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   SUBJECT RESEARCH GUIDE |
To start your research, use the resources below or begin with the the CSUDH Library web page found at : http://0-library.csudh.edu.torofind.csudh.edu/ . The resources for this class will require recently published articles and statistics. The library's internet-based databases, as well as the databases of various countries and international organizations can be used to find materials on countries, national stability, and international statistics. The statistical information available will vary since statistics for the various countries are not necessarily collected for every category of interest. Frequency of collection and the reliability of the statistics will also vary from country to country. When using statistics, be sure to consider the reliability of the source.
The resources listed under the categories of "Electronic Databases" and "Journal and Newspaper Articles"are available from on-campus computers or by remote access CSUDH students who have registered for access. Please bring your CSUDH picture ID along with proof of current registraiton to the Library Circulation Department on the 2nd floor of the library. Distance students may register online at https://0-library.csudh.edu.torofind.csudh.edu:443/rparegform.php, but please allow 5 working days for the completion of the online registration process.
University Library
Europa World Year Book [Ref JN1 .E85]
EIU Country Commerce series: In looseleaf binders, one for every country [Ref HG4538 C68]
Electronic Databases
CountryWatch provides country information, including social data such as ethnic breakdowns and religious affiliation.
Internet Resources:
CIA World Factbook contains statistical summary on countries.
Country Studies includes background information on the social, economic, of over 100 countries.
Human Development Reports from the United Nations Development Programme are reports whose goal is to go beyond income to assess the level of people's long-term well-being. There are reports for over 120 countries.
International Monetary Fund Country Reports provides extensive reports on varous countries. After selecting a report, click on the electronic access link to see the free .pdf version.
University Library:
Demographic Yearbook. (United Nations). Contains detailed statistics on the world's population.
Europa World Year Book: Comprehensive political histories, demographic, economic, infrastructure and statistical data for every country. [Ref JN1 .E85]
International Financial Statistics Yearbook: Contains current data and time series on all aspects of international and domestic finance for IMF member countries. [Ref HG61 .I57]
Electronic Databases:
EIU Viewswire is a ProQuest database that includes reports from The Economist Intelligence Unit. Input in the search boxes the name of your country and "social indicators". You will get a table with statistics on social indicators and living standards.
Internet Sites:
CIA World Factbook contains statistical summaries on countries.
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are nationally-representative household surveys with large sample sizes Its purpose is to provide free information for businesses that want to conduct international trade from California . Country Statistics and the StatCompiler are available free of charge.
Eurostat from the European Union provides a wealth of statistics on member nations. These include statistics on the populations, social condititions, industries, environment, transport, environment, and science and technology.
Foreign Labor Statistics -- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also collects and makes available comparative wage and compensation data for selected countries and selected industries within those countries.
International Data Base (IDB) from the U.S. Cenus Bureau provides demographic and socioeconomic statistics for 227 countries and areas of the world. Use the links to access and customize the various data sets to your needs. Includes a IBD Population Pyramids web site to request population pyramids for countries.
International Statistical Agencies from the U.S. Census Bureau provides web links to statistical sites for other countries.
International Statistics is a list of international agencies that provide statistical data. Use this to find links for additional resources not listed on this SOC 595 web page.
Millennium Development Goal Indicators Database shows progress of countries toward meeting 8 goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators to free the human race from want, which were adopted by a consensus of experts from the United Nations Secretariat and IMF, OECD and the World Bank.
National Statistical Offices from the United Nations provides links to statistical offices of the countries of the world.
OECD Social Indicators provides comparative information for member OECD countries.
OECD Statistics Portal (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) provides statistics on a wide range of topics for its 30 member nations. Please see the buttons at the bottom of the page as well as well as the link allowing for accessing information by individual country.
Social Indicators from the United Nations provides provides tables of statistics for easy comparison of country data. Click on the highlighted categories to access the data.
