| Preliminaries |
ECONOMICS Guide to Resources for Senior Thesis
Writers (et al.) at Schaffer Library, Union College,
Schenectady, NY |
Searching for Articles in Scholarly Journals, Newspapers, etc. Journals in Schaffer Library--Electronic or Print
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Action Menu:
| Search Minerva Catalog | Place Book Orders | Search the Web |
| Search Other Libraries | Make ILL Request | Search Electronic Resources |
This Web-site is intended for use by Union College economics majors as they carry out literature searching, data gathering, and writing in connection with their senior theses. It attempts to present the most effective sources currently available at or through Schaffer Library. Hence, some are print, some are microform, some are electronic but not widely networked (e.g., on cd-rom), and others are fully networked (e.g.,via the Internet).
The "price" for such convenience is that it diverts you temporarily from using the Library's full Web-page, a rich and more permanent route to many of these same useful sites, as well as to many others usable for other subjects. ("Permanent" of course is always a relative term on the Internet.)
Therefore, in your academic life generally, please keep the Schaffer Library's Web-page in mind, using its Databases and Electronic Journals link, its Library Catalogs link, and its Information and Services link, among others.
| Note on off-campus access: Although you may use either of the above routes to access this page remotely through your telecommunications package, the privilege to access certain of the sources listed below is limited to workstations with Union College IP addresses. Therefore, a student wishing to use the links on this page from off-campus will find it necessary to apply at the Office of Computer Services for an account on the proxy server. Only with such an account can off-campus users have full access. |
Please feel free to email the author (using the link at the end) to suggest ways to improve this guide.
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Business Cycles and Depressions: an Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub., 1997
Call number: Ref HB 3711 .B936
Encyclopedia of American Economic History. New York: Scribner, 1980
Call number: Ref HC 103 .E52
Encyclopedia of Management. New York: Gale Group, 2000
Call number: Ref HD 30.15 .E49
Encyclopedia of Political Economy. London, New York: Routledge, 1999
Call number: Ref HB61 .E554 1999
Encyclopedia of the European Union. Boulder, Colorado: Lynn Rienner, 2000
Call number: Ref JN30 .E52 2000
European Union Encyclopedia and Directory. London: Europa, 1999
Call number: Ref HC 241.2 .E97
Handbook of North American Industry: NAFTA and the Economies of its Member Nations. Washington, D.C.: Bernan Press, 1999
Call number: Ref HF 1746 .H370
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2001
Call number: Ref H 41 .I58
The New Palgrave: a Dictionary of Economics. New York: Stockton Press, 1987
Call number: Ref HB 61 .N49
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law. New York: Stockton Press, 1998
Call number: Ref K487.E3 N480 1998
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance. New York: Stockton Press, 1992
Call number: Ref HG 151 .N48
World Development Indicators. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998-present
Call number: Ref HC59.15 .W656
available online at http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi/home.html
(supersedes World Development Report, earlier years in Stacks--qHC 59.7 W659)
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The microfiche collections filed as ASI, IIS, and SRI are on the main floor. Indexes to this data on microfiche are located online (along with full text of the data in some cases) on the Statistical Universe portion of Lexis-Nexis. Indexes to the ASI, etc., microfiche are also found in the Reference Collection, as follows:
- American Statistics Index (Ref Bibliog Z 7554 .U5 A46)
- Index to International Statistics (Ref Bibliog Z 7552 I53), and
- Statistical Reference Index (Ref Bibliog Z 7554 .U5 S79)
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Internet Resources: Web Sites for Economics
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Important: Most of the sources listed below are free to all users of the Internet. A few, however, represent paid subscriptions by Union College and therefore are only available from Union College networked machines, not from off-campus locations. However, students of Union College may request a proxy server account from the Office of Information Technology Services (the Computer Center). By logging into a proxy server account through an Internet service provider, one may use all of the Internet sources listed below, even if off campus. |
| A Caveat: What kinds of Web
sites are out there? Obviously there are thousands in conjunction
with this field. But how many have "authority", that is, scholarly
credentials, to be relied upon in citing (not to mention learning from)?
