Library Spaces: Information about places in the library for individuals or groups to study or prepare for presentations
Below you will find a selection of websites leading to information you will need for your assignment. Note that statistics for the same topic may vary from source to source. Many factors might account for this such as differences in the dates when the data was collected or the reliability of the organization collecting the data. You should look at several of these websites before deciding on your answers. Information from well-respected organizations such as the United Nations may be more accurate but on the other hand the data may be older.
Link to Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias in Geography
Link to Online Dictionaries in Nursing and Health
What are scholarly journals and how do I find them?
Databases are computerized subject guides to magazines, journals, newspapers, and other materials. For more choices than those listed below, go to the University Libraries home page, then click on Databases. Click on the starting letter of the database or click on a department name.
Tips:
- When searching
your topic remember to try a variety of subject headings for the same
concept.
- Click here for tips on using the search connectors AND,
OR, and NOT in your search strategy.
REMEMBER: To get to the full text of the journal article you must go through the Library's web pages. We have paid for access to the journals. You cannot go to the publisher's page to get an article.
Lexis-Nexis
Academic
Full text articles from over 7500 journals,
magazines, media transcripts, newspapers, newsletters, and other
sources including foreign materials. Especially strong in business,
law, health, and general news information. Very useful for current
information. This is your best place to find articles from foreign
newspapers and for locating transcripts from television and radio
programs. Along with hundreds of other newspapers, the New York
Times, the Washington Post, the Financial Times (London),
the Manchester Guardian, and the Times (London) are
available here in full text from the early 1980s to date. Only issues
from the past six months of the Los Angeles Times are
included.
How to use this database to find foreign newspaper articles on a
specific topic and/or country:
--Click on News (red tab)
--Enter your search terms e.g. type the country in the first
search box and your subject area in the second search box
--Click the blue arrow by Select Sources. You may
want to select Major World Newspaper of Major World Publications
--In the box by Specify Date select a time period
from the pull-down menu
--Click on the red Search box
--To see a
few lines from the full text, change View List to View Expanded List
--To see the full text of the article, click on the
article title
--Note that the print, email, download, and export
icons are towards the top right of the page
How to find media transcripts in Lexis-Nexis:
--Click on News
(red tab)
--Click on the blue arrow by Select Sources and select
Transcripts. Leave on All Transcripts or select specific ones
--Enter your search terms
--Follow the last 5 lines from the instructions above
EBSCO
Databases
From the list, check the titles of those
databases which seem to cover your topic. For example:
Expanded
Academic ASAP (InfoTrac) This large general and
interdisciplinary database covers a wide range of current events, news,
and scholarly materials from over 8,000 journals and magazines
including some full text from about half the titles. Subject areas
include geography, sociology, political science, history, and so on.
Most materials are available in or accessible through the UNCG library.
This database along with the the database listed immediately below
this, Academic Search Premier, are excellent starting points
for finding articles from both popular magazines (Time, Newsweek,
U.S. News and World Report) and scholarly journals (including Journal
of Economic Geography, Progress in Human Geography, Social and Cultural
Geography) on topics of worldwide interest.
Dates of coverage:
1980 to present for the database; full text coverage varies by title
Academic
Search Premier
Provides citations or abstracts for
over 8,000 scholarly journals covering topics across the disciplines
including geography. Full-text for over half the journals dating back
to 1990 with some back to 1975.
Dates of coverage for non full-text
titles: approximately 1984 to date.
Website for Online News and
Newspapers
Links to the websites for newspapers and
news sites worldwide. In many cases only the most recent issues of
newspapers are available online. Access to earlier issues may require
paying a fee.
The New York
Times
Full images of articles from this newspaper
from 1851 until 3 years ago.
Wall Street Journal Provides the full text of the newspaper from 1984 to the present.
The World
Fact Book.
Central Intelligence Agency
An excellent starting point for brief
yet current information on every country. Statistical information
includes population, vital statistics, economic activities, employment,
ethnic composition, religion, energy production and consumption,
communication systems, transportation systems, military statistics,
environmental issues and international agreements, and international
trade. This is one of the most up-to-date sources the Library has.
