PO 4368 - International Political Economy: Articles

• Consider what type of information you need and where you might find it.
• Break your topic into key concepts and identify terms for each concept. Start with fewer words. Less yields more.
• Don't be too narrow in your search, especially initially.
• While it is possible to find sources on international or local topics, the strength of many of our academic databases is coverage of US national topics.
• Use Boolean connectors like AND, OR, and NOT to connect keywords. Many databases search the words as a phrase otherwise.
• In general, avoid using prepositions like "in," "of," and "on."
• Truncation characters such as an * (asterisk) can expand your search by retrieving various forms of a word, e.g., comput* retrieves computer, computers, computing, computation, etc.
• Look at the subject terms or descriptors that are used for articles that appear relevant. Try other searches using those terms.
• In the sciences and social sciences, when starting a journal article search on a topic, consider adding systematic review or meta-analysis, or literature review in your search.
• Consult a librarian or your faculty member for additional related terms.
• Think about which individuals or groups of people or organizations are associated with your topic. These might be additional terms to search.

• Look at subject terms applied to relevant articles. Did you find additional articles by searching these subject headings?
• Which terms or search strategies yielded the best results?
• Look at the abstract. Are there additional keyword terms you might search?
• How long is the article?
• In which journal or periodical was this article published? What is the journal's or magazine's reputation? How do you know?
• When was the article published? What time period does the research or article cover?
• Who is the author of the article? What are the author's credentials? What qualifies the author as an expert?
• What sources are cited in this article?
• How will this source advance the research project?
• See Evaluate Information for more criteria.

Make note of your responses to the following so you can present your findings to your classmates:

1. What is your proposed topic?
2. Search for an article about your topic by searching in the Discover Box to the left, while the "Discover" tab is highlighted. 
3.  When searching more than one concept, be sure to break your question into keywords and connect your search terms with the word and.
4. What did you type for your search?
5. Limit your search to items "Available in Library Collection." 
6. Select a research article related to your topic. Get an idea what the article is about by skimming through the article. 
7. Click on the article or item title to view the full item record. Under Tools in the right column, note the Cite tool to generate your citation. You may need to edit this information. 
8. In a sentence or two, what did you learn from this article that you didn't previously know? Write this in your own words.
9. Consider this article's quality, including criteria listed on the Articles page and Evaluate page. Write one or two sentences about why you would or would not use this article in your annotated bibliography, considering the following:
   • Currency: What year was the article published?
   • Reliability: What is the scope of the journal?
   • Authority: What are the author(s)' credentials, especially related to this topic?
10. Considering the article's relevance to your topic, how will this article further your research?

For consultation with Reference & Instruction Librarian, Prof. Diane Duesterhoeft, schedule a time at https://dduesterhoeft.youcanbook.me/

Looking for a specific journal, magazine, or newspaper?

Use Journals List to search for the title of a journal, magazines, or newspaper and determine if the library offers online access or print access to that publication.