Research Guides: International Studies: Background Info

Online Encyclopedias

Try these online encyclopedias for academic articles on foreign policy & international affairs:

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations by Gall & Gleason
ISBN: 9781414433905
Publication Date: 2012
eBook
Presents information on countries & dependencies from around the world. Entries cover a variety of topics, including banking, security, climate, demographics & government data.
Worldmark Conflict and Diplomacy
ISBN: 9781573027267
Publication Date: 2014
eBook
This 2014 set presents easy-to-understand information on 90 global conflicts and diplomatic efforts.
International Relations
ISBN: 9780203934081
Publication Date: 2007
eBook
This second edition is an important guide for all matters concerning international affairs. It covers not only the traditional topics, but also the most important new developments in this post 9/11 era. Ideal for student & non-specialist use.
International History of the Twentieth Century
ISBN: 0203634268
Publication Date: 2003
eBook
This major global history of the twentieth century is written by four prominent international historians for first-year undergraduate level and upward. Using their thematic and regional expertise, the authors cover events in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas from the last century and beyond.

Print Encyclopedias

A quick read with the right article in a scholarly encyclopedia on your topic can make your searches better and faster. Why? Simply because any professional or scholarly field has its own history, important names and specialized jargon. If you don't know them, then your online searching is much harder. Ten or fifteen minutes with an encyclopedia will give you those quickly--- then you're ready for those databases. We have international affairs encyclopedias online and here in the library reference area. Here are a few suggestions.

Encyclopedias:

The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law
Call Number: K3585 .O96 2007
ISBN: 9780199269709
Publication Date: 2007
Encyclopedia of International Relations and Global Politics
Call Number: JZ1160 .E53x 2005
ISBN: 0415311608
Publication Date: 2005
Encyclopedia of the United Nations
Call Number: KZ4968 .O84 2003
ISBN: 0415939208
Publication Date: 2002
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations
Call Number: JZ1160 .N65 2002
ISBN: 0313307431
Publication Date: 2002

How to Use Google

Google Advanced Search
Sometimes this is a good tool to find online resources. But you need serious & authoritative sources, not junk sites--- how can we eliminate most of those? I use the Advanced Search option in my search for academic work. There's lots of things one can do in there, but what I find works well is to scroll down to the "narrow your results by..." section. Once there find the box labeled "site or domain." Enter ".edu" to limit results to academic-sponsored web pages. Or, for government documents, use ".gov" in that box. For nonprofits try ".org" as your limiter. This trick will help focus & improve your result sets.