Welcome
This research guide is designed for students doing research in Environmental Politics. If you run into any obstacles, don't hesitate to contact me at tedforrl@wfu.edu. ~ Rosalind Tedford
Search tips:
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Phrase Searching: "Climate Change" (use quotes whenever you search a phrase for better results)
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"Water Policy" California (add in the region as a search term for more targeted results)
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Econom* Recycling (truncate words with the * to include any ending - this would get you economY and economIC)
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Ecotourism (the more specific you can be with your terms the better!)
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"Keystone Pipeline" (Proper nouns in quotes will always be more specific search terms)
News Sources
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America's News This link opens in a new windowFeatures national, regional and local news from across the United States from the 1980s to the present. Includes the Winston-Salem Journal. A great resource for getting news from regional and local news sources. Coverage: 1980s-
NGOs, IGOs & Think Tanks
Use these links to search across multiple NGO, IGO, Think Tank and Research Organizations.
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NGO Custom Google SearchSearch across hundreds of known non-governmental organizations at once.
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IGO Custom Google SearchSearch across dozens of known intergovernmental organizations at once.
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Think Tank Custom SearchA Google Custom Search of more than 1200 think tanks and research centers.
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Policy Commons: Global Think Tanks This link opens in a new windowPolicy Commons contains publications from over 27,000 global policy organizations including think tanks, nonprofits, IGOs and NGOs. A critical resource for global development, environmental policy, trade, international politics and more.
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Columbia International Affairs Online - CIAO This link opens in a new windowA source for NGO, IGO, ThinkTank, research institute, and grey literature on politics, international affairs, security studies, global finance, diplomatic practice, humanitarian law, global governance, development studies, and environmental studies. Contains working papers, research reports, proceedings, and more. Coverage: 1991-
Policy Analysis and Web Sources
Policy analysis organizations will differ depending on your topic, but here are some places to start.
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GAO ReportsThe U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) looks into how the US spends taxpayer dollars. Their reports can give great insight into how certain issues are being addressed through government resources.
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Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS)The Congressional Research Service is the research office for the US Congress. They research issues for congressional offices and committees, and do budget and policy evaluations of legislation before and after implementation.
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Rand Corporation - EnvironmentRand performs policy analysis with teams of researchers many policy issues. This link will take you to their Energy and Environment content, but use the search on the page to find other related policy analysis.
Getting Started with Background Sources
Before getting started with policy research, it is a good idea to start with some background and context to the issues you are investigating. The sources below will help you get to that information quickly.
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Gale in Context: Environmental Studies This link opens in a new windowOffers authoritative content on the development of emerging green technologies and discusses issues on the environment, sustainability and more.
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Gale In Context: Global Issues This link opens in a new windowCombines overviews, viewpoints, reference, news, and scholarly material into one search platform for researching a wide variety of global issues.
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CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowContains reports and analysis on issues in the news including health, social trends and issues, criminal justice, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Great resource for background information on current news, hot topics, and social issues. Coverage back to 1923. Coverage: 1991-
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Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearch across hundreds of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. A great place to find background information on almost any research topic. Includes a topic finder for help with narrowing or broadening your research topic. Coverage: varies
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Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowSearch across hundreds of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. A great place to find background information on almost any research topic. Includes subject trees, pro/con resources, links to scholarly articles and more.
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Routledge Handbooks Online This link opens in a new windowOverviews of research and trends and background information in the Social Sciences and Humanities. WFU access includes the following subject collections: Asian Studies; Communication, Journalism, Media & Culture; Environment & Sustainability; Law; Philosophy; Politics; Religion; Security Studies; and Sociology.
Scholarly Journal Articles
These databases (listed in the order of likelihood they will be useful to you) will get you to news and scholarly journal articles on environmental and sustainability issues. Watch our short video on finding scholarly articles using our subject databases for tips and tricks.
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Environment Complete This link opens in a new windowProvides coverage in applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, urban planning, and more. Coverage: 1901-
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GreenFILE This link opens in a new windowCovers aspects of the human impact to the environment, and the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Topics covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. Coverage: 1940-
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ProQuest Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles covering all aspects of environmental science, including ecology, sustainability, pollution, water management, and other areas. Coverage: 1988-
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ProQuest Political Science Database This link opens in a new windowFor environmental policy and international relations sources.
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HeinOnline Law Journal Library This link opens in a new windowFor environmental law journals - domestic and international.
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EconLit This link opens in a new windowContains citations to, and selected abstracts of, the field of economics from international journal articles, dissertations, and books, books chapters and articles and conference proceedings. Coverage: 1969-
Data and Statistics
City-Level Data
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North American City Reports This link opens in a new windowContains the full text of surveys, budgets, statistical records, case studies, planning documents, training manuals, policy guidelines, reports, and news from the five hundred largest cities in North America. It also includes select materials from hundreds of related agencies and non-governmental organizations.
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State Environmental AgenciesThese often break data down by county or city within each state.
Country-Level Data
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Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new windowAuthoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. Coverage: 1878-
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PolicyMap This link opens in a new windowA U.S. national data and mapping tool and analytics platform with multidisciplinary applications related to social sciences, urban studies, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration, public health, policy and political science, education, business, economics, statistics, and geography, among others.
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SAGE Data This link opens in a new windowWith SAGE Data (formerly called Data Planet), you can scan and search the contents of billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customized views in tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Coverage: Details not available
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Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new windowThis database aggregates the statistical abstracts of over 40 countries (and growing) and makes the content available through a single-search interface. These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Global and regional statistical compendia issued by international organizations and research firms are also included. Coverage: 2013-
Environment and Sustainability Organizations
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Stockholm Environment InstituteAn international non-profit research and policy organization that tackles environment and development challenges.
Video Resources
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Filmakers Library Online This link opens in a new windowStreaming video collection of award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum--race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. Coverage: Details not available
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Films on Demand - Master Academic Package This link opens in a new windowContains videos in business, economics, health, medicine, humanities, social sciences, science and mathematics. Includes Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries, interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels.
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PBS Video Collection This link opens in a new windowThis streaming video collection provides a range of content with the most valuable video documentaries and series from PBS. Covers subjects from science, history, art, Shakespeare, diversity, business & economics, and more.
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Kanopy Video This link opens in a new windowStreaming video platform for libraries that offers films, TV shows, and documentaries across mutliple subject areas.
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Swank Digital Campus This link opens in a new windowAcademic streaming library of feature films, documentaries and foreign films from the largest movie studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, NBCUniversal, Columbia Pictures, Lions Gate, MGM, Miramax and many more. ZSR subscribes to the 1000 most popular titles and has licensed a few others for campus.
Other Librarians for Consults
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Morgan Ritchie-Baum: Social Science Data LibrarianMorgan can help you find and use a wide variety of data sources for your research.
