REL256: Israel and Palestine

Professors: Andy Vaughn (x7475, avaughn@gac.edu) and David Wolfe (x7469, wolfe@gac.edu)
Librarian: Michelle Twait (x7563, mtwait@gac.edu)

Evaluating Sources / Reference Works / Finding Articles / Web Sites / Citing Your Sources

Evaluating Sources

Critically Analyzing Information Sources (from Cornell University Libraries)

Evaluating Information Sources (University of Nevada, Reno Libraries)

Reference Works

Reference works are helpful at two points in your research: when starting out (by offering overview articles of, say, a writer and her work) or when nailing down unfamiliar terms, concepts, and topics that turn up during your research. Many reference book articles are written by experts and offer not only information but excellent bibliographies for further research.

General Overviews

Places

History

People (for the "Day in the Life of..." assignment)

Finding Articles

Databases for articles and other materials offer references to publications that may or may not be in this library; some databases offer full text of articles and others simply references. There are in-depth databases that cover publications in a particular field and others that are interdisciplinary. Databases can be accessed from a drop-down list on the library's main page; descriptions can be found here.

Alternative Press Index
Indexes nearly 300 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines. Coverage: 1991-present.

CIAO
Columbia International Affairs Online. Contains working papers, conference proceedings, journals, books, policy briefs, economic indicators, and more. The database focuses on theory and research in international affairs.

Congressional Universe
Congressional Universe offers an index of congressional publications from 1970 to the present, legislative histories for public laws, testimony of congressional hearings, tracks bills as they move through the House & Senate, searches the Congressional Record & the Federal Register, and contains biographical and committee information.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch includes full text of many ethnic publications from North America, including ones from African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Jewish, European, Middle Eastern, and Native American communities.

JSTOR
JSTOR is an archival database and does not include current journal issues, but provides complete full-text back files for 78 journals from more than 15 academic disciplines. All journals are fully searchable or are available for browsing.

Lexis-Nexis (Academic Universe)
LexisNexis is a full text web-accessible database service that is particularly strong in the areas of current news, legal information, and business information. It is a vast resource, with over a billion documents already available and over nine million new documents added weekly.

PAIS
PAIS International represents coverage of the Public Affairs Information Service database since 1972. Topics covered include business, government, international relations, banking, environment, health, social sciences, demographics, law and legislation, political science, public administration, finance, agriculture, education, and statistics.

Web Sites

For information on evaluating web sites, see Web FAQ or Internet Research Tips.


Citing Your Sources

Documentation Guide -- Includes models for APA and MLA style, plus links to examples of Chicago and CBE style.