Nationmaster.com An incredible range of statistics for each country including many per capita statistics not found elsewhere. Choose your country from the list on this page, then click on some of the categories under "Facts and Figures" such as Media, Transportation, Energy, Health, and Population. Towards the bottom of the page there are links to the history of that country. The developers of this website have indicated the source of their statistics. If something is unclear to you, try clicking on "definitions" for an explanation.
Human Settlements Statistical Database. United Nations.
This database offers a wealth of demographic information for many of the African countries. Try this database first. From the drop down menus, select the Country, select the Category (choose demography), the select the Topic (choose one, get the data, then back up and choose another), then click Search. Availability of data varies by country.
Population of Principal Cities of Africa
Up-to-date figures on the population of cities. Some historical data is also included. For some countries population data for provinces, districts, counties, prefectures, departments, regions, etc. is also provided.
The IDB is a computerized data bank containing statistical tables of demographic and socioeconomic data for 227 countries and areas of the world. Data includes: population by age and sex, vital rates, infant mortality and life tables, fertility and child survivorship, migration, marital status, family planning, ethnicity, religion, language, literacy, labor force, employment, and income. Some death rates are in the category labeled "Vital Rates." Look at various categories to ensure you are finding everything this database has to offer. Under "Year Selection" click on "Selected Years." To select more than one year, hold down the Ctrl key while you use your mouse to click on each year wanted. Availability of data varies by country.
Demographic Yearbook. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office, United Nations. The Demographic Yearbook is a major source of population statistics dating back for many of the years needed for your assignment. Not every African country has data. Scroll down the page to note some of the many statistics which the U.N. collects on population. Their statistics traditionally run several years behind but they are quite detailed. Be sure to choose the years you want from the drop-down menu. Note the volume labeled "Historical Supplement."
Also in print. Location: ref HA 17 .D45 Older volumes in the stacks under the same call number
Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Country
Profiles
This organization works with both developed and
developing countries to end hunger. The "Country Profiles" discuss
specific food and agricultural issues.
In the upper right of the web page, select your country from the drop-down menu. Try some of the "Press Releases" and "World Food Day News and Events" for information on each country. Note that the column on the left has additional topics to search such as "Sustainable Development" and "Economic Situation."
Social indicators are provided for the following areas: child-bearing, health, housing, human settlements, illiteracy, income and economic activity, population, unemployment, water supply and sanitation, and youth and elderly populations. It is particularly interesting to note the wide differences in African nations in the availability of clean water.
Statistical Yearbook. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office, United Nations.
Ref. HA 12.5 .U63 2001. Older volumes in the stacks under the same call number.
Economic data as well as some population and social data. These volumes may have additional information beyond what the Demographic Yearbooks contain. Here again, not every African country is covered.
Human Development Reports.
United Nations Development Programme
An excellent website with
extensive, up-to-date statistics on demographic trends, health,
sanitation and nutrition, literacy, technology, poverty, economic
performance, income and consumption, trade, unemployment, energy,
refugees, and dozens of gender-related development indexes such as
income for males versus females (section 24). In the country list click
on Data rather than Factsheet.
Economic Commission for Africa
Established in 1958, ECA is one of five regional commissions under the
administrative direction of United Nations (UN) headquarters. As the
regional arm of the UN in Africa, it is mandated to support the
economic and social development of its 53 member States, foster
regional integration, and promote international cooperation for
Africa's development. It reports to the UN Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC).
World
Development Indicators Online (from the World Bank)
Covers 550 indicators for over 200 countries from 1960 to one year ago.
Includes social, economic, financial, natural resource, and
environmental data. As each new chart appears, click on the item(s) you
want, then click on "Select." When you are finished with your
selections click on "Next" to see the next chart.
To go directly to the World Bank website use www.worldbank.org
Statistical Abstract of
the United States
This is the premier location
for statistics for the United States. While the title correctly
indicates that most of these statistics cover just the United States,
Section 30: Comparative International Statistics, includes a variety of
information for population, health, economic activities, labor, taxes,
industry, energy, communications, transportation, and trade.
