Welcome to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library and the History 505 Comparative Government OWHL Guide.
Researching the social sciences may present different challenges than the research process you are used to in your previous classes. Economists, politicians, lawyers, and social scientists produce a lot of information, and sorting through it to find useful information can be difficult. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
• Where should I start? In general, you have three options: a specific country (ex: China), an event (ex: Tiananmen Square), or an issue (ex: martial law). You will probably touch upon all three eventually in your research, but one of these will be your first way in. Below are links to various country reports and reference databases that have general info on events and issues. If you are researching a current event or issue, check out the box below with links to news coverage.
• Read carefully. As you read reports, blogs, articles, etc... look for words that will point you in the right direction for other research (i.e. "A recent World Bank research report states..." Make a note to go and find that research report).
• Use the Full Text Finder. If you have a journal article citation, search for the journal in the Full Text Finder to see if it is available through one of the OWHL's databases. If it isn't available, simply stop by the library and ask for helping submitting an inter-library loan (ILL) request.
Reference articles from one of the oldest and most trusted reference sources in the world.
This reference database covers the people, places, and events in the broad expanse of history from the mid 15th century to the present. Some primary sources may also be found here.
This reference database spans 25 different subject areas, bringing together 2 million digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions, and Encyclopedias.
This database provides reference and secondary source information on the most significant people, events, and topics in world history.
Provides content from more than 660 of the world’s top newspapers, including The Times (London), The Bangkok Post, El Norte, Financial Times, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post, The Daily Telegraph, Asian Wall Street Journal, and the BBC Monitoring series of publications.
This database provides selected full text for 25 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers.
Press reader provides today's news from over 7000 titles publications (newspapers and magazines) across the globe from 120+ countries in 60+ languages.
Want to read the New York Times?
All members of the PA community – faculty, staff, and students – have free digital access to the New York Times through the OWHL. Once you register for an account, you will have unlimited access to the Times for one year and can read it via the website or the app (both iPhone and Android).
To register for an account, go to nytimes.com/grouppass while physically on campus and connected to PA's network. Then create a free NYTimes.com account using your PA e-mail address.
If you have any questions or trouble registering, just stop by the OWHL.