Background Information: Reference Resources

Reference books provide background information to help you put your research in context. They include encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, etc. Below are just a few reference books that you may find useful in your research.

The Military Balance

MAIN REF UA 15.L652

2005-2007 in Reference Stacks, earlier volumes (1996-2004) in main stacks.  Includes table of non-state actors, 2001- to date.

Global Terrorism

MAIN REF HV 6431 .P3773 2005 v.1-2

List of international terrorist groups, country reports 1985-2004, and chronology of significant terrorist incidents

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties

MAIN REF JF 2011 .W67 2006 v.1-3

country sections include the system of government, the party system, major and minor political parties, readings, and a substantial list of acronyms and abbreviations.

Terrorism, a Chronology

MAIN REF HV 6431 .M993 yr.

Two sets cover terrorism incidents 1996-2002, and 2002-2006. Good index and extensive bibliography

The Europa World Year Book, 2007

MAIN REF JN 1 .r85 2007 v.1-2

A section of current information for each country. Includes information on constitution, the government, communications media, economic and social statistics, political organization, and more.

Statesman's Yearbook, 2008

MAIN REF JA 51 /S7 2008

Similar to Europa, includes current information about each country, also lists government heads historical chronology.

Background Information: Finding Books

Books give you more in-depth background than encyclopedias and dictionaries.  Use library catalogs to find titles on your topic.

BGSU Libraries Catalog

Start with the BGSU Libraries Catalog (BGLink) to search for items owned by the BGSU Libraries. Items in the catalog include books, journal titles, newspapers, government documents, sound recordings and more. If your aren't finding what you want in the catalog, ask a library staff member for help.

 

Subject Headings include:

• Political violence
• Paramilitary forces
• Specific names, places, or events such as:
  • Colombia
  • Latin America--Politics and government
  • Human rights -- Vietnam
  • Globalization -- Madagascar

Word Searches:

• Use single terms or phrases: autodefensas
• Or combine terms to narrow your search:
  • paramilitary and colombia
  • Vietnam and violence

Guide to using boolean operators to refine your search.

OhioLINK Central Catalog

The OhioLINK Central Catalog lets you search the combined catalogs of 65 academic libraries in Ohio. You can borrow books from other OhioLINK libraries over the computer, and have them delivered to BGSU in two to three days time. There are online instructions for ordering materials over OhioLINK. Remember, you must be registered with BGSU's Library before you can order books from OhioLINK.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

This is also an excellent source to search for known items--that is authors and publications cited in footnotes and bibliographies.

BGSU's Research Databases

Research Databases let you search for citations to articles in journal, magazines, and newspapers. Some of the research databases are full-text, so you can print out the item in its entirety. Currently, there are over 200 research databases available over the Web, such as Academic Search Premier, American Periodicals Series Online, and American History and Life. If you have trouble determining which database to choose, ask a library staff member. The databases described below are most likely to be useful for this research assignment.

Academic Search Complete

multi-disciplinary full-text database includes more than 5,300 full-text periodicals.

Lexis-Nexis Academic

The service covers newspapers, magazines, wire services, and legal resources.

International Political Science Abstracts

Includes current indexing and abstracts of the world's leading journals in political science.

PAIS

PAIS International is an index to the literature of public affairs -- current issues and actions which affect the world communities, countries, people, and governments.

Web Resources: Include both Background and Current Information

The Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism

Resource listed on Dr. Englehart's handout

Minorities at Risk project

Resource listed on Dr. Englehart's handout

The Human Rights Watch

Resource listed on Dr. Englehart's handout

Amnesty International

Resource listed on Dr. Englehart's handout

Federation of American Scientists List of Para-States

Resource listed on Dr. Englehart's handout

WebWIZARD

Your Guide to Becoming an Effective Web Searcher.

• Created by BGSU Reference Librarians.
• Five modules which guide you through searching for information on the web and evaluating web sites.

Assistance Evaluating Internet Sites

Just as books and journal articles must be evaluated to determine their accurracy and reliability, Internet sites must be carefully critiqued before accepting the information in them. Librarians have come up with a list of questions to help you determine the research quality of information you find on the Internet.

Finding Government Documents in the Library

With the exception of some periodical titles which are housed in Jerome and Science Periodicals Areas and shelved alphabetically by title, federal publications are arranged on the shelf by an alphanumeric system called the Superintendent of Documents Classification Scheme (SuDocs).

Letters stand for the publishing agency, for instance

• A for Agriculture
• C for Commerce
• L for Labor
• Pr for President
• and so forth

The numbers on the top line of the call number file differently than the Dewey or LC collections. The number following the period is a whole number NOT A DECIMAL.

The documents collection is housed in several locations depending upon subject and format.

• The main paper collection is next to Periodicals (South side, first floor)
• The microforms and microfiche are filed in cabinets next to the Documents Office (Room 140)
• CD-ROMS are filed in cabinets next to the front door of the Documents Office
• Journals are shelved in the Periodical Collections in Jerome and Science Libraries.

• Floor Plan--Government Documents

 Government Documents Indexes and Resources

We began cataloging government documents in 1987 so all documents published after 1987 are found in BGLink, the online catalog. You can search for documents just like any other material in the library--by title, subject, keyword, or author.

Catalog of U. S. Government Publications

The Catalog is a search and retrieval service that provides bibliographic records of U.S. Government information products. Use it to link to Federal agency online resources or identify materials distributed to Federal Depository Libraries. Coverage begins with 1976 and new records are added daily.

Lexis-Nexis Congressional

Is an excellent index to Congressional working papers from 1970 to date: laws, hearings, reports, and documents.

Government Documents Titles

Colombia, a Country Study

SuDoc number: D 101.22:550-26/990

Full text online

Indian Ocean: Five Island Countries

SuDoc number: D 101.22:550-154/995

Full text online

Jordan: a Country Study

SuDoc number: D 101.22:550-34/995

Full text online

Vietnam: a Country Study

SuDoc number: D 101.22:550-32/995

Full text online

Department of State: Country List

Alphabetical index of publications issued by the State Department with links to contents of those publications. It includes links to Background Notes.

Human Rights page at the State Department

Includes reports issued by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United Nations, and other international agencies, as well as search engine, and links to related resources

Citing Sources

Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper

Created and maintained by Duke University's Library.

A wonderful guide to citation which is arranged by type of citation, the information presented includes how to cite articles from journals, magazines, books, book reviews government documents, newspapers, primary sources, web pages and online postings.

Each section presents an example of a citation in the following formats: APA, Chicago Style, MLA and Turabian.

CITATION STYLE FOR RESEARCH PAPERS

Or check out this site created by Robert Delaney at the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library.

Mr. Delaney has created brief guides to several style manuals including:

• APA
• Turabian
• MLA
• Chicago
• and AMA
• He also includes a general guide to citing internet resources.

Getting Help

You can stop by the Jerome Library Research and Information Desk. This service desk is open most of the hours that the library is open. See Library Hours for an exact listing, including holidays and intersessions.

If you have a brief question that can be answered over the phone, call the Research and Information Desk at 372-2362.

For online assistance: Ask-A-Librarian

If you feel you need in depth assistance, you can call Mrs. Parmer at 372-7826 or email her parmer@bgnet.bgsu.edu and schedule an appointment.