information Center
     http://Lanic.utexas.edu

    Meria: Middle Eastern Review of International Affairs
    http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/index.html
    This website to a peer reviewed MERIA journal provides access to all it's articles since 1997. Also useful is the section labeled:
    Research Guides

    Regions and Countries (The World Bank)
     http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/regions.htm

Web sites focusing on foreign policy:

     Africa Action
     http://www.africapolicy.org

     Brookings Institution
    http://www.brook.edu/default.htm

    Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    http://www.ceip.org/

    Council on Foreign Relations
    http://www.cfr.org/  

    Online Middle East net assessment reports [computer file]
    Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, D.C.)
    http://www.csis.org/mideast/online.html

     US Department of State
     http://www.state.gov/

Return to Table of Contents


 

Citing Sources

Follow your professor's guidance as to which citation style to utilize. Below are some resources for examples.

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Fairchild or Linderman Library Reserve desks: 808.02 A512p 1994

 The APA web site offers an official way to cite Internet sources at http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

 In addition, a number of APA crib sheets are available at http://www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm

Chicago Manual of Style, Chicago, University of Chicago Press. 2003
F-Ref  655.25 C532ma

Using Chicago Style to cite online publications.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite7.html

Turabian, Kate L., A manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
FM - Reserve Desk or Linderman Reserve Desk  378.2 T929m

Additional information on footnotes and style guides: http://www.lehigh.edu/library/footnote/footnote.html
 

   Research Advice


Contact:
     Roseann Bowerman
     Social Sciences Librarian
     Lehigh University
     Office: 621 Fairchild-Martindale Library
     Phone: 758-3053
     email: rb04@lehigh.edu

     Web Guide revised June 2005