Getting Started

This guide includes links to numerous resources, any of which might provide relevant information for your project. However, the resources on this page are all reliable starting places to consider. If you don't find what you need using these resources, explore the links on the rest of the guide.

Search Catalyst

Country Information

CIA World Factbook This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
Information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
Europa World Plus This link opens in a new window
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Combines the Europa World Year Book and the nine-volume Europa Regional Surveys of the World series. Provides up-to-date political and economic information for more than 250 countries and territories.

Scholarly Articles

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
Use Google's special academic search to locate scholarly articles from across disciplines. On campus, the preferences are set to indicate the Library's full-text access to what you find (links on the right). Use the "cited by" link to see who has cited a particular work you're interested in.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
This is the core disciplinary index to political science journal articles. Broad coverage of political science along with complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration & policy. Covers 1975 - present.

Data

V-Dem
All countries, 1900-present, on various measures of democracy. Measures these democratic qualities: Electoral, Liberal, Participatory, Majoritarian, Consensual, Deliberative, and Egalitarian. Also provides subcomponent measures re. elections, judiciary, etc.

WDI: World Development Indicators This link opens in a new window
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Statistical data for development indicators and time series data for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. Covers 1960 - present.
Note: For data documentation, see the print reference book: World Development Indicators, at call number Ref HC 59.15 .W656.
OECD Statistics Portal This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
Starting point for links to OECD statistics and data. We don't subscribe to all OECD data but can obtain publications via interlibrary loan if needed.

World Values Survey
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Surveys individuals in countries around the world on attitudes, values, trust, and demographics.
World Bank Open Data
Global development data that you can navigate by country and indicator. Themes provided by the World Bank help highlight important indicators.

News and Current Affairs

The resources below will connect you to international, national, and local newspapers, as well as to leading magazines. News articles help you stay up-to-date on current affairs, allow you to track prior events as they unfolded, and can often connect you to experts on a particular topic (by following up on who an author might interview for insight on the event being covered).

Access World News This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
A comprehensive current news database, contains hundreds of local, regional, national, and international news sources (including the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis Star Tribune).
ProQuest Newsstream This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
A broad collection of newspaper articles published across the U.S.. Covers 1995 - current for most newspapers. An ELM Database.
New York Times (NYTimes.com) This link opens in a new window
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Access to current New York Times. Subscription access provided through a partnership with the Carleton Student Association. First-time users will need to make an account with their Carleton credentials; faculty & staff accounts need to be every few years.
Note for existing NYTimes.com subscribers:
If you have an active paid account with the New York Times using your @carleton.edu email address, you may keep your subscription. Or, to register for our institutional subscription, you must first cancel your existing subscription -- this includes both personal subscriptions, and subscriptions from other institutions, even if it is lapsed. To cancel your subscription and switch to our institutional subscription, contact the New York Times directly at edu@nytimes.com.
Washington Post (washingtonpost.com) This link opens in a new window
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Access to current Washington Post content going back to 2004, including access to the WaPo app. Archives searchable back through ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Click "more..." below for app signup instructions...
You can now receive Digital Subscription access provided by Carleton. Follow these steps to activate your free subscription to enjoy unlimited access to The Washington Post online and on the app.
1. Visit the signup page to sign-up with your Carleton email address. Enter your Carleton email address, agree to the Terms of Service and hit Continue. Choose a password and click create an account.
2. Click on Your Name in the upper right-hand corner
3. Click My Post
4. Once you are in My Post, click Manage Account on the right hand side.
5. Make sure your email address is Verified, if not, click “Unverified” to be sent a verification email. If your email address is already verified, you will not get this prompt.
6. Once verified, click over to the Subscription & Billing tab.
7. Click Activate free digital access
Financial Times This link opens in a new window
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International daily newspaper with a focus on business and economic news. Current students, faculty, and staff must register and create personal accounts using Carleton e-mail addresses using the access link above. Once registered, you can use your account to log in to FT.com from anywhere on any device by clicking on the "Sign in" link in the upper right-hand corner. Guest access for non-affiliated users is available within Gould Library. Please consult the Research/IT Desk during standard reference hours.
Flipster This link opens in a new window
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With Flipster you can read the latest issues of your favorite digital magazines on any mobile device or computer. For more information, click here.
PressReader This link opens in a new window
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Access to the world's top newspapers and magazines as soon as they are available. Searchable by country, title, or date. Includes translation feature.