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Governments & Politics of Africa

Finding Background Information and Developing Topic Ideas: Selected Reference Materials

International Statistics

This is a list of selected multi-purpose resources.  For additional recommendations by topic, see the Finding Statistics and Data: Topical Sources guide. 

News

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

Finding Government Documents

UNITED STATES

Muhlenberg College receives about 30% of all materials published by the U.S. Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas--from legal materials and the records of Congress to health and education information and in-depth research conducted by the Smithsonian. All of the government documents that we receive have records in Encompass Search.

INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS

Governments on the World Wide Web

World Legal Information Institute: Countries

How do I get the full text of my article?

To get the full text of an article, consider the following options:

- If you are in Encompass Search or a library database, look for "Check for Full Text buttons," "Access Online," or "Check eResources" buttons. These buttons will take you the full text of the article or tell you that the full text cannot be found. If the full text is not available from Trexler Library, look for buttons to request the item from another library via interlibrary loan. Or go directly to the interlibrary loan request forms.

- If you have citation information for the article (i.e., journal title, article title, publication year, etc.), type the information about your article in Encompass Search on the library website. If the library subscribes to the full text, you will be directed to the article (see first bullet above). If not, you can request a copy of the article via interlibrary loan.

- If Trexler Library does not have access to the full text of the article, search Google Scholar by article title to see if the author has made a copy freely available online. If not, you can request a copy of the article via interlibrary loan.

Citing Your Sources

For information on why to cite your sources and how to avoid plagiarism, see the Get Started with Library Research: Cite Sources guide.

For help using Chicago style, consult the following resources:

  • The Chicago manual of style (16th ed., 2010)
    Location: Online or search Encompass Search by title or Ready Reference 808.027 C632m

For help with Zotero, a "free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources."