Course resource help for International Relations and Politics

Quick access

Resources

Need help? Contact your librarian

Please get in touch if you have any queries about:

  • finding information and resources for assignments
  • finding online resources
  • referencing your sources

Joanna Cooksey

jcooksey@brookes.ac.uk

I'm Joanna, the Librarian for International Relations and Politics, including the MA programmes in IR and International Security. I'm hybrid working this semester, so will sometimes be on Headington campus and sometimes working from home. Please email jcooksey@brookes.ac.uk in the first instance. If you need a 1-to-1 appointment we can then arrange one either face-to-face or via Zoom or Google Meet. My usual working hours are 8.00 - 16.00, Monday - Friday.

Referencing

Citing your sources (also called referencing) is an essential part of your academic work and is explained fully on our page Reference and avoid plagiarism.

How to reference: use Cite Them Right

Use Cite Them Right to check how to reference a wide range of sources (books, journal articles, websites) in exactly the same Harvard style used at Oxford Brookes.

The Library also has a shorter printed guide to Brookes Harvard based on Cite Them Right that you can download (Word and PDF versions available)

How to use the Library for International Relations and Politics

New students

Find resources for your assignments and modules

  • Start by checking your Module reading list
  • If you're researching a topic, it's a good idea to think about the keywords you could use to make sure you find relevant sources.
  • You can use LibrarySearch to look for further academic sources - books and journal articles.
  • LibrarySearch is a useful starting point but it doesn’t include all of our e-resources. We recommend you also use databases to look for IR and Politics literature.
  • You can also find advice about doing research for dissertations and independent studies

Find and use module reading lists

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

  • Check the relevant Moodle course - there should be a link to the full list (often in the 'Key resources' section) or it may be arranged by weekly topic.
  • You can also access any reading list - whether you are taking the module or not - via the Library web site. Go to the Library home page and choose the Reading lists tab above the LibrarySearch box. Type in the module code or name.
  • Use the links on the right to explore International Relations and Politics reading lists

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

The section below suggests places you can search for resources beyond your reading lists.

Think about your keywords

Keywords are essential ingredients for your search that will help you find sources relevant to your topic. Look at your topic: 

  • What are the most important words? 
  • What other words can you use instead of these?
  • What do you want to find out?

The video guide and search plan on the right can help.

Use LibrarySearch to find books and articles

LibrarySearch is our main search system. You can use it to search for print and eBooks and for journal articles and more.

Beyond LibrarySearch: databases and more

Why should I use databases?

LibrarySearch is a useful starting point but it doesn’t include all of our e-resources. We recommend you also use library databases:

  • Databases may give you additional sources that aren't listed on LibrarySearch
  • Some databases are subject-specific so you can focus on the most relevant sources for your topic.

How do I use databases?

Check the section How to search databases below to find:

  • Links to recommended databases Academic Search Complete, HeinOnline, IBSS and more.
  • How to search databases effectively.

Other tools and resources

Dissertations and Independent Studies

How to search databases

Databases are specialist search engines that can help you find high quality academic sources like journal articles. In this section you'll find links to some key databases plus video guides. Further databases are listed in the Resources section above.

The guide Database search tips for International Relations & Politics (PDF) shows you how to use keywords to search databases

NB Always connect to Library databases through the Library web site. You'll be prompted to log in with your Brookes ID and then will get full access.

Which databases should I use?

Student using a laptop

Key databases for IR and Politics

Academic Search Complete

This is a good place to start. It's a large multidisciplinary database with good coverage of politics & international relations journals.

Academic Search Complete is available on a web platform called EBSCO. The Library subscribes to several key databases through this same platform that may be useful for Politics and IR research. The search screen is the same for all EBSCO databases and the video guide (above) shows you how to search them individually or in combination.

HeinOnline

HeinOnline offers full text resources on international relations and international law, including journal articles, government documents and much more.

IBSS (International Bibliography of the Social Sciences)

IBSS (International Bibliography of the Social Sciences) is a major Social Science database on the ProQuest platform.

Other useful databases for finding journal articles

JSTOR is a multidisciplinary database providing an archive of older full-text articles from a wide range of academic journals, plus a range of e-books.

Web of Science - despite its name, this is a multidisciplinary database. It's particularly useful for tracking citations when you're doing a dissertation.

Publisher collections

Note we don't subscribe to every title in these collections.

Beyond traditional databases: exploring resources from the Global South

If you are researching topics relating to the Global South, here are some suggested resources. They are all Open Access and will allow you to track down publications not covered by traditional databases.

  • African Journals Online (AJOL) 
    A multi-disciplinary collection of 583 journals, from 35 African countries, 306 of which are Open Access.

  • Policy Commons
    Database for policy-related grey literature. Organisations around the world (e.g. WHO) upload and share their policy documents.

  • Journals Online
    Project looking to promote good quality Southern research. You can search collections or find individual journals.


sun setting over ocean

Databases for other resources

News sources

  • Factiva is a global news database. 
  • Lexis+ is a law database which includes articles from UK national and regional news sources. 
    NB When you access the database, choose Content and then Newspapers.

Dictionaries and reference books

  • Oxford Reference Online - references sources on all subjects
  • OED - Online version of the Oxford English Dictionary for definitions.

TV programmes, films and images

Life and study balance

Study smarter

Here you'll find details of study skills books available from the Library, useful web resources and tools, plus other study support available at Brookes:

Skills for your assignments

Skills for independent research

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Photo by Luca Florio on Unsplash

Government publications

shelves of colourful documents

Government publications are primary sources of information for many subject areas. This guide will help you trace UK Government publications both in the Library and on the Web. You may find this A-Z glossary of key parliamentary terms helpful for understanding the role of specific kinds of publications.

Although this guide focuses primarily on UK Government publications, it also includes some guidance on tracing EU, US and international sources.

This list includes links to relevant sections of Cite Them Right Online which gives guidance on how to reference specific types of sources.