Library Research Guides: GEOG-G 391: GEOGRAPHY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Home

General Databases

IU Libraries subscribes to many databases where you can find a variety of articles. Some databases are very general, and can be a good place to start your research. Others are more specific for when you're ready for narrower results (to view these, see "Databases by Topic" to the left). The following are my top recommendations for starting your research!

Web of Science
- This link opens in a new window
Web of Science is great especially for Physical Geography. One of my favorite features is the citation tracking that allows you to see how often a paper has been cited, and by who. This is a nice way to start to learn about major authors and papers in a field.
OneSearch@IU
- This link opens in a new window
OneSearch searches the library catalog and a wide variety of databases. This can be great for getting a lot of results, but sometimes gives too many options to be useful. I like using OneSearch to help discover which journals or publications might be relevant to my topic.
Scopus
- This link opens in a new window
Really helpful for finding citations, though the full text isn't always linked or available.
Covers the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Comprised of 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers. Exporting data to Reference Managers such as Mendeley, RefWorks and EndNote, tracking citations with Citation Overview/Tracker, analyzing journal performance with Journal Analyzer and alternative journal impact metrics SNIP and SJR are some of its unique features.
JSTOR
- This link opens in a new window
Provides searchable full-text of historical runs of important scholarly journals in the humanities, arts, sciences, ecology, and business.
JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization established with the assistance of The Mellon Foundation, provides complete runs of hundreds of important journal titles in more than 30 arts, humanities, and social science disciplines. These scholarly journals can be browsed online and searched, and the page images can be printed for those available in full-text. The IUB Libraries subscribe to current content for only some titles available through JSTOR.

All journals in JSTOR start with the first volume. Many include content up to a "moving wall" of 3-5 years ago, although some journals have a fixed ending date for their content in JSTOR. Please check individual journals for exact dates of coverage.

For information about access to this resource for IU alumni, contact the Indiana University Alumni Association.
ProQuest Social Sciences
- This link opens in a new window
Allows users to simultaneously search a collection of ProQuest Social Science databases.
GeoRef
- This link opens in a new window
Index to earth science articles in journals and books, as well as books, maps, government publications, conference proceedings, technical reports, theses and dissertations.
The GeoRef database, contains over 3.8 million records to journal articles, books, government publications, maps and conference publications related to geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrogeology, paleontology and mineralogy. It contains citations to all of the publications indexed in the Bibliography and Index of North American Geology, Abstracts of North American Geology, Bibliography of Theses in Geology, Geophysical Abstracts, Bibliography and Index of Geology Exclusive of North America, and the Bibliography and Index of Geology. GeoRef is the most comprehensive index to geoscience information. The database includes references to all U.S. Geological Survey and state geological survey publications, as well as geological survey publications from other countries of the World. It also indexes Masters' theses and doctoral dissertations from US and Canadian universities.

Country Research

These resources can help you learn more about a specific country. You might also want to visit the Area Studies pages listed below for region-specific resources.

National Geographic Virtual Library
- This link opens in a new window
A complete archive of National Geographic magazine, along with a cross-searchable collection of National Geographic books, maps, images and videos.
National Geographic Magazine Archive includes every page and every photograph published in the magazine, 1888-1994.You may browse issues or search for text or images. The map supplements are also part of the archive. Includes National Geographic Magazine 1888-Current and National Geographic: People, Animals, and the World.
World Development Indicators
- This link opens in a new window
Statistical database featuring economic, social, environmental data since 1960 for countries of the world.
Premiere data source on the global economy. It contains statistical data for over 550 development indicators and time series data from 1960-2000 for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. Data selection screens are intuitive and easy to use. Results can be scaled, indexed against a particular year, viewed by percentage change, and charted. These features plus data export options in standard formats like Excel make WDI Online the most useful tool yet for researching developmental data.
Print and CD-ROM versions of WDI are retained in GIMSS (Government Information, Microforms and Statistical Services), 2nd floor of the IUB Herman B Wells Library, which also subscribes to most World Bank publications.
eHRAF World Cultures
- This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text ethnographies on hundreds of ethnic, cultural, religious, and national groups worldwide.
Human Rights Studies Online
- This link opens in a new window
Human Rights Studies Online is a research and learning database providing comparative documentation, analysis, and interpretation of major human rights violations and atrocity crimes worldwide from 1900 to 2010.
The collection includes primary and secondary materials across multiple media formats and content types for each selected event, including Armenia, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Darfur, and more than thirty additional subjects.
Polling the Nations
- This link opens in a new window
Public opinion surveys conducted by polling organizations in the United States and other countries. Aggregated from more than 1,000 sources, these polls cover breaking-news events, and various topics, including affirmative action, criminal justice reform, drugs, foreign policy, immigration, race relations, the United Nations, and voting rights.
In addition to tracking political disputes on hot-button issues dating back to the Reagan administration, Polling the Nations includes tens of thousands of polls on global affairs, popular culture, sports, health, inventions, religion, gender, and other diverse subjects.

Each of the nearly 350,000 records reports a question asked and the responses given. Also included in each record is the polling organization responsible for the work, the date the information was released, the sample size, and universe, i.e., the groups or areas included in the interview, such as parents with children in public schools, Great Britain or California.

The print and microfiche counterpart to this resource is titled American Public Opinion Index. It begins in 1981, covering five earlier years complementing this web resource:

Wells Library Reference Department
HM261 .A463
Holdings: 1981-1998
Cumulative index for 1981-1985

CIA World Factbook
- This link opens in a new window
The World Factbook provides basic intelligence on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.

OECD iLibrary
- This link opens in a new window
Online portal for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publications and statistics. Source for internationally comparable statistical, environmental and socio-economic reports and data. OECD works with policy makers, governments and citizens to inform public decision-making.
Also includes content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).
United Nations Digital Library
- This link opens in a new window
Primary bibliographic database of the United Nations, established in 1979. Indexes UN documents and publications and non-UN publications in the Dag Hammarskjold Library.
Columbia Gazetteer of the World
- This link opens in a new window
A dictionary of countries, states, cities, and regions, including rivers, mountains and other geographical features.
UNdata
- This link opens in a new window
Database covering selected data series from 20 specialized international data sources for all available countries and areas.

Global Forest Watch
- This link opens in a new window
Global Forest Watch offers the latest data, technology and tools that empower people everywhere to better protect forests.

GEOG-G 391: GEOGRAPHY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Map and Spatial Data Librarian

Ask a Librarian (Chat)

General Databases

Country Research

Related Subject Guides

Development Projects

Featured Databases

IU Libraries

GEOG-G 391: GEOGRAPHY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

General Databases

Country Research

Related Subject Guides

Development Projects

Social media

Additional resources

Featured Databases

IU Libraries