Search tips
- Combine keywords and phrases.
- Start with just a few terms or a phrase.
- Add terms to narrow your search.
- If you find something you like, look for the "Get it! Cornell" link.
Selected library databases
- Worldwide Political Science AbstractsFinds articles on comparative politics, international relations, law, public administration, and public policy.
Note: For best results, place "quotation marks" around phrases. - Historical AbstractsFinds articles, essays, books chapters and monographs on history worldwide (except the US and Canada. See above), Strong coverage of political history, from pre-history to the present.
- Africa-wideFinds articles on Africa from the 19th century to the present.
- Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS)Finds articles on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast and South Asia published worldwide from 1971 to the present.
- Middle East & Central Asian StudiesInterdisciplinary approach to Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Indexes publications 1900 to present.
The web?
The web can be great for finding reports from organizations that you won't necessarily find in catalogs or databases. On the other hand, and especially concerning contentious ideas or events, the web can be a minefield of mis/dis/information.
If you want to search the web for journal articles, Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) is a better choice since it is drawing from mostly scholarly sources. On campus, you should have access to most of the articles you're seeing on GS, because the library subscribes to many of the journals publishing the articles. Off campus, install Passkey!
Pro tip: Compare search results between Google Scholar and one of the scholarly databases listed here before deciding to search only Google Scholar. Sometimes, it's fine. Other times, you are really missing out!