That is an important issue, and the student pondering it should take pains in examining Web-page producers' on-screen credentials. Where questions remain, one would do well to confer with one's thesis adviser, and/or with the reference librarians, for guidance. There are, obviously, some excellent sites to be found via a search
engine (use the previous link to learn about and reach
several good possibilities). However, one is on solider ground by tracking
down the listings in a discipline-sponsored Web directory like Resources for
Economists on the Internet or Web Ec (both of
which are cited below). |
To start:
Economic Links, a listing provided at Union's Economics Department home page, will lead you to a selection of sites with economic information, data and otherwise. In addition, through "Reference Room" (a link on the Library's home page) there is another selection of Web sites entitled Business and Economics that contains some good links to economics material on the Internet.
Or go directly to any of the following off-campus-designed sites :
The above four sites each link to international, regional trade data and related information for their respective continents.
http://netec.wustl.edu/WebEc.html
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Searching for Books in and Beyond the Library
Schaffer Library's Books:
Minerva Library Web Catalog. Click here to reach the Library's computer catalog, Web format. Searching examples are given at each "portal", e.g., author, title, subject, and keyword.| Book locations: Click on the blue hyperlinked word beneath the garnet-colored box "Where Is It?", and a map showing the book's location by floor and specific area will pop up. |
Books Beyond Schaffer Library:
World Cat - via OCLC First Search, this database is the largest, book database available, without limitation by date or language.
Global Books in Print - this database lists books books currently "in print", i.e, for sale by their publishers. In some cases, book reviews accompany the listings and may assist in evaluating titles that you are considering.
Other individual libraries' catalogs -- Follow this link (through the Schaffer Library home page) into the catalogs of some Capital District libraries as well as into those of major research universities further afield.
CaDiLaC Online--VORC (the Virtual Online Regional Catalog) -- This link leads to the new online union (i.e., merged) catalog of many of the libraries of the Capital District. Because it is "live", some listings display whether books are currently on the shelf or charged out. Periodical title holdings information is also available. Log-in as "guest".
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Searching for Articles in Scholarly Journals, Newspapers, etc.
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Please Note: The Internet-delivered sources listed below are only available from Union College networked machines, not from off-campus locations. However, students of Union College may request a proxy server account from the Information Technology Services office (the Computer Center). Only by logging into a proxy server account through an Internet service provider may one use all of the Internet sources listed below when off campus. |
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Also Important: The following databases sometimes lead to full-text articles and sometimes are designed to tell you which journals they cite are held here in Schaffer Library. Required: You are reminded that it is required to check the Minerva Catalog (for books) or the two lists of Periodicals Titles (for journals with articles you need) before ordering on Interlibrary Loan. It will save you considerable time for every reference that you find available here on the shelves or in electronic format. |
Long the most highly-regarded database of business literature, this file is accessed by clicking here and then by opening up the "Collections" icon, where ABI Inform is listed. It is part of the ProQuest Direct service, described below. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation
EBSCOhost offers a large (c.3500 titles) academic database drawing from a great number of disciplines including economics. Many listings are full-text, and there is an auxiliary file called the "Business Source", a database of business journals and newspapers. Note the option to search only in peer-reviewed journals, where scholarly research is reported. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
The scholarly research literature of economics, 1969 to date, with selected abstracts, is searchable at the above link or via OCLC FirstSearch. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
Here is found a completely full-text collection of over 20 economics journals and over 40 business journals. Coverage extends back to the earliest volume of each title and forward to approximately five years prior to the current year. Economic history theses will be considerably aided by JSTOR, and other topics--save for their most recent changes--may well be. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
Offering a mix of articles, books, chapters, and government publications, PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) can be useful for a wide array of topics involving public issues and policy. A new feature provides links to the Library's catalog to indicate books and journals in the Schaffer Library collection. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
This cross-disciplinary database offers coverage of both newspaper and popular and scholarly journal literature, for a broad range of topics including economics and business. Of primary relevance to economics thesis writers is ABI Inform (see above); however, a search of the entire file may well prove productive. Note the option to search only in peer-reviewed journals, where scholarly research is reported. Many articles are available in full-text. Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
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Working Papers in Economics
The category of publication in economics called "working papers" represents scholarship that often precedes a later appearance in the refereed journals of the field. Working papers are oft cited but harder to obtain through traditional methods. Many are on the Web in full-text and can be accessed via one or more of the following approaches:
The specific working papers of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) may also be accessed online, from the link provided--http://www.nber.org/wwp.html
Union's Economics Department maintains its own collection of working papers by Union faculty, among others, in Social Sciences Room 211. A catalog to the Union College Working Paper Series may be accessed here. Students may go to SS211 and sign the papers out--http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/ECODEPT/eco-workingpapers/workpap.html
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| Schaffer Library is fortunate enough to be a designated selective federal depository library, an asset for the study of economics and other fields. Our documents are in a variety of formats. Some are in paper and shelved in the Basement according to the Superintendent of Documents Classification system. Others are on microfiche, cd-rom, and on the Web. Following are some important finding aids: |
Congressional Documents
CIS Index (Congressional Information Service) -- In this link to a portion of Lexis-Nexis one can search online by subject the contents of Congressional hearings and access the legislative histories of bills through Congress. There is a print-format index shelved at Ref Bibliog KF 49 .C62 (current year shelved behind the Reference Desk). The hearings themselves may be found through Thomas (see below) or where not found please ask at the Reference Desk for assistance with finding them in the Library's Government Documents Collection.
