Information Sources for IR 205

Theories of International Relations

Contents

Use of the Citation Index method for locating relevant articles:

To search for articles which cite particularly useful earlier articles ("Chaining citations forward") use:

SOCIAL SCIENCE CITATION INDEX - CD ROM 1998- ; Print 1966-1997
This  CD-ROM index and its companion retrospective printed volumes are located in Fairchild Library, Reference area. This index covers over 2,000 journals. Citation indexes allow the user to track a particular article to see if it has been cited by other authors and discover more recent articles that may be crucial to your research.

For an online tutorial on using "cited reference" searching in the CD rom product go to
http://www.isinet.com/tutorials/crs-cdrom/

contents

Databases for locating academic journal articles in International Relations by subject

ACADEMIC INDEX (INFOTRAC)
 Coverage 1980-  This multi-disciplinary journal includes materials from arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology.  You can access scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers - with full text and images for certain journals.

CIAO, Columbia International Affairs Online-
 a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. It publishes a wide range of
 scholarship including  papers from university research institutes  and NGO's, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings  from conferences.

ECONLIT
An index to journals, books and working papers in Economics. Coverage goes back to 1969 in this online database.

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service)
This database contains materials published since 1972. It includes articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs. Covers most of the major International Relations journals.

PROQUEST
This index provides access to citations and in many cases full text of articles from over 1800 journals on a wide range of topics. Also a source for news from major U.S. newspapers. Dates of coverage vary by periodical, many go back to 1986 or earlier.

WorldCat Database
Not an index to articles in journals, this specialized tool is essentially a catalog of the books, manuscripts, documents , journal
holdings  and other materials in libraries in  the U.S. and internationally.

contents


Selected Web sites

Foreign Affairs Online
This metasite on Foreign Affairs designed by a professor of International Law offers brief annotations and recommendations on a wide variety of Internet  resources germane to the subject. Included here are annotated listings of official  US and foreign government sites; UN sites; nongovernmental and  intergovernmental organization sites; think tanks; news sources; sites devoted to  human rights, international relations, and law; and much more. The section on map  resources is particularly good, offering a number of "highly recommended" sites  that researchers are likely to find valuable. Copyright Internet Scout Project, 1999.

InfoDome: International Relations
This website hosted by Lehigh University brings together the electronic resources available to LU students. It also will retrieve web sites selected by LU librarians for their academic research value.

The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
A major gateway to resources in international affairs. Provides annotations and  links to a significant number of web sites from international organizations and  countries as well as foreign news resources.

contents

News Resources

News and contemporary accounts of world events can be found in numerous resources available from library subscriptions and  widely available web news providers. In addition to the Proquest database or the abundant news links available through the  WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs website listed above you might find the following resources useful:

FACTIVA DATABASE
While this database generally has a business focus, it is a very useful source of foreign newspaper coverage of a variety of topics. Must use Internet Explorer browser.

LEXIS/NEXIS ACADEMIC UNIVERSE
Hundreds of international and foreign news sources are available in full text from this proprietary database. Includes the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as major newspapers from countries around the world.

WORLD NEWS CONNECTION
World News Connection (WNC) is an online news service, only accessible via the World  Wide Web. It offers an extensive array of translated and English-language news and   information. Particularly effective in its coverage of local media sources, WNC provides  the power to identify what really is happening in a specific country or region. Compiled  from thousands of non-U.S. media sources, the information in WNC covers significant  socioeconomic, political, scientific, technical, and environmental issues and events. This database is a rolling file and covers only the current approximately 6  years. LU has a one-user account. If someone else is searching you cannot get into the files. IMPORTANT: USE THE EXIT BUTTON TO LEAVE THE SYSTEM OR IT WILL NOT ADMIT THE NEXT USER  UNTIL IT TIMES OUT.
 

Printed Newspapers and their retrospective and current indexing/online availability

New York Times (earlier title: New York Daily Times)
Film:  1851- 1856 (NY Daily Times), 1857-   (New York Times)
Indexing includes:
    The New York Times Index, FM-1-Index: 1851-
    The New York Times Obituary Index, FM-1-Index:  1858-1978
     Lexis-Nexis Academic  Coverage
        From June 1, 1980 through current; the Final New York City Edition (full text)
        From January 1, 1969 - May 31, 1980 (abstracts)
        Included under both  News/General News /Major Newspapers and
                                      US News/NortheastRegional

Times (London)
Film: 1914-
Indexing includes:
    Palmer's Index to the Times (CD Rom - Linderman)  1790-1905
    Official Index to the Times ( Film: 1937-1955, Paper FM-1-Index,  1957-1997)
    Lexis-Nexis Academic Coverage from Jan. 1, 1990 -
    Included under News/General News/ Major Newspapers
    Factiva coverage from 1992-

Wall Street Journal
Film: 1928-
Indexing  includes:
    The Wall Street Journal Index, FM-1-Index,  1958-
     Lexis-Nexis Academic  contains abstracts from May 1, 1973 and selected full text from
    1996. under News/General News/Major Newspapers
     Factiva, full-text coverage from 1984-

Washington Post
Film: 1980-
Indexing includes:
    Lexis-Nexis Academic , 1977- under News/US/Southeast Regional Sources
    Factiva, full-text coverage from 1984-

contents

Selected sources of statistical data


One of your first steps for  finding statistics might be to consult the Statistical Abstract of the United States
(317.3 U58s FM-1-R-REF or on the WWW  ) or use the new Lexis-Nexis Statistical. This database is a web based product that incorporates the information from the Index to International Statistics:IIS ( 310.016 I38   FM-1-REF) as well as other statistical indexes such as the American Statistics Index and the Statistical Reference Index.  In particular, the IIS  component provides thorough indexing of the statistical studies and reports produced by international agencies and organizations. It is a terrific resource for identifying social and economic data on foreign countries.  While some of the data may be accessible directly from the Statistical Universe product, the library owns the IIS microfiche collection that provides access to the text and data from the actual reports. We also own many of the statistical reports in print format so it can't hurt to check ASA, the online catalog.

