Group Study Rooms: Information about places for groups to study in the library
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.
The
World Fact Book.
Central Intelligence Agency
--Excellent starting point for 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
--One of the most up-to-date sources the Library has
--Also in print. Location: ref G 122 .U56a 2006
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 on the left such as Media, Transportation, Energy, Health, and Population
--Scroll to the bottom of the page for a link 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
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations
--6-42 pages on each of the countries which are arranged by global region
--information includes location and size, topography, climate, flora, fauna, environment, population, migration, ethnic groups, languages, religions, history, transportation, government, judicial, labor, armed forces, extensive economic and trade data, health, housing education, media, tourism, and more
--also in print. Location: ref. G 63 .W67 2007
Statistical
Abstract of the United States
--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
--Also in print. Location: ready ref HA 202 2007
Europa
World Year Book Online
--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
--also in print. Location: ref JN 1 .E85 2006
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
--Provides journals, statistics, working papers, reports, and ebooks published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development since 1998
--Covers public policy, social issues, health, economics, education, the environment, agriculture, technology, trade, taxation, and more
--Data can be downloaded into Excel
Encyclopaedia
Britannica Online
--Full-text articles from Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica
Book of the Year (world events)
-- Many of the entries link to quality web sites ("Britannica Internet Guide"), the year in review, featured articles and biographies, and more
--also in print. Location: ref. AE 5 .E363 2007
Infoplease
--Typical almanac information with about a page of relatively
recent population, economic, communications and transportation data for each
country
--Also in print as Time Almanac with Information Please. Location: ready ref. AY 64 .I55 2007
REMEMBER: To get to the full text of newspaper and journal articles you MUST go through the Library's web pages. We have paid for access to them. Do not go to the publisher's page to find the entire article. Use Journal Finder if you already have the name of the journal.
Lexis-Nexis
Academic
--Full text articles, especially current information, from over 7500 journals,
magazines, television and radio news transcripts, U.S. and foreign
newspapers, newsletters, etc.
--Hundreds of newspapers including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Financial Times (London), the Manchester Guardian, and the Times (London)
--Dates of coverage: early 1980s to date
How
to use this database to find newspaper articles in Lexis-Nexis Academic:
--Click on the link to the database and enter
your search. e.g. AIDS in South Africa
--Specify Date: note that only the previous 2 years
will be searched unless you change this
There is so much information on AIDS that using six months or a year might be sufficient
--Click on the red box which says "Search." The results should display.
--Too much information? A topic such as AIDS in South Africa will yield hundreds of articles. Try going back one step and narrowing your
search by entering another narrower
topic e.g. prevention of AIDS in South Africa
--To see where your search terms are mentioned in
the article change View List to View Expanded List
--On the
left side of the screen you can choose the media source of the information,
e.g. newspapers
--Click on the article title to read the full text
--Note the icons in the upper right of the screen
to "Print" or "Email" each article
How
to find media transcripts in Lexis-Nexis:
--On the first screen of Lexis-Nexis check
the box for TV and Radio Broadcast Transcripts
--Uncheck
the Major U.S. and World Publications box
--Enter your search. e.g. prevention of AIDS in South
Africa. Click Search
--On the left side of the screen click on News Transcripts
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 news articles 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--Full text of the newspaper from 1984 to the present.
Expanded
Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)
--Over 8,000 journals and magazines, half of them full text, covering
a wide range of current events and news
--Excellent starting point for finding articles from both popular magazines (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report) and scholarly journals (Social Forces, Social Research, Journal of Social Issues) on topics of worldwide interest.
--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.
--Dates of coverage: 1980 to present for the database; full text coverage
varies by title
SocIndex
with Full Text (SIFT) (EBSCO)
--Coverage of sociology and sub-disciplines such as ethnic & racial studies,
political sociology, religion, migration and population problems, social development,
social structure, social work, substance abuse & other addictions, violence
and many others.
--Covers articles from over 4,000 journals and the full text of more than 700 books and 6,800 conference papers.
--Abstracts of some of the core journals date as far back as 1895.
Government Information websites -- local, North Carolina, United States, international
United Nations. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. Demographic Yearbook
--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.
Human Development Reports. United Nations Development Programme
--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--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.
World Health Organization
--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 to find details for some diseases such as tuberculosis.
--This agency is mandated to lead and to co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve their problems worldwide.
--Detailed news reports available by country and topic
UNICEF Information by Country
--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
South African Broadcasting Corp.
British Broadcasting Company on the Internet
Author Info: Nancy Ryckman