TradePort provides monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition. Statistical profiles on 175 countries.
UNICEF Statistics provides various basic indicators on demographics, health, education, women, HIV AIDS, child proctection, and progress in these areas.
United Nations Statistical Databases. Use this main page to access the various databases offered by the United Nations Statistics Division. Here is another link that provides a list and links to the United Nations free, unrestricted access Databases.
World Bank Data & Statistics provides official source development data on the people, environment, economy, technology and infrastructure, and trade and finance. Click on Key Development & Data Statistics to access a page for individual country searches.
World Health Organization (WHO) has a Countries web page which leads to individual pages of health indicators.
To find journal articles when you do not have a specific citation or reference to an article, try one of the article indexes. Click on a link below to access the database of your choice or use our comprehensive list of Article Indexes to see all available CSUDH databases.
For a review of how to use the databases to find
journal articles, click
here. To limit your results to peer reviewed articles, look for the words
"scholarly" and/or "peer reviewed ' and place a check in the box beside these
words. Although many of the databases have direct links for the full text or
.pdf copy of the article included with the citation or abstract of the article,
look for this button 
to find out if the library has the
article available in another database.
ABI/INFORM Global can be used to search a broad range of business topics, including topics of a global nature.
Academic Search Premier. This is a multi-disciplinary database with full text for more than 4,650 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed journals. This database is often used as a starting point since it covers a wide range of subject areas.
Business Source Premier is a key index for finding resources in business. It includes articles on the social development of numerous countries.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is a part of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. It provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. Register for access to the material.
LEXIS/NEXIS has a newsfile which provides major newspapers in the United States, as well as from around the world. Use this database where the social indicator is likely to generate a news article, e.g., prevalence of political corruption, political power of ethnic minorities, etc.
SocINDEX. This is a comprehensive sociology research database that offers coverage from all subdisciplines of sociology, including criminology, cultural sociology, demography, economic development, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, politics, social psychology, social structure, urban studies, welfare, and others. It includes full text for 235 "core" journals, as well as full text for books and conference papers.
Social Sciences Full Text includes indexing and some full-text articles in sociology, political science, public administration, and other areas of the social sciences.
STAT-USA provides a single point of access for U.S. government databases that will provide international information. At the bottom right, click on the "Globus & NTDB" link to access files such as Country Background Notes, the CIA World Factbook, and numerous other reports on marketing and trade.
Locating a Specific Journal Title
If you have a reference or citation to a specific journal article, use the CSUDH Journals List to find out if subscribes to the needed journal. This list includes both print and online journals. The Library currently subscribes to over 27,000 journals online. When you click on the title, you will usually find a page that has separate links for the year of available volumes. Click on the year and then you will next be able to click on specific issues. CSUDH's list also includes links to the ToroFind catalog record for print subscription information.
When using information from the web for projects and research papers, you should evaluate the quality and reliability of the information. Here's a link to one of many websites which give you evaluation criteria: Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages. An outstanding search engine to use is Google. In addition, Google Scholar would enable you to search the scholarly literature, including peer reviewed articles, but note that you may not be able to access the full text of the article. For the scholarly literature, the databases listed above in the "Journal Articles & Newspapers" section will usually be a better option for beginning your research.
When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will usually be asked to provide a bibliography of the materials that you used. There are several standard guides available in the Library to help you. Please come to the Reference Desk for assistance. In addition, the CSUDH Library has a summary of the formats most commonly used posted on the Library website. Take a look at this guide in advance so you'll know what information you need to jot down before you begin your research. It may be more difficult to retrace your steps than to make bibliographic note cards as you are working on your project.
Citing Your Sources. This web page on How to Cite Your Sources in a Research Paper has two links. The first link takes you to a download page for the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you will need to access the actual instruction page. The second link leads to a document that shows you how to cite books, articles, and web resources in APA, MLA, and Turabian formats. Always check with your professor to find out which citation format is preferred.