The statistical abstract-like volumes for other nations are available in Fairchild Library  in a microfiche collection known as the CIS National Statistical Compendiums. FM-2-South, microfiche area.

Other useful printed resources for International and Foreign Data:

General/Demographic Data


Demographic Yearbook (UN)
Population, vital and other statistics for many countries. Latest edition kept in Reference.
312.058 D383 FM-1-REF

Statistical Yearbook (United Nations)
Contains a wide variety of statistics for countries throughout the world. Latest edition kept in Reference.
310.58 U581s  FM-1-REF

Monthly Bulletin of Statistics
Updates the UN Statistical Yearbook immediately above.
310-5 M78a  FM-3-South

Statistical Yearbook (UNESCO)
Contains international statistics on education, science, culture and communications. Latest edition in Reference.
312.9 U589s  FM-1-REF

World Development Indicators, 2001  (2002 edition on order) - CD ROM
Data on poverty, health, education, gender and environment as well as a comprehensive view of the world economy.
"Contains 40 years of time series data for more than 200 countries from 1960 to 2000, single-year observations and spreadsheets of the book edition's tables. It also includes more than 1000 country tables along with the text for the World Development Indicators print edition and the World Bank Atlas. Makes it possible to retrieve data into spreadsheet format, create maps and graphs and export data." Some parts of the data can be found  on the web at their Data Query site which offers free access to a 5-year, 54-indicators segment of the World  Development Indicators (WDI) database http://devdata.worldbank.org/data-query/
Online access to the 2002 print edition can be found at: http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2002/index.htm
330.91724 CD  - FM-Reserve (1day loan)
 

World Development Report
"The World Bank's annual World Development Report (WDR) is an invaluable guide to the economic, social and environmental state of the world today. Each year the WDR provides in depth analysis of a specific aspect of development. Past reports have considered such topics as the role of the state, transition economies, labor, infrastructure, health, the environment, and  poverty. "  1979- 2003  in print at 330.91724 W9271 FM-3-North.  Recent editions on the Web with some exceptions.
 

Financial and Economic data

Global Development Finance, 2000 (2002 edition on order) - CD ROM
Analyses global economic growth and provides complete statistical data for 136 countries. "Internal debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, and debt restructuring are provided for 1970, 1980 and 1990, and 1993 through 1998)." With the CD-ROM edition users can work interactively with the data.
336.3435 G562  CD-INFO. FM-Reserve

International Financial Statistics Yearbook (International Monetary Fund)
Excellent source for information on exchange rates, international liquidity, interest rates, prices, bank assets, production, imports and exports.  Updated by monthly issues of International Financial Statistics.
332.05 I61ib  FM-1-REF

International Trade Statistics Yearbook
Detailed trade data for individual countries  and world trade statistics for specific commodities. Latest in Reference. 382.058 U581y FM-1-REF.

Main Economic Indicators (OECD)
Contains data on the most recent changes in the economies of member countries. Recent issues in Current Periodicals area. Later editions bound in 330.5 O68m  FM-3-South.

National Accounts Statistics: main aggregates and detailed tables
Analysis of national accounts, such as gross domestic product, expenditures, income and outlay by individual country. Latest edition in Reference.  339.2 U589ya  FM-1-REF

Yearbook of Labour Statistics (UN)
Over 180 countries labor statistics are reported in this volume. Latest edition in Reference.
331 I61y  FM-1-REF

    Military and Armed Forces Data

The Military Balance (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies)
Presents armed forces data by country
355.2 L847c Latest edition at in FM-1-REF

SIPRI Yearbook (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)
Covers Military spending and armaments, Non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament with extensive annexes on arms control and disarmament agreements and a chronology of security- and arms control-related events. Some data available at website: http://databases.sipri.se/
341.6705 S864s Latest edition in FM-1-REF

World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; U.S. Dept of State)
Provides data on arms imports and exports. Some data available on web: http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/bureau_ac/reports_ac.html
355.62. u581wo  Latest edition (1999-2000) in FM-DOCS-Ref
 
 

OTHER WEB PORTALS FOR STATISTICAL DATA

Fedstats
A gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies.

InfoDome:Statistical Information
A website developed by Lehigh University Libraries as a pointer to useful statistical sources and databases.

Statistical Resources on the Web
Valuable gateway to all types of data sites.

STATISTICAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES FOR USE IN DATA ANALYSIS

Excel - A Microsoft spreadsheet package widely available on campus and through the CD's distributed by LTS.

SPSS and SAS  are more complex statistical analysis packages. They are available at Lehigh Computing Public Sites. Must be downloaded to public site machines using the Install Software package. Douglas Reese is the Library and Technology Services computing consultant who supports this package. He can help you get started with the application and help you do basic tasks. He does NOT interpret results nor advise you as the the kind of analysis you should do to answer a particular question. You can contact him at dsr1@lehigh.edu or x85125.

contents


 

Guide created by Roseann Bowerman, Social Sciences Librarian, Lehigh University 
I can work with you on your projects in Fairchild Library consulting room on Weds. from 1 to 5pm or by appointment in my office in Linderman Library. Call 610-758-3053 or contact me by email.

revised Feb. 2003