Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar Research Guide - Advanced
Details, details, details...
Above the doors to the Main Library are inscribed the words, "The Hope of Democracy Depends Upon
the Diffusion of Information and Knowledge." This accurately sums up the attitude of the founding
fathers of our federal states. The basic tenets of our form of government require free and easy
access to information concerning the workings of our government. It is very important to understand
that this belief is not a universal one. Despite the democratic forms of goverment of and in the
European Union, the information cultures from which these governments are formed do not universally
subscribe to the same beliefs about freedom of access. This is reflected in the access and use
policies that surround European Union publications.
Basic Tools for EU Research
Catalogs
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Online Catalog - The Online Catalog of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides access to the physical collection of over 11
million items in our collection. This includes the print versions of the materials we have received
as a depository library for the European Union. In addition, this catalog links to over 75
libraries in the state of Illinois. You can use it to request books that are not available on our
campus, order copies of items that are checked out on our campus, to renew items and check your
account. There are over 700 subject headings that relate specifically to the European Union
with subheadings from Abbreviations to Yugoslavia.
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WorldCat - This is an
international database of materials that can be used to request items, both books and photocopies
of articles that are available. Interlibrary loans and photocopies of articles are requested
through the Illiad service. You need to call the Telephone Center (333-8400) to request renewals of
any books delivered to you from this database. You will also often receive electronic copies of the
articles you request.
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Online Research Resources - This sites provides
access to over 9,000 electronic journals, abstracting and indexing services, newspaper resources,
and reference sources subscribed to by the University Library. The searching is fairly
straightforward here with searches by subject, title, and keyword. There is not a separate targeted
subject listing for European Union studies, but you might find useful resources under business,
economics, geography, global studies, government, law, and political science.
Abstracting and Indexing Services and Electronic Databases
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ABI/Inform - Indexes journals
and other writings in business, finance and economics. Several distinct databases are available,
but the key to success here is cross-searching several at the same time.
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Busness Source Elite -
Identifies business, management, and finance articles from scholarly journals, books, and
newspapers. Additional subjects covered include some EIU Country Reports, economics, accounting,
and international business.
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EconLit - Identifies articles,
books, dissertations, and working papers in economics. The database covers the literature in
accounting, capital markets, econometrics, economic forecasting, government regulations, labor
economics, monetary theory, urban economics and more.
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Economists
Online/Nereus - A very new database of economic literature by the faculty of the London School
of Economics, Tilburg University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Maastricht University, Universite
Libre de Bruxelles, and Kiel Institute for World Economics.
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EIU Country Intelligence -
Provides quarterly analysis and forecasts of the political, economic and business environment for
nearly 200 countries. Quarterly and annual statistics of at least 150 data points. Country
Intelligence contains country reports and profiles, risk ratings, licensing and trading information
for the new economies, plus G-8 and regional forecasts. An online newsletter, Business Middle East,
is also included.
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Historical Abstracts - A useful
database for the identification of articles and books written since 1450 that emphasizes non-US
resources. Use the subject search to identify general terms and the keyword search to target your
search.
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Hein Online - Identifies law
reviews and journal articles prior to the dates traditionally covered by Lexis and Westlaw.
Provides full text search capabilities. Also includes full text of treatises and agreements, as
well as U.S. Supreme Court reports since 1754 and Federal Register documents since 1936 and a
specific search of international law titles. Provides full text search capabilities.
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International Political Science
Abstracts - This indexing and abstracting service has been produced by the International
Political Science Association since 1951 in paper. The search engine is a little less intuitive
than many others. Tip: Use "EU" for descriptor searching, not "European Union" for greatest
sucess.
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PAIS (Public Affairs Information
Service) - An easy to search, fairly comprehensive tool for accessing articles in the fields of
policy studies, international relations, government documents, dissertations, and other items that
may be of interest in the study of the European Union. Although not as robust in access to the
full-text of articles, it covers a wide range of material.
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Sociological Abstracts -
Abstracts and indexes international literature in the social and behavioral sciences including
culture and social structure, demography, and many other areas. Some full-text links and a good
thesaurus are offered through this database.
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SourceOECD - Identifies
statistics, papers and reports published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development.
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Web of Knowledge-The Social
Science Citation Index piece of this website provides the ability to search for topical articles,
authors, and can provide, in its cited reference search, an ability to determine the most
frequently cited authors in the field. It is, perhaps because of the inate power of the searching,
somewhat difficult to use.
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Worldwide Political Science
Abstracts - This database is a combination of ABC Pol-Sci and Political Science Abstracts
brought to us via Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. Subjects include political science, international
relations, law, public administration policy, and political economy among others. There is some
linking to full-text, as well as a useful thesaurus.
Newspaper Resources
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Library PressDisplay - National
and international newspapers are indexed here and you can see either the specific article you are
interested in, or a digital facsimile of the actual page. Includes 700 newspapers from 76
countries, many in the vernacular as well as English.
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Access World News - Select a
source, a region, a country, or the whole world for news items of interest.
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Historical New York Times -
Digital reproductions of every issue from cover to cover. Includes not just the news stories and
editorials, but also the photos, graphics, and advertisements, from 1851 to 1998.
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ISI Emerging Markets -
Identifies data, news and analysis from emerging market countries from both government and private
sources. Daily full text news articles, financial statements, industry analyses, equity quotes,
macroeconomic statistics, and market-specific information. Information in both English and the
local language.
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Lexis-Nexis Academic Index -
Identifies articles from journals, newspapers and reference books. A comprehensive source for news,
business, and legal information. 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. Go to
legal research for access to CELEX (European Union Law).
Full-text Resources
CIAO (Columbia International
Affairs Online) - A full-text database of working papers, policy briefs, journal articles, and
full-text books in the area of international affairs. This database is not known for flexible
subject searching, but can be extremely helpful in finding the grey literature in the area.
Resources for the European Union
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Europa - Web-site of the European Union
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Lexis-Nexis Legal Resources -
CELEX resources
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EUR-lex - Access to European law resources
including the Official Journal and laws sorted by subject area.
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Eurostats - The mother lode of
statistical resources directly from the European Union. Tables, data, and publications are
available. Also look at Euroindicators while you are there.
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UIUC European Union Statistics links - connects you
to a wide variety of full-text and statistical resources from and about the European Union and the
world.
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Environment Daily - news
service covering European environmental policy, regulation and other topics including agriculture,
air, biodiversity, biotechnology, chemicals, climate, economic instruments, EU enlargement, marine
resources, nuclear resources, space/land, sustainability, and more.
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European Values Study - The study has been updated
occasionally since the early 1980s and deals with questions regarding European attitudes towards
morals and religion, politics, work and leisure, and relationships. This will also lead you to the
World Values Survey.
UIUC Libraries with EU Resources
Suggested Reading -
How the
European Union Works
Just for Fun -
Europa Go!
