INTL 390 Foundations of Global Studies: Country Backgrounds
Finding General Country Information
-
The CIA World Factbook by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1510740279Publication Date: 2018-05-08Old issues, 2000-2016, can also be found here:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/download/ -
A Guide to Countries of the World by ISBN: 9780199202713
-
EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit)Reports on country commerce, country finance, and doing business in various countries.
-
Europa World and/or the Regional Surveys of the WorldCovers political and economic information about countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
-
Country InsightsCanadian government's version of CIA World Factbook.
-
U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact SheetsUS Dept of State notes on relations with other countries.
-
Country StudiesDetailed Library of Congress reports on countries. Includes information on politics, economics, culture, custom, and society. NOTE: Be mindful of publication date. Older books - like the one on "East Germany" and "Czechoslovakia" - are outdated and problematic!.
-
Background NotesInformation on economic conditions, geography, government & political conditions, history, people, & U.S. relations for all nations. Compiled by the U.S. Department of State.
-
Foreign Information by Country (U.Colorado)Information and links organized by country.
-
Nations of the World - Library of CongressAn annotated guide to sources of information on government and law. Includes selected links to useful and reliable sites for legal information for different nations.
-
Gale in Context: Environmental StudiesMaintains a global reference on the environment, energy, and natural resources. Some additional content may be freely available during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Please note: These are scholarly reference resources that provide reputable and trustworthy background information. They are not, however, peer reviewed like journal articles or university press books. Please be aware these resource will not count as peer reviewed sources in your assignments.
Search for Subject Encyclopedias (PSU Only)
Finding Overviews in the Catalog
Reference books, such as encyclopedias, are books designed to provide general background information on a topic. While most academic books - called "monographs" - are argumentative and organized around a thesis, reference works are meant to provide detailed, accurate, and short descriptions of themes or issues relating to a single large topic.
Use the box above to find reference works on your topic. Begin with your topic:
You may end up with many results. Use the search bar on the left to further narrow your search.
If you still have too many results, limit the "Date" field to recent publications. See if your topic is a "Subject." This will limit the results to reference books specifically on your topic:
In this case, limiting to subject: Japan brings up 29 interesting and relevant results:
