Welcome! We are providing this site to assist you in exploring library resources on your topic. Our library is one of the largest in the United States and it can be very intimidating. We will try to make things a little easier for you, but you have to ask questions. It takes patience, curiosity, and a sense of adventure to use our resources and facilities so think of this page as a road map for your travels with us. If you have any problems or questions please do not hesitate to contact me. I split my time between two different units so if you can't find me at the Education and Social Science Library, give me a call at 265-6879 or drop me an e-mail to set up an appointment.
USING THE LIBRARY FOR RESEARCH
The processes involved in library research are those of discovery and location. We provide a wide variety of tools to help you discover the materials that exist on your topics. Once you have discovered the works that exist in this area we help you to locate the texts you need to learn more about the topic. Sometimes this is a real quick, one-step experience, other times it involves many phases and "adventures" with the information landscape.
The navigation bar at the very top of this page will allow you to discover and locate the resources of the library. The Online Catalog link will help you discover and locate books and volumes of journals in print format. The Online Research Resources will help you find the indexes and other tools you will need to discover information, and it will also help you locate the full text of many articles and other resources electronically. The Library Services section will lead you to a variety of information points that may help you navigate our library. If you have any questions about this navigation bar, don't hesitate to contact me or any reference desk in the Library for assistance.
First, a few very basic suggestions:
develop a basic understanding of your topic
be flexible when you search for terms
be creative in your use of language
read voraciously
don't give up - ask questions!
Ask-A-Librarian for Help with Your Research
Use our Ask-A-Librarian Service to IM, chat, email, phone or find a reference librarian. You can also type in the box below to instant message us.
Fill out an Individual Research Consultation Form to sign up for a one-on-one appointment with a librarian to learn about the best databases, search strategies and information sources for your upcoming project or paper.
FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND
We have over 40 departmental libraries on our campus. The libraries you will find most important are the Education and Social Science Library, the Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Library, the Business and Economics Library (BEL), the History Library, and the Documents Library.
If you are working from off campus you can get into most of these resources by logging into the proxy server. Just select the database you need and you will be automatically prompted for your netid and login. These are the identifiers you use for your e-mail or to register for classes on UIDirect. If you are working from a campus computer you should be able to connect without identifying yourself.
DISCOVERY
The process of discovering materials that are useful to your research involves the use of a variety of databases and traditional print materials. If you already have an article or book that deals with your topic you can use what we refer to as the citation pearl research process. Look at the cited references, the author, and/or the subject tracings of the work. Use these terms to search widely for more information. If you do not already have a work in hand, start with encyclopedias, reviews, or your textbooks and class readings to discover these clues. All three of these should provide you with good leads.
The first task before you is discovery and assessment of the issue you are interested in. You will want to read generally about this. Information can be found in a variety of databases or indexes. Some you might want to try include:
Illinet Online - This is our online
catalog. It is fairly simple to use. To search for our books, simply enter a keyword,
subject, or author search to find if and where we have an item. If we don't have what you are
looking for, or if our copy is checked out to another patron, click on the "ILCSO libraries" tab at
the top of the page and repeat your search in the statewide system. Here you can request that
a book be sent to the UIUC Library for you. It is also possible to see the titles you already
have checked out from our library, as well as any you have requested from others through Illinet
Online. Simply go to "My Account" to find this information or to renew items from the UIUC
collection. In addition to books, you will be able to find the locations of the journals and
magazines we subscribe to in print format.
Online Research Resources - Here is where you will
find the electronic databases that the Library purchases. You can search by type of resource
(index, e-journal, reference work, etc.), by subject (select from the drop-down list), by exact
title of the resource in the search box provided, or by a word in the description of the
resource. If you need help using this page, please call 244-1868.
CIAO (Columbia
International Affairs Online) - Full-text of briefing papers, working papers, journal articles,
and even books published by a large number of think tanks. Although primarily international
in focus, this resources also provides insight into domestic issues.
