Course resource help for International Relations and Politics

• If you're new to the Oxford Brookes Library, check our quick guides For new starters
• Discover the Library: a guide for international students (Google slides)
• Check How to get help using the Library
• Find out about Library services for users with a disability and Alternate formats

• Take a virtual tour of Headington Library
• Check a PDF floor plan of the Headington Library
• The main section for print books in International Relations and Politics is on Level 2 in Zone D of the Headington Library.

Your module reading lists will tell you what sources you need to read before class and also provide further readings that may be helpful for assignments.

• Most reading lists are available online via the relevant Moodle course - often in the 'Key resources' section or arranged by weekly topic. 
• You can look at the reading list for any module, whether you are taking it or not. To search the full collection, go to the Library and choose the Reading lists tab above the LibrarySearch box. Type in the module code or name.
• Check the Explore section below to browse for Politics and International Relations reading lists

More about finding and understanding your IR & Politics module reading lists (Google slides)

Going to university is a huge step but there is lots of support available. Here are links to support services and useful resources for self-care:

• Managing yourself and your time (part of our Study Smarter series)
• Wellbeing resources 
• How to contact your Student Support Coordinator
• Inclusive Support Service

Searching for books

Use LibrarySearch to look for books and eBooks available in the Oxford Brookes Library. Just type in the author, title or subject that you are interested in. Limit your search results to books.

Check the video guide (right) for tips on how LibrarySearch works.

Finding print books

Print books have a 'call number' which tells you where the book is shelved in the Library, for example this book: Understanding international relations is shelved at 327 BRO. 

The main section for print books in International Relations and Politics is on Level 2 in Zone D of the Headington Library.

• Finding your material shows you how to understand call numbers and look for books on the library shelves
• Finding books and eBooks for International Relations and Politics (PDF) highlights key areas of the library for these subjects. Also available as Word file
• Borrowing and returning tells you about borrowing print books
• If the book is on loan to another user or at one of our other libraries, you can put a hold on it (quick video guide). If it's on the shelves, it's quicker for you to go and get it yourself.

Use LibrarySearch to look for books and eBooks available in the Oxford Brookes Library. Type in the author, title or subject that you are interested in. If you want to just see eBooks, you can limit your results by using the filters on the left. 

Here is an example of a library eBook: Contemporary Peacemaking: Peace Processes, Peacebuilding and Conflict. Follow the 'View eBook' link to connect to it. Log in when prompted with your Oxford Brookes student number and password. 

Our eBooks are on various web platforms, for example this one is on  ProQuest Ebook Central. You'll see there are options to:

• Read the book online
• Download individual chapters as PDFs (NB you will be restricted as to how many pages you could save from the whole book).
• Download the whole book for a limited time (usually between 1 and 21 days).

In order to download many of our eBooks - including ones on ProQuest - you need to have the Adobe Digital Editions programme or app on your computer/device. You can download the Adobe Digital Editions programme for free.

O'Reilly eBooks

O'Reilly is another eBook platform but it works differently to most other e-resources. If you need to access an O'Reilly eBook, check this quick guide to how to login; steps 4-6 show you what to do when you reach the O'Reilly site.

Find out more about accessing and downloading library eBooks

Academic journals are key sources for your IR and politics studies.

• Articles published in these journals are written by specialists in the subject and they provide an insight into current thinking, debate and research in the field. 
• Journals can be good sources of up to date information on current topics which may not be covered by books. 
• Articles can cover a specific topic in depth, e.g. a case study.

This guide Anatomy of a Journal (PDF) from the Open University explains clearly what a journal is, and how they differ from books.

Peer reviewed journal articles

You will often be asked to consult peer reviewed articles for your research. These are high quality scholarly articles that have been checked by other experts in the field. 

The peer review provides feedback so that researchers can revise and improve their papers before publication. It also acts as a quality check, ensuring that articles meet high standards expected in the discipline and required to maintain the reputation of the journal. Find out more about the purpose of peer review and how it works in this Explainer: what is peer review?