Europa World Year Book Online A very reputable source that includes some of the same statistics as the Fact Book above but with more detail on economic activities. Also has capsule summaries of political and economic histories. Despite the title, this volume covers all countries of the world.
UNICEF Information by Country An excellent source for demographic information, especially statistics about children. First click on the country name. Once on the country page, click on the word Statistics in the left column.
Encyclopaedia
Britannica Online
Provides full-text articles
from Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Book of the
Year (world events) and includes the Tenth Edition of the
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Many of the entries link to
quality web sites ("Britannica Internet Guide"), the year in review,
featured articles and biographies, and more.
Infoplease Almanac Typical almanac information with about a page of relatively recent population, economic, communications and transportation data for each country. Also features a short history.
Perry Castaneda Map Library An excellent place to find maps for any country. Just click on the continent on the left, then scan for your country name. Both the political and shaded relief maps may be of interest. For some countries you can find population distribution and economic activity maps.
National Geographic's Map Machine
Enter your country in the Quick Map Search box. Within the Search Results list, click on the one you want. This will lead you to a broad selection of maps. For information on the map you may need to click on the Legend.
Population
Reference Bureau (PRB)
PRB informs people around the
world about population and reproductive health. Detailed, current
information is available by topic or by region.
World Health Organization For each country this site leads to detailed information on life expectancy, death and birth rates, specific diseases and health issues, infant and adult mortality, health expenditures, and so on. Note that after you select your country, scan the country page for additional links such as "Health: Condition specific" to find details for some diseases such as tuberculosis.
World Health Statistics Annual. World Health Organization.
Ref. RA 651 .A485. Older editions from 1980 in the stacks. Contains vital statistics and causes of death for some African countries.
AIDS Education Global Information System
U.S. and worldwide information and statistics on AIDS. Especially useful are the reports you can find by clicking on "Fact Sheets" then "NIAID."
WI bills itself as a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social and economic trends. Their work revolves around the transition to an environmentally and socially just society--and how to achieve it. Check out the free downloadable reports on the left side of their home page under the categories "Online Features" and "Research Library."
Population
in Action
Click on countries in the map or use the
drop down menus to browse relatively current (updated 4/2002) data on
individual countries or on population, forests, carbon dioxide, arable
land, and fresh water around the world.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the diversity of life on earth. Their mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Newsroom section has some information that might be helpful.
World Research
Institute
An environmental think tank that works to
find practical ways to protect the earth.
United Students Against Sweatshops is an international student movement of campuses and individual students fighting for sweatshop free labor conditions and workers' rights.
AI is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. To view their reports click on Library then choose a country, region, sub-region or theme.
This organization is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. They investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. On the left side of their page information is available by country or global issue.
Minorities
at Risk
"The Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project is a
university-based research project that monitors and analyzes the status
and conflicts of politically-active communal groups in all countries
with a current population of at least 500,000. The project is designed
to provide information in a standardized format that aids comparative
research and contributes to the understanding of conflicts involving
relevant groups."
Ploughshares is an ecumenical agency of the Canadian Council of Churches established in 1976 to implement the churches' call to be peacemakers and to work for a world in which justice will flourish and peace abound." Their reports can be found by clicking on "Library" at the top of their home page.
"This agency is mandated to lead and to co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and to resolve refugee problems worldwide. It's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees." Detailed news reports are available by country and by topic.
Center for Defense Information
The Center "is dedicated to strengthening security through: international cooperation; reduced reliance on unilateral military power to resolve conflict; reduced reliance on nuclear weapons; a transformed and reformed military establishment; and prudent oversight of, and spending on, defense programs. Choose a report on a hot spot or select one of the programs from the list.
Interpol "is the world's largest international police organization, with 184 member countries. It facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime." This website offers information on subjects such as drug trafficking, terrorism, public safety, fugitives, and high-tech crimes.
International Government Information websites
UNESCO
This agency promotes international co-operation among its 191
member states in the fields of education, science, culture, and
communication. Reports are available by country or by theme.
USAID
This US Government agency provides economic and humanitarian assistance
worldwide.
Author Info: Nancy Ryckman
