The Trexler Library: Muhlenberg College

American Foreign Policy

Need help with your research? Contact:

Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
phone: x3552
email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu
IM: jjarson1 (AIM, Yahoo, add @hotmail.com for MSN)

Getting Started: Selected Reference Materials

REFERENCE BOOKS AND WEBSITES

CIA World Factbook
Online Location: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Credo Reference
Online Location: http://0-www.credoreference.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/ or search the library catalog by title.
Credo Reference is a collection of hundreds of reference works, including general and subject specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, companions and more--all online, all searchable from one search box.

The Europa World Year Book
Online Location: http://0-www.europaworld.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/ or search the library catalog by title

Political Handbook of the World
Online Location: http://0-library.cqpress.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/phw/ or search the library catalog by title

US Department of State: Background Notes
Online Location: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn

LIBRARY NEWS DATABASES

LexisNexis Academic
Full text of thousands of newspapers, magazines, broadcast transcripts, business publications, legal materials, and more.
Access: Library Homepage -- Databases A to Z -- LexisNexis Academic

OTHER WEBSITES: GENERAL

Foreign Affairs Online
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html
Excellent guide for students of foreign affairs. Includes annotated links to the following topics: US Government, Foreign States, UN, NGOs & IGOs, International Law, Human Rights, International Realations, Think Tanks and the Digital Divide.

Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-1960)
http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu:2784/collections/FRUS
"The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. [...] This digital facsimile of Foreign Relations of the United States is a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago Libraries. This is an incomplete run from 1861-1960 with missing volumes being added as they can be acquired and processed."

National Security Archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/index.html
"Combines [...] investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents" and more.

US Department of State Office of the Historian
http://history.state.gov/
"The Office of the Historian is responsible, under law, for the preparation and publication of the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy in the Foreign Relations of the United States series."

WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
http://www.etown.edu/vl/
Compiled by a professor of International Studies at Elizabethtown College, this gateway site is organized into helpful categories. It contains a great depth of high quality information and it has been reviewed and highly ranked by several respected Social Science sources.

World Legal Information Institute
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html
Organized by country and then by subject.

OTHER WEBSITES: FEDERAL AGENCIES

Agency for International Development -- http://www.usaid.gov/
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (Department of Labor) -- http://www.dol.gov/ilab/
Central Intelligence Agency -- https://www.cia.gov/
Department of Defense -- http://www.defenselink.mil/
Department of Energy -- http://www.energy.gov/
Department of State -- http://www.state.gov/
Department of the Treasury -- http://www.ustreas.gov/
International Trade Administration (Department of Commerce) -- http://www.ita.doc.gov/
International Trade Commission -- http://www.usitc.gov/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- http://www.noaa.gov/
National Nuclear Security Administration (Department of Energy) -- http://www.nn.doe.gov/
National Security Agency -- http://www.nsa.gov/
National Security Council -- http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/index.html
United States Mission to the United Nations -- http://www.un.int/usa/
United States Trade Representative -- http://www.ustr.gov/

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

See a list of all article databases via the Library Homepage -- Databases A-Z (in the Quick Links box).

Check the Subject Guides (linked from the Library Homepage in the Research box) for other recommended databases for this and other subject areas.

Use UlrichsWeb Periodicals Directory (linked from the Library Homepage -- Online Reference Shelf (in the Quick Links box) or search the library catalog by title) to find out information about individual journals, including whether or not they are peer-reviewed.

International Relations, Political Science and Specialized Databases

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
Full text of working papers, policy briefs, conference proceedings, journal articles and more in the area of international affairs theory and research.

PAIS International
Citations from 1972 to the present from scholarly journals, gray literature, government publications, and more from 120 countries on political, economic, social and public policy issues.

PolicyArchive (Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis University Library and nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies)
https://www.policyarchive.org/
"PolicyArchive is ... digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It [...] collect[s] and disseminate[s] summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research."

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Indexes international serials literature in political science and complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.

General / Interdisciplinary Databases

Academic Search Premier
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines, including Political Science. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Includes many articles in full text.

JSTOR
Full text of scholarly journals from most academic disciplines. Coverage is from the inception of the journal through three to five years ago.

Omnifile (Wilson Web)
A database with some full text articles covering various academic subjects including general sciences, humanities, social sciences, and business.

News

LexisNexis Academic
Full text of thousands of newspapers, magazines, broadcast transcripts, business publications, legal materials, and more.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

When searching for articles in library databases, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.
If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
- Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.
- Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title or by ISSN . Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.
If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
- Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.
- Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage -- Interlibrary Loan (in the Quick Links box) -- Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

GETTING THERE: Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in the Quick Links box) -- Trexler Library Catalog

OTHER LIBRARIES

To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.)

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in Quick Links box) -- Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

Finding Government Documents

United States

Muhlenberg College receives about 30% of all materials published by the U.S. Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas. All of the government documents that we receive have records in the Trexler Library Catalog.

Selected Online Resources

Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-1960)
http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu:2784/collections/FRUS
"The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. [...] This digital facsimile of Foreign Relations of the United States is a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago Libraries. This is an incomplete run from 1861-1960 with missing volumes being added as they can be acquired and processed."

LexisNexis Congressional
Getting there: Library homepage -- Articles A-Z (in the Find box) -- LexisNexis Congressional
Provides access to detailed information about Congress. It includes The Congressional Record, congressional hearings, legislation, legislative histories, etc., from 1969 to the present.

National Security Archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/index.html
"Combines [...] investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents" and more.

Treaties and Other International Acts Series
http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/tias/index.htm
"All treaties and international agreements other than treaties to which the United States has become a party" from 1996-present.

US Department of State Office of the Historian
http://history.state.gov/
"The Office of the Historian is responsible, under law, for the preparation and publication of the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy in the Foreign Relations of the United States series."

Other

Governments on the World Wide Web
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/

World Legal Information Institute: Countries
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html

Citing Your Sources

For help using Chicago Style, consult the following resources:

The Chicago manual of style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Desk Reserve 808.027 C632m (at Reference Desk)

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Desk Reserve 808 T929m 1996 (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using Chicago style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/chicago_example.pdf
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website. Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research box).

Writer's Handbook (Writing Center, University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocChicago.html