SESSION ON RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Sample Topic: A comparison of the Soviet response to Afghanistan and the Russian response to Chechnya.

Questions: Will I need statistical data? Governmental reports? Do I need primary documents or secondary material? Who are the key players? What are the “concepts” for my search? Should my strategies target current news or materials on back file?

Strategy: Use reference/other sources to identify key players, events, bibliography and other information. Look at the dates of these events. Will it be necessary to run two separate searches and later provide analysis? Should “think tanks” be targeted for this kind of analysis through reports/conference proceedings? What kind of U.S. and Russian governmental information is available? Where would one look for statistical data? Policy statements? Press releases? Target back file material through U.S. and Russian news aggregators (subscription databases like LexisNexis, Integrum) and online newspapers (fee-based and open-access journals). Search citation databases like PAIS, full-text scholarly resources like CIAO, monographs and other documents through WorldCat, U.S. declassified documents, U.N. and E.U. materials. Go to Russian Web search engines, search Russian governmental data, personal Websites (Afghanistan veterans), and other online resources.

Current news sources available through Columbia databases and online

Columbia Sources

Examples:

LEXIS NEXIS ACADEMIC

Description: an interdisciplinary, full-text database of over 18,000 sources including newspapers, journals, wire services, newsletters, company reports, case law, government documents, transcripts of broadcasts, and selected reference works.

Sample search: Pick Guided News Search. Select European sources. Choose Chechnya AND Russia in headline and referendum in full text.

Sample search: Pick Guided News Search. Select European sources. Choose Chechnya OR Russia in headline and referendum in full text.

Sample search: Find out what journals cover a subject area by doing a broad “title” search in “sources” for Russia, Czech, etc.

Sample search: Pick from “reference” tab “polls and surveys”. Do keyword search for Chechnya. Do keyword search for Afghanistan.

Sample search: From “news” tab pick “news transcripts”. Select “Kremlin news broadcasts” and do keyword search for Putin and Chechnya in headline. Limit by six months.

PROQUEST DIRECT

Interdisciplinary database representing titles found in ABI INFORM (Global Edition), Periodicals Abstracts (Research II Edition), and Newspaper Abstracts.

Sample search: Privatization Jeffrey Sachs in citations and abstracts, limiting by full text articles.

PAIS

Description: PAIS includes references to more than 460,000 journal articles, books, government documents, statistical sources, grey literature, research reports, conference proceedings, and publications of international agencies.

Sample search: Velvet Revolution

CIAO

A wide range of scholarship that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences.

Integrum
Description: An interdisciplinary, full-text database of newspapers, journals, wire services, abstracts of broadcasts, and selected reference works from the Russian Federation and near abroad. Primarily Russian with some sources in English. Full-text articles from several hundred wire services, newspapers, journals, magazines from central and provincial cities within the Russian Federation and the near abroad; bibliographic indexes, biographical and statistical publication.

Times of London Digital Archive

Sample search in advanced search box: Afghanistan Soviet choosing “news”, “news in brief”, “law” or “politics and parliament”

Online Newspapers/Journals

Example:

Individual newspaper

http://www.ropnet.ru/ogonyok/win/welcome.html

Example:

Web sites providing links to multiple news services:

Example:

Independent or government sponsored news agencies

RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Free online resource
Description: Daily news, analysis, and current affairs. Covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe

Sample search: By category Russia

http://www.rferl.org/

Government and Statistical Sources available through Columbia databases and online

Columbia Sources

Example:

EIU Country Data

Analytical database of worldwide economic indicators and forecasts, covering more than 270 statistical variables in series for each of 115 countries. Data can be manipulated, displayed, graphed, analyzed and downloaded in various formats. Major data categories include economic structure, foreign payments, external debt stock, external debt service, external trade, trends in foreign trade, quarterly indicators.

Example:

World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers

Provides statistical tables, rankings, and discussion of military expenditures and arms transfers for all countries, with comparisons to other socio-economic statistics.

Example:

Economist Intelligence Unit

Includes full-text databases, e.g. Country Reports, regional newsletters, and a time series database providing information and data on over 190 countries. Information is presented as analysis, briefings, commentary, or forecasts. The time series database provides 270 series for 115 countries.