Course resource help for International Relations and Politics

Find out about:

• How to get help using the Library
• Library services for disabled people and Alternate formats

Find out about Headington Library services, study spaces and opening hours

Group, quiet and silent study spaces are available throughout each floor on levels 2-4.

If you look at the map of Headington library, you'll see we use traffic light colours to indicate whether a space is for group work, quiet work or silent work. The map also shows where you can find computers and printers.

Going to university is a huge step but there is lots of support available. Check the section Life and study balance for details of support services and useful resources for self-care.

Google slides from the most recent Library training sessions:

• Introduction to using Library resources for IR and Politics:
  POLI4003 Critical Skills: Using the Library to find IR and Politics resources
• Introduction to referencing:
  POLI4003 Critical Skills: Referencing IR and Politics sources
• Preparing for your dissertation:
  POLI5008 Researching Politics and International Relations 2: Methods: Literature Searching for your dissertation 

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. 
• Usually have a specific focus. They may report an in-depth research project or a case study.
• Scholarly journal articles have to be doing something new (covering a gap in the literature), but also built on existing research. They often include a literature review

Peer-reviewed articles have been checked by other experts in the field. This is an important form of quality control for published research:

• Explainer: what is peer review?
• What is peer review? The role anonymous experts play in scrutinizing research before it gets published

To find academic journal articles we recommend you use:

• LibrarySearch
• Databases

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.

Install the free LibKey Nomad browser extension to make sure you can access any articles provided by Brookes, wherever you are on the Web.

Use BrowZine to browse our electronic journals online & set up alerts for favourite titles. You can use it within your browser or download the free app.

Find out more about both of these resources from our Journals page

Below are some options that may be useful if you're a distance learning student. Do contact the Library via email (library@brookes.ac.uk) 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 check the Library's Go further, get more page for other options. 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. 

• Google Scholar is a freely available search engine that focuses on scholarly sources. Check our guide Searching Scholar to find out how to ensure it recognises resources you can access for free via Oxford Brookes.
• Google isn't recommended for finding academic sources but may be useful for other searches, for example looking for an organisation's web site.
• Get more from Google - tips on using Google and Google Scholar more effectively.
• Install the free LibKey Nomad browser extension to make sure you can access any articles provided by Brookes, wherever you are on the Web.

Assessing the quality of web sources

Remember that you need high quality reliable sources for your university work. Take a look at our guide to Evaluating Web sources for tips (Word & PDF versions available).

Useful websites

• The online publication The Conversation contains articles written by academics for a general audience on topics currently in the news and contains links to freely available resources, including statistics. This can be a good starting point for getting ideas on how to approach a research topic.

• Selection of useful websites for IR and Politics

Referencing webpages

Check Cite Them Right Online for guidance on how to reference web pages and how to reference publications of international organisations in the Harvard style used at Oxford Brookes.

Check the Study Smarter section to find online resources and recommended books on study skills topics, including:

• Managing yourself and your time
• Reading, lectures and note taking
• Writing essays, reports and other assignments
• Group work and presentations
• Preparing for exams
• Skills for dissertations and independent research

Check this guide Using images in your assignments (Google slides) which covers:

• Understanding copyright
• Finding free to use images
• Crediting and referencing images

Collections of images

For high quality photographs & other images, try these digital image databases mentioned in the guide above:

• Bridgeman Education
• JSTOR image search (incorporating ARTstor) - provides high-quality images from around the world, including artworks, maps, photographs, and more.

Collections of high quality, free to use photos and images - all mentioned in the guide above:

• Unsplash
• Pexels
• Pixabay

Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is an online archive of films, TV and radio programmes. You can create your own clips from programmes and include them in presentations. Learn more from the BoB Video Tutorials

Your module reading list is just a starting point. It's likely that lots of other potentially useful books, ebooks and journal articles exist. You can use the items on your reading list as a bridge to further resources:

1. Does the same author's name recur on the reading list? This may suggest that they are an expert on this topic. If so, try searching for their name on LibrarySearch and see what else they have published.
2. If you find a useful book on your reading list, see what books are on the same shelf. Books on similar topics are shelved together in the library.
3. If you find an interesting journal article on your reading list, there may be other useful articles in the same journal. Click on 'view online' to get to that article, then look for either a search box or a list of issues that you can browse through.
4. If you read something useful, have a look at the sources in their bibliography or reference list. Have they read anything there that looks useful or relevant? If so, put the title (not the whole reference) into LibrarySearch and see if you can find it.