LibrarySearch is a good place to start looking for journal articles on a topic. Just type your keywords or a phrase in the search box. At the results screen, use the the filter options on the left to limit your search to peer-reviewed articles.

We recommend you also use databases, especially for more in-depth research because LibrarySearch doesn’t cover all of our e-resources and you may get better results on a more specialised database.

If you have the details of a specific article (for example from an author's bibliography) you may be able to find it through LibrarySearch by typing in some key words from the article title and an author. If the article doesn't come up, you'll need to look up the journal instead to see if we have it  - see the section 'Look for a specific journal' below.

Looking for a specific journal

• Go to the Library and select the 'Journal titles' tab.
• Type in the journal title.
• Find the journal on LibrarySearch and click on the title.
• Click on the 'Access journal' link to connect to the journal homepage.
• The journal site may offer a search function and will also allow you to browse. If browsing, use the year, volume and issue numbers to find the correct journal issue. Articles in each issue will be listed in page order, so use the page numbers to find the specific article.

Looking for a specific article

You may want to do this if you're following up a reference found in a bibliography:

• Try looking up the article on LibrarySearch. Use the author's surname and a few keywords from the article title.
• If you can't locate the article in this way, follow the steps above to look up the journal title and check if we have access to the journal and issue you need.

If we don't have the journal or issue you want, you can use the interlibrary loan service to request a free copy of the article.

Here is an example of an article from an academic journal which follows a very common structure:

Keating, A. and Melis, G. (2017) 'Social media and youth political engagement: Preaching to the converted or providing a new voice for youth?', The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19 (4), pp. 877–894.

Always start with the abstract: a summary of the article’s content that appears at the beginning.
Look at this to help you decide if an article is relevant for your own research. The abstract will indicate the scope of the article: a study using specific research methods? Analysis of a theory? Case study?

Journal articles often have this structure: Introduction - Body of the article - Discussion/conclusions. 

1. Introductory section: the author will usually set their article in the context of previous research. Notice all the in-text citations, e.g. (Putnam, 2000). These are sources that the authors read before conducting their own research. 
2. Body of the article: This may report a research study.
3. Discussion/Conclusions: What are the authors’ reflections and conclusions? Do they make recommendations for further research? Do they agree/disagree with earlier research?

When you're searching for sources, you don't have to read the article in full at this stage. Scan through the abstract, introduction and conclusion to see if it's relevant to your own research topic. If the article looks useful, download the PDF and read it later, making notes as you go. Don’t forget to record all the details of the article for your reference list. 

For tips on understanding how to read and understand social science research articles, take a look at this book:

Harris, S. (2014) How to critique journal articles in the social sciences. Los Angeles: SAGE.

It's a good idea to keep track of your sources as you find them, so that it's easier to reference them later. Check this guide for How to save and cite sources in LibrarySearch (Google slides)

Always check Cite Them Right to see how your references should look in the Harvard style required at Oxford Brookes.

• Library eBooks - Cite Them Right says to reference these in the same way as print books 
• Journal articles - make sure you have a record of: Author(s); Title of article; Title of journal; Year of publication; Volume number (if given); Issue number (if given); Page numbers. You may also want to note the DOI.

Lists of useful resources:

• Dissertations and independent research in Sociology, Politics and International Relations - resources on developing a research question, doing a research proposal and much more.
• Social research methods

Who can access: MA students and undergraduates doing dissertation or equivalent research (from the 2nd Semester of your 2nd Year) are eligible to apply for a Bodleian card.