EBSCO -
EBSCO online offers general, business, newspaper and health-related information. EBSCO
provides full text for over 1,250 journals covering the social sciences, humanities, general
science, multi-cultural studies, education, plus 960 journals covering business, management,
economics, finance, banking, accounting and selected full text articles from 143 U.S. and
international newspapers. Searching tips:EBSCO has a very easy to use search engine.
You can even choose to search for online articles only and/or scholarly articles only. For
your background reading, you might want to look at all types of articles in order to gather a
variety of opinions on your subject.
Lexis-Nexis
Academic Universe -A comprehensive source for news, business, and legal information, with full
text and abstracts. Academic Universe includes foreign news sources, major U.S. newspapers,
regional U.S. news services, radio and television transcripts, federal and state case law, medical,
legislative and industry news, annual reports from Securities and Exchange Commission and many
other sources. Newspapers are updated several times daily, and wire services hourly. Use this
site to access Congressional Universe and Statistical Abstracts as well. Searching
tips: Lexis-Nexis' Academic Universe will lead you to some really great newspaper
articles. Try searching on the term you have chosen and select the "previous month" at the
date for your search. Look at the difference between the articles from various parts of the
world. The software for this database is set up for searching newspapers. It will look
for words in the title of the article and the first paragraph of the article unless told to do
otherwise. Call the library if you need help accessing and using this database.
NewsFile Collection -U.S.
regional and national newspapers, wire services, and broadcasts. Articles cover social, economic,
environmental, government, sports, people, the arts, health, and science issues and
events.
New York Times - Digital
reproductions of every issue from cover to cover can be found in the New York Times Historical file
which includes not just the news stories and editorials, but also the photos, graphics, and
advertisements, from 1851 to 1998. For articles after 1998, look in Lexis-Nexis Academic.
PAIS (Public Affairs Information
Service) - This is a bibliographic index with abstracts covering the full range of political,
social, and public policy issues. Topics covered include economic, political, and social issues,
business, finance, law, international trade and relations, public administration, government,
political science, and any topics that are or might become the subject of legislation. The database
covers selected journal articles, books, statistics, yearbooks, directories, conference
proceedings, pamphlets, reports, government documents, and microfiche. More than 1,600 journals and
over 8,000 monographs are indexed each year. Coverage includes documents published worldwide in any
of six languages. PAIS has links to some full-text articles and coverage is from 1972 to the
present. Searching tips: This database is one of the easiest to search and is very
straightforward. You can combine terms by clicking on the icon on the top of the page or by
writing the terms you want into the search statement. For example typing "globalization and
environment" in the search box, you will get citations to articles that contain both terms.
This database will also provide the URLs for various websites of interest.
Vital Speeches of the Day - This resource goes back to the
1930s with full-text of speeches "by those who have attained leadership in the fields of business,
politics, education, government, and more."
One of your tasks could be to find basic statistical information to support your argument. We have many excellent resources for this type of information.
Statistics
in the Social Sciences - The purpose of this guide is to provide links to major sources of
statistical information on the Internet. The focus is on education and areas within the social
sciences, such as crime, population and demography, crime and arms control. Links to international
sources of statistical information are also included.
LexisNexis Statistical - Provides access to statistics produced
by federal agencies, states, and intergovernmental organizations. Many of the tables are available
in pdf format.
EIU - Economist Intelligence Unit- Country
Intelligence supplies in-depth analysis of current political, policy and economic trends with an 18
month outlook. Quarterly and annual statistics with at least 150 data points picked from the most
reliable sources and reviewed by analysts for over 195 countries. Country Intelligence
contains country reports and profiles, risk ratings, licensing and trading information for the new
economies, plus G-8 and regional forecasts. Searching tips: You will probably be most
interested in the Country Commerce or Country Reports, but there are others. Select the type
of report you desire. Next you will be offered the list of countries for which reports can be
accessed, choose one. Next, you may choose a full report or an update and any specific
subject you wish to see.