Thomas - Internet access to Congressional publications from relatively recent Congresses.
Government Documents, Generally
Government Information via the WWW is a page designed by Union's own Government Documents Librarian, Professor Donna Burton, and it leads systematically down all the paths of government information on the Internet. The emphasis is at the U.S. federal level but links to state and international government information are to be found.
GPO Access: Through this link to the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C., access is provided to a great number of online government publications from all three branches--e.g., the federal budget, Congressional bills, directory, and Record, the Federal Register, the U.S. Code, laws enacted, Supreme Court decisions, the federal government's organization manual, the Economic Report of the President, and many more.
GPO/Marcive Web DOCS: Here is where to find the most comprehensive listing of U.S. government publications, with coverage since 1976. Clicking on the "Holdings" button displays when documents are held at Union and/or other neighboring depository libraries (University at Albany, New York State Library, etc.). Click above or go through the Library's Databases and Electronic Journals page, using workstations on the Library's main floor or via any campus-networked workstation.
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Journals in Schaffer Library--Electronic or Print
Full-Text Electronic Journals: Below is a selection of electronic journals in economics to which Schaffer Library subscribes. They are browsable and often searchable by clicking on their titles:
| Please note: The list below should be used just for browsing and not as a definitive finding list for any particular journal title that you are looking for. Besides these, online access to many additional journals is provided at Union through subscriptions to various "packages." So, you should always use the Library's Periodical Titles list in order to determine with certainty the presence and/or location of a journal. |
Other online full-text journals for browsing can be accessed by clicking here on Economics Journals on the Internet.
Print-format Journals:
A list
of the Library's print-format journals
supporting the field of economics can be reached with a click
here. From the titles on the list one can browse the current four issues
in the Library's 1st Floor Periodicals Reading Room or back issues in the
Basement.
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PLEASE NOTE: You are reminded that it is required to check the Minerva Catalog (for books) or the two lists of Periodicals Titles (for journals with articles you need) before ordering on Interlibrary Loan. It will save you considerable time for every reference that you find available here on the shelves or in electronic format. |
Other Libraries' Catalogs
Other individual libraries' catalogs -- Follow this link (through the Schaffer Library home page) into the catalogs of some Capital District libraries as well as into those of major research universities further afield.
CaDiLaC Online--VORC (the Virtual Online Regional Catalog) -- This link leads to the new online union (i.e., merged) catalog of many of the libraries of the Capital District. Because it is "live", some listings display whether books are currently on the shelf or charged out. Periodical title holdings information is also available. Log-in as "guest".
Economics Honors Theses--Previous Years:
Honors theses from previous academic years are held by Schaffer Library and can be found via the Minerva Catalog. Perform a title search, entering: economics dept thesis for a chronological list of those in the Library's collection. Most are on microfiche and may be consulted at the Reference Desk. Photocopying is restricted.
There are several, and your advisor will stipulate the one preferred. Examples (kept behind the Reference Desk) are
- American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual
- The Chicago Manual of Style
- Turabian's Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
- Electronic Style: a Handbook for Citing Electronic Information
- The Columbia Guide to Online Style
A good variety of full-text style guides, for both print and electronic citing, is found at Style Manuals/ Citation Guides, posted at the Library's electronic Reference Room page.
Revised January, 2001, by Professor David Gerhan, Union College Library Reference Desk, Schenectady, NY 12308, USA, telephone:518-388-6614.
