Spend some time brainstorming keywords and search terms.
Try using subject headings or descriptors to help generate search terms.
When you find a good article, look at its References or Works Cited list. That will often lead you to other useful sources.
Do you have an article citation, but need to find the full-text article? Three Steps to Finding the Full Text Article:
1. Check the Electronic Journals A-Z List by searching for the name of the Journal name (not the article title) in the "Find" box. If the journal comes up in your results, look at the years of coverage to make sure that the library has the year you are looking for. If yes, click on the link for the journal and then scroll to the volume you need or search within the journal for the article.
2. If you aren't able to find the journal in the Electronic Journal list, check the Catalog to find the journal in print by searching for the name of the journal (not the article title). If the journal comes up in your results, look at the years of coverage to make sure that the library has the year you are looking for. If yes, copy down the call number so that you'll be able to locate the journal in the stacks.
3. If you can't get the article in print or online, order the article through InterLibrary Loan.
Academic Search Premier Great multidisciplinary database. Search tip: Take advantage of the menu options to the left of your search results. You can limit by Geography to select articles about the country you are researching. You can also limit to scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.
ProQuest Central Great multidisciplinary database. Search tip: Take advantage of the menu options to the right of your search results. You can limit by location to select articles about the country you are researching. You can also limit to peer-reviewed journals.
JSTOR An archive of scholarly journal articles from a variety of subject areas, including Political Science.
Project Muse Provides full-text journal articles from a variety of subject areas
Expanded Academic ASAP An interdisciplinary index to journals and national news magazines
ISI Web of Knowledge Great for citation tracking so that you can see the number of times that an article has been cited in other works.
ProQuest Statistical Insight Provides access to statistical information produced by U.S. Federal agencies, States, private organizations, & major intergovernmental organizations.
Check out the library's e-journals list to search for articles in specific journals. For example:
Please note that some of these sources will only be useful for research on certain topics/countries.
Google Scholar Search tips for Google Scholar in the next box.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
The websites of the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, and other think tanks.
The International Monetary Fund
The World Bank, including: Open Knowledge Repository (includes articles & books) and World Development Indicators (WDI) (economic, social, environmental, & governance time series indicators from 200 countries).
The National Bureau of Economic Research
The Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics
The websites of relevant government agencies—e.g., the Social Security Administration in the United States or the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom. (Please note that the amount of material available in English on the websites of relevant German and Swedish agencies may be relatively limited.)
PROL - Political Science Research Online Conference papers & other pre-print scholarship. From the American Political Science Association (APSA).
Social Sciences Research Network Working papers in the social sciences.
UNData Search the UN's 24 statistical databases and 60+ million records
Laborsta Employment and labor statistics from over 200 countries. From the International Labour Organization.
Google Scholar is a great tool for doing a broad search of scholarly literature on your topic:
You'll just want to keep some things in mind:
You can access advanced search features by clicking the arrow in the right of the search box. These features allow you to refine your search.
Look for the words Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross next to an article. You should be able to access any of these articles through the library's subscriptions. If you come across a source that Holy Cross does not have access to, remember that you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
When you are on campus, Google Scholar will automatically show you those Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross links next to articles that Holy Cross has access to. If you are off-campus, you can set your Scholar Settings to show the links for accessing sources through Holy Cross. You can modify your settings by selecting the Settings link in the upper-right corner of Google Scholar webpage.
Click on the Cited by and Related articles links at the bottom of a search result to find relevant articles & books.