SIS 201: The Making of the 21st Century

Selected Library Resources & Services

Resources

• Reference works for background
  • We tend to recommend that you be able to speak about your research area (your country and research question) for at least 2 minutes without repeating yourself before you are ready to engage in serious research. That means gathering some considerable background information and survey materials on your country and its history. Here are some helpful starting points:
    o Resources available on the Libraries' Countries, States, & Cities reference page. Some recommended samples follow below.
    o Countries and their Cultures, (Odegaard Library Reference : GN307 .C68 2001 and online from the Countries, Cities, & States web page) a searchable collection of reference works covering a very broad range of topics
    o Country Studies/Area Handbooks, a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. (From the U.S. government)
    o Europa World Yearbook (accessible from the Countries, Cities, & States reference page), one of the world's leading reference works, covering political and economic information in over 250 countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
    o IMPORTANT: These online sources are only the beginning of what is available for acquiring background information on countries. Consult a librarian at either Suzzallo or Odegaard Library reference for more sources.
• Books on all topics
  o UW Libraries Catalog, accessible from the Library's main Web page. We recommend a subject search (LCSubject) using the name of your country followed by "history" or "politics" or other relevant terms for the activities you are trying to explore. o Summit Catalog, the combined catalog of 35 colleges/universities in Oregon and Washington, all of which include borrowing privileges for UW students. It can take as few as 2-3 days to get a book delivered from these institutions.
• Journal literature. We recommend the free workshop "But Where's the #@*! Article?! - Using citations to find books and articles" offered Thursday, February 8, 4:30pm-5:20pm, Tuesday, February 13, 4:30pm-5:20pm, and Wednesday, February 21, 4:30pm-5:20pm in Computer Classroom 101, first floor, Odegaard Library. You will need to get comfortable with the idea that research databases don't always have the text of the materials you need and that it may take anywhere from a few seconds to a few days to get some of the articles. This workshop is one way of learning about this process.
  o World History & Politics
  ° Historical Abstracts, for scholarship (journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations) in world history outside North America since 1450° JSTOR Back issues of more than 200 scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities (select advanced search and subsets of journals by general subject area below the search boxes.)
  ° Project MUSE Current issues of more than 100 scholarly journals primarily in the humanities & social sciences
  ° History Cooperative - Current volumes of major history journals
  ° Other resources on the UW Libraries' History subject page http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/
  ° A huge list of other data sources for International Studies on the Libraries' International Studies subject page
• General periodical indexing and abstracting
  ° ProQuest Databases (available from the "Research Databases" page on the Libraries Web site.) Allows you to limit your searches to "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed." Not as in-depth or specialized as the databases in the category above, but a good starting point for finding "what's out there" generally. Allows you to see what different types of sources (newspapers, scholarly journals, news magazines, trade publications, etc.) are saying about a topic.

Library Services

• Reference (for students with shorter questions (maximum 10 minutes, e.g. "what's the best source for historical analysis of the X War?" "How do I find the text of articles?")
  o Odegaard, 2nd floor, Sun. 1-10pm, Mon.-Thu. 9am-10pm, Fri. 9am-5pm, Sun. 1-10pm
  o Suzzallo, 1st floor, Mon.-Thu. 8am-6pm, Fri. 8am-5pm, Sun. 1-5pm
  o East Asia Library (for East Asian countries and issues; 322 Gowen Hall), Mon. - Thu. 8am - 8pm, Fri. 8am - 5pm, Sat.-Sun. 1pm - 5pm
• Consultations (for students with challenges requiring more time (e.g. "How do I develop a research strategy that will systematically identify necessary resources for my paper?")
  o Use the consultation request form
  o Subject librarians (for students who would rather contact a subject specialist directly for specialized help in a specific discipline (e.g. economics, history, or political science.)
• Free Research Workshops on a number of topics and skills essential to doing sound research.
• Odegaard Writing & Research Center (for students in various stages of the writing process, including research. Writing tutors and librarians act as consultants. Walk in or make an appointment.
  
  

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Contact: John Holmes :: jwholmes@u.washington.edu