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Frequently Asked Questions
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Request a Consultation
Work with Dory to focus the scope of your paper, find resources, evaluate the quality of sources, properly integrate source information into your paper, and more. Consultations with a librarian usually last 1/2 to 1 hour.
Email dmshaffe@mtu.edu to schedule a consultation.
Library Session Materials
Key Resources
- Find PolicyAnother custom Google search resource that allow you to narrow down to granular policy topics
- GovSpeak: A Guide to U.S. Government Acronyms & AbbreviationsGuide from UC SanDiego of the litany of acronyms and abbreviations used by the government, incredibly helpful for understanding what you are reading!
- White House Briefing RoomContains up to the minute information on new policy guidelines from the current administration
- HeinOnline: Government, Politics, & Law This link opens in a new windowAn expansive collection of legal materials and government documents. HeinOnline includes law reviews, legal journals, and the full-text of sources including Fastcast Premium, the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Serial Set, and more.
- Harvard Think Tank SearchA Google Custom Search of more than 1200 think tanks and research centers. Think Tank Search searches the websites of institutions that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity. These sites are affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, and non-governmental organizations
Also a helpful section on "Evaluating Think Tanks"
U.S. Foreign Policy Resources
- Congressional Research Services ReportsResearch reports written for member of congress that address many policy issues foreign and domestic-incredibly helpful
- Dept. of State U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact SheetsConcise fact sheets outlining U.S. relations with many countries, helpful links for further information at the end of each article
- CIA World FactbookWell known resource providing basic intleengenc and demographic information on many countries. This is a great first place to start!
- U.S. Dept. of State Treaties in ForceA complete listing of all current treaties in force. Full text of treaties listed can generally be found using a simple internet search
- Foreign PolicyPopular magazine analyzing foreign policy issues from a U.S. point of view. Access through library subscription.
International and Foreign Sources
- European Council Think Tank ReviewThis easy to navigate blog is used to share the bibliographical and research products of the European Council Library. Valuable source if you are working on a topic in Europe.
- Open Think Tank Directory"A global collection of think tanks and related organisations" This will share some basic details about the think tank, their areas of focus, website, and more details.
- Internet Country Domains ListCheck the country domain you are interested in to do site searches on Google
- United Nations Library Research GuidesThese research guides curated by the United Nation's The Dag Hammarskjöld Library are incredibly useful when researching international policy issues and competing view points.
- UN Speeches and Meeting SearchDirect link to searching speeches given at various United Nations events, including General Assembly Speeches
General Resources
These databases contain information on a wide range of subjects and topics and so may contain information relevant to your topic.
Visit the Journals search, Databases A-Z list, and Library Catalog for more resources.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new windowA collection of databases that cover a very wide range of subjects. Find articles, data, reports, magazines, and more.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowSearchable full-text and scanned images of back issues of many of the core research and academic society published journals in almost all subject areas. Its emphasis is in the humanities and social sciences. The majority of JSTOR's content is academic and peer-reviewed. Includes primary source material.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowSearches ISI citation indexes for Arts & Humanities, Science, and Social Sciences for articles that cite a known author or work, or search by subject, author, journal, and author address. Based on the Web of Knowledge platform. Covers over 12,000 journals.
Citation Management Tools
- Library Zotero GuideGet all of the info you need to start using Zotero, an open source, all-in-one citation management tool
- Library EndNote GuideInstruction for using the Citation Management software EndNote. This is a fantastic tool that the library pays for you to have access to.