What they hold: The Bodleian is a copyright deposit library, which means that a copy of all British publications should be deposited in its collections by the publisher under copyright law. Check their Library catalogue SOLO 

How to apply: Check How to access the Bodleian and other libraries. Note that there are different procedures if you apply during the vacation 

What you can access: You can use the main Bodleian Library of Oxford University, as well as the Social Science Library.
Your Bodleian card gives you access to print and e-resources but only within their library buildings. You will be given a Bodleian Libraries username and password which allows you to log into SOLO, library PCs and the ‘Bodleian-Libraries’ Wi-Fi network as well as using their Print, Copy and Scan (PCAS) service. For full details, check their guide What access do I have as a Bodleian Reader card holder 

Interlibrary loan service

You can use this free service to request a loan of a print book or to obtain a copy of a journal article that we don’t hold at Oxford Brookes. Find out more about the interlibrary loan service

Go further, get more

Check the Library's Go further, get more page for other options.

• LibrarySearch: Libraries worldwide
• You can use LibrarySearch to look for resources in the Oxford Brookes Library and beyond. To look for books and articles held by other libraries, type your keywords in the search box and then use the menu on the left to change the settings from 'Oxford Brookes University' to 'Libraries Worldwide.' For many items you will see an option to place an interlibrary loan request.
• Jisc Library Hub Discover allows you to search materials held in many UK national, academic and specialist libraries.
• SOLO Search the catalogue of the University of Oxford

Past undergraduate and MA dissertations for IR and Politics are kept in the Department, rather than the Library. They are held in Gibbs 1.03 (access 9.00-17.00 only). To view these dissertations,  you should contact the Programme Administrator, Laura Crofts, email lcrofts@brookes.ac.uk 

Some MA dissertations may be available online via the eDissertations collection on RADAR.

Undergraduate Business dissertations are located in Headington Library and this includes dissertations done by Economics, Politics & International Relations students. You can use LibrarySearch to look for them - see this blog post for tips: Finding business dissertations.

The Library does hold all Oxford Brookes PhD theses in hard copy: these are listed on LibrarySearch and can be requested at the JHB Library Help Zone. Online versions of many Oxford Brookes PhD theses are also available via the eTheses collection on RADAR.

If you are looking for a UK PhD/MPhil thesis, you may be able to obtain a copy online via the British Library's EThOS system. You can search across 250,000+ theses for free and download / order full text where available. You will need to register and log in if you want to download a thesis or to order digitisation of a thesis.

Below are some options that may be useful if you're a distance learning student. Do contact your Librarian for individual advice.

Using LibrarySearch to find resources at Oxford Brookes and beyond

To look for books and articles held by other libraries, type your keywords in the LibrarySearch box and then use the menu on the left to change the settings from 'Oxford Brookes University' to 'Libraries Worldwide.' For many items you will see an option to place an interlibrary loan request

• Obtaining journal articles via interlibrary loan
• If you come across an article you need for your research but it isn't available at Oxford Brookes Library, you can request it via the interlibrary loan service. This service is free and if we can obtain the article, it will be emailed to you wherever you are.
• Options for obtaining eBooks
• Due to licensing restrictions, we can't borrow eBooks for you via interlibrary loan. Please contact your Librarian who can check whether the title is available for libraries to buy in this format, and whether she would be able to purchase a copy.
• Look out for the Library’s popular More Books scheme which allows you to to suggest books you’d like the library to purchase (max. 5 books per student).  The scheme usually runs twice a year and is advertised on the Library.
• Note that publishers don’t make every title available as an affordable eBook through library suppliers. Some cost hundreds of pounds, others are only available as part of a collection. We are not able to purchase Kindle books as they are licenced for individuals, not institutions like universities.
• Book chapters - The Library's Scan and send service allows you to request a scan of a chapter from a print book that's in Library stock and we'll email it to you.

Using other libraries

Depending on where you're based, there may be options for using other libraries in your area. Don't forget the public library service as well as other universities.

• If you're in the UK
  • Check whether the SCONUL Access scheme may be helpful - find out more on our page How to access the Bodleian and other libraries.
  • Jisc Library Hub Discover allows you to search materials held in many UK national, academic and specialist libraries
• If you're outside the UK
  There may be local options - try checking the websites of any university libraries and/or public libraries that are near you.