Political Risk
Yearbook - This wide-ranging resource provides information concerning political and business
stability in over 100 countries. A standard format provides information on each country including a
country forecast and a country review. Data sections are followed by entries providing
comment and analysis, forecast scenarios, a forecast data summary, players to watch and political
players and parties. The country overview provides basic data, a political overview of the people,
history, government, and political conditions. Searching tips: Enter "political risk"
in the Online Research Resources search and choose on the the countries revealed by the
search. Choose a graphical or text access to the database, then a geographic region, and
finally a country. You will receive a pdf file of information for the country you have
chosen. Some of these files are very, very large.
News resources can be very helpful and provide a good basis for your understanding of a variety of issues. We frequently forget that these reports are written from a particular point of view. We have provided a number of sources for you to explore that include the New York Times, sometimes known as the paper of record for the United States, as well as various other resources from the U.S. and around the world.
To search for general magazines and opinion journals, you might want to try EBSCO or InfoTrac. These resources will lead you to a large number of resources, many with full-text. Some of the titles you will find here include U.S. News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, New Republic, National Review, Commentary, Nation, and the Economist. Most of these magazines can also be accessed individually through the Online Research Resources page.
Some opinion journals exist that are directly related to public policy. You can try searching for these through the Library Search Assistant or through an index called PAIS. You can also go directly to the full-text of the following titles.
WHAT OTHER DATABASES WILL WORK FOR THIS CLASS?
JSTOR -
Includes the full-text of over 100 journals in the areas of African American studies, anthropology,
Asian studies, ecology, economics, education. finance, history, literature, mathematics,
philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, and statistics. Includes full
text of complete journals from their inception up to a "moving wall." The moving wall is a
fixed period of time ranging, in most cases, from 2 to 5 years, that defines the gap between the
most recently published issue and the date of the last issue in JSTOR. Searching tips:
Enter the terms you are interested in and select the journals in the desired subject area or areas
as well. The search can also be limited by type of article and/or date, and the results can
be sorted in a variety of ways.
Project
Muse - This resource picks up where JSTOR leaves off in many titles. It
enables access to the full text of a large number of journals in the humanities, the social
sciences, and mathematics.
data.gov - "Includes searchable data catalogs providing
access to data in three ways: through the "raw" data catalog, the tool catalog and the geodata
catalog." The site also includes a tutorial to help you learn how to use the datasets
included here.
FedStats
- "Provides access to the full range of official statistical information produced by the
Federal Government without having to know in advance which Federal agency produces which particular
statistic. Searching and linking capabilities to more than 100 agencies that provide data and
trend infromation on such topics as economic and population trend, crime, education, health care,
aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more."
FedWorld
- Gateway to information about the federal government, this resource is suppported by the
Department of Commerce through the National Technical Information Service. It is particularly
useful for tracking down technical reports and offers links to the top government web sites.
GPO Access
- The Government Printing Office provides this site. It allows you to search all
three branches of the government for information that might be useful. Go to the Daily
Compilation of Presidential Documents to access speeches.
THOMAS
- Developed by the Library of Congress, THOMAS provides access to activities in Congress
including bills, the Congressional Record, and much, much more. Go to the "about THOMAS" page
for a full rundown of resources and how they can be used.
United Nations - Economic and Social Development
(ECOSOC)- This site provides statistics, country reports, plans, development research
and analysis and more.
United Nations Statistical Yearbook
- Although usually a little slow to be published, this yearbook provides a wealth of
statistical information in the areas of economic, agriculture, society, and more.
LOCATING ITEMS OFF OF THE UIUC CAMPUS
A search of the online catalog and online research resources may not lead you to all of the materials you need. You should also check WorldCat, for items of interest. You can use the interlibrary loan facility found in WorldCat to request items from other institutions, or you may want to go directly to the Interlibrary Loan pages to make your requests. In using the electronic version of ILL you will need to log in with your netid and password. Using the Illiad software provided through this office, you can request books and photocopies of articles in journals not held on our campus. It is also possible to check to see what you have requested recently and go to the articles that have been delivered to you electronically.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Education and Social Science Library
Last modified by: Lynne Rudasill on 11/5/09