Use LibrarySearch to look for books and e-books 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 and/or e-books.

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

Finding print books in the Library

• Every book in Headington Library has a call number. This is the code written on the label on the side of the book. Books are arranged in numerical order, using these numbers. 
• When you look up a print book on LibrarySearch, look for the call number. For example this book: Understanding international relations has the call number 327 BRO.
• Look at the signs on the wall in between the stairs and the lift on Level 1 to see which range of call numbers is on each level. You will find a detailed map on each level, and you can also download a library map 
• The main section for print books in International Relations and Politics is on Level 2 in Zone D of the Headington Library. The guide Finding books and eBooks for International Relations and Politics (PDF & Word) highlights key areas of the library for these subjects. 

Borrowing, returning and placing holds

If the book is on loan to another user, you can put a hold on it. If it's on the shelves, it's quicker for you to go and get it yourself. Find out more about borrowing and returning books and placing a hold from:

• How to...Borrow and return items
• Library essentials quick guides

Finding and using e-books

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 and will allow different options for reading and downloading. Find out more about accessing and downloading library ebooks from our eBooks page. In order to download many of our eBooks, 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.

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.

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.

LibrarySearch is a useful starting point but it doesn’t include all of our e-resources. We recommend you also use library databases to look for IR and Politics literature:

• Databases can give you additional sources that aren't listed on LibrarySearch
• They systematically cover key journals in different subject fields, so are important when you're reviewing the literature.
• Many databases focus on journal articles. but we also have databases containing newspaper articles, TV programmes, images and other resources.

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?

For help with choosing keywords:

• The video guide on the right can help.
• Create your own search plan - save a copy of this Google doc and add your own notes.
• The guide Database search tips for International Relations & Politics (PDF) shows you how to use keywords to search databases

Always check the assignment brief to see whether any use of AI is permitted. If you have used AI, you must acknowledge it.

Key pages for Brookes guidance:

• *New* AI Guidance at Oxford Brookes from IT Services
• Check the CAD guidance on Artifical Intelligence for:
  • A list of Brookes-approved tools e.g. Microsoft Co-pilot (could be useful for suggestions of keywords for searching)
  • CAUTION checklist for you to assess your use of AI
• Make sure you understand the Academic conduct procedure: Misuse of AI 
• All students must take the Use of Artificial Intelligence Moodle course.

The Library page How to… Use AI tools for research has details of suggested tools that you can use to expand your literature search, including Keenious and Research Rabbit.

These AI tools work differently to Gen AI tools. They’re specialised tools built on collections of academic work, however you should still verify what you find by checking other sources.

Keenious is an AI tool which can help you expand your literature search. Use your Google account to access.  You can type/paste text in the box or upload a file - something you’ve written or an article you’ve found. Keenious will then suggest:

• Ways to help you explore the article in more depth
• Other articles to read, based on that text (related research)

NB Keenious only retains uploaded documents for 24 hours.

Research Rabbit is designed to help you find “more articles like this”. When you build up a collection of papers, it will generate a visual map which also highlights other papers you might have missed. You need to create an account.
You can:

• Search by keyword
• Search for a specific paper
• Upload a document to find related papers

Take care when using chat tools like ChatGPT and Gemini in an academic context. They are often not appropriate for literature searching:

• If you ask them for information they will generate text, but without searching the literature.
• They cannot perform comprehensive searches of the journal literature as library databases do.
• AI tools often do not reveal how they search or what sources they use.
• They are prone to “hallucinations” - they often invent plausible references which do not exist.
• Be wary of summaries generated by chat tools - they may miss or misrepresent key arguments and will often reflect bias.

Be sceptical. Check carefully and verify with multiple sources.

What AI *can* be used for: 

• Making connections between research papers - see the page How to… Use AI tools for research
• Suggesting keywords. 
• Explaining concepts. 
• Helping organise notes.

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

Undergraduate

• Past undergraduate 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. 
• 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.

Postgraduate

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

PhD/MPhil thesis

• 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 want to search beyond Brookes, check the Library's Theses page.