Reference Sources
Issues, Topics, and Concepts in International Relations
- CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online. Very current news and analysis from books, journal articles, and working papers from policy think tanks. Published by Columbia University Press. Includes the CIAO Atlas with data from the Economist Intelligence Unit.
- "International Relations" in International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Landmark reference work with signed articles on concepts in social sciences, including political science.
Country Information
- Political Handbook of the World. Descriptions of countries, their governments, and political background. Also in print: Ref. JF 37.P671 2010
- World Factbook. Brief descriptions, maps, and statistics from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Citing Sources
Why Appropriate Citation is Important
"Academic misconduct is a breach of the principle of proper academic conduct and includes both intentional acts of misrepresenting another's work as one's own as well as unintentional acts that fail to conform to the rules of appropriate attribution and credit. Academic misconduct is a violation of Reed's Honor Principle in its most fundamental form and is contrary to the idea of scholarship." -- Guidebook to Reed, September 2011
How to Cite
(for social sciences, use the author-date system)
Getting Magazine and Journal Articles
- Reed fulltext link in the database. Most Reed databases include link that says something like "Check Reed fulltext." Click on this link to view Reed's print and e-journal holdings for the article you're looking for.
- Print & E-Journals List (includes newspapers and news services). If you know that you are looking for an article from a particular magazine or journal, use this link to search for the publication by title.
- Interlibrary Loan Request -- ILLIAD. Log into this service with your Reed network ID and passoword to request for journal, magazine, and newspaper articles that are not available through Reed's print or electronic collections. You'll be notified by e-mail when your article is available for viewing, usually within 1-2 weeks.
News & Commentary
The free web sites of these news organizations can help you to stay curent with international news:
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- Christian Science Monitor
- Financial Times
- International Herald Tribune
- The Economist
- BBC
For more news, including background information on international issues, these academic library databases can be searched for stories back to the 1980s or 1990s.
- LexisNexis Academic. Includes newspaper and wire service stories, as well as television and radio transcripts. Use to search across many news sources or as a archive for the above newspapers and news services.
- Academic Search Premier. Includes news and opinion magazines academic journals from all disciplines. Generally does not include newspapers.
Academic Literature
Reed WorldCat Local is a good place to start your literature search. You'll find books in the Reed library, as well as books in other libraries that you can borrow through Summit and WorldCat (please see "Borrowing Books," below).
Google Scholar can be a quick and useful way of skimming the academic literature that's published, scanned, or mentioned on the web.
(Helpful hint: use "Preferences" to activate Reed links to articles in fulltext and Open WorldCat library search)
The following library databases can help you complete your literature search.
-
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Contains political science citations and abstracts from articles from countries around the world.
Coverage Dates: 1975 - Present -
Academic Search Premier
Includes academic journals from all disciplines, as well as news and opinion magazines.
Coverage Dates: 1965 - Present -
JSTOR
Back volumes of academic journals from many disciplines, including political science. Does not include the most current content for these journals.
Coverage Dates: 1800 - Varies
Finding Books
When searching library catalogs keep in mind:
- Begin with a basic search. When you find titles that seem on target, look for subject links. These are important clues to the language that the catalog uses for your topic and will lead you to more comprehensive search results.
- The catalog often describes the whole book, not individual chapters or essays. When you're searching for books you may need to use more general language to describe your topic.
- Use the information in the detailed record to help you assess whether or not the book will be useful.
WorldCat Local allows you to search the Reed, Summit and Worldcat catalogs simultaneously. Advanced Search can be helpful for defining the search terms for more complex searchings; e.g., finding a specific book by a specific author, or searching only journal titles.
Request books from Summit libraries with your name and the barcode number from your Reed ID. To request books from WorldCat libraries, you'll be linked to your Illiad (interlibrary loan) page, where you'll need to use your Reed network login and password to complete your request.
If you'd prefer to search Reed library materials using our traditional catalog, the Reed-only catalog is still available.