HIUS 181: In the Public Interest: U.S. Public Policy History (Fall 2010)

For direct link for this guide, go to  Instruction & Guides: http://sshl.ucsd.edu/instruction/guides/, then browse Course and Subject Guides

• Library Catalogs
• Article Databases
  
• Government Documents
  
• News Sources
• Using Electronic Resources from Off-Campus ("Remote Access")
• Other Useful Information

Library Catalogs

A NOTE ON SUBJECT HEADINGS: Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are the subject terms used to catalog books in most academic libraries.  General Subject searching on reasonable terms not in LCSH may result in low results. HINT:  try keywords searches to find a few likely books, then view long display see the "official" headings used. Use those in a General Subject search.

For example: A regular Subject search of UNITED STATES MEXICO BORDER turns up only about 20 books. If you do a keyword search on those words, and look at the full record of relevant items, you'll see the Subject term            
                                         MEXICAN-AMERICAN BORDER REGION
A Subject search using those words will bring up many hundreds of results.

ROGER: UCSD Library Catalog: listings of books, government publications, maps, audiovisuals, periodicals, etc., owned by UCSD.  No articles listed, but has links to electronic journals, or anything else online. Use  for recalling, putting holds or renewing books. If UCSD copy is unavailable, or we do not own, "Search in Circuit" will repeat your search in the combined catalogs of UCSD, SDSU, USD, CSU San Marcos and the San Diego County Public Library system: 24-48 hour delivery.

MELVYL NextGen: Combined search of all UC Libraries, books, government documents, periodicals subscriptions (but not content of periodicals), and more. "Request" button activates Interlibrary loan service; delivery from 2-3 days (Southern California campuses) to 5-7 days (Northern campuses). NOTE: MELVYL is now part of the WorldCat, a combined catalog of more than 12,000 libraries around the United States and Worldwide. The same  button   will get them for you; it just takes a little longer.

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Article Databases

NOTE: For a complete alphabetical database list, please see SSHL Databases A-Z. For article databases arranged by academic discipline, look at Find Articles by Subject.

NOTE: Some databases link directly to full text. Others don't have access to the e-journals UCSD subscribes to. When you don't see the article attached to your search results, look for the gold button, which opens a portal to find either electronic or print versions, or if we have neither, to request a free scanned article from a library that does.

CAUTION:Most licensed databases are limited to use by UCSD students and staff. To use from off campus, you need to verity your status by using the Proxy Server or VPN: see the guide to Remote Access:

GENERAL AND CROSS DISCIPLINARY

Academic Search Complete: Indexes and abstracts articles in more than 11,000 scholarly journals and general interest magazines in all fields. Most go back 30-40 years, but there are many publication back to the early 20th century.

 Reader's Guide Retrospective :  1890-1982. Online version of Reader's Guide to Periodicals, index to general-interest U.S. magazines during the 20th Century. Doesn't include popular magazines, but for popular magazines, much earlier coverage than Academic Search Complete. 

 Periodicals Index Online:  1665-1995. Index to 16 million articles from 4,700 North American and European scholarly journals in arts, humanities, social sciences; 30 percent non-English language.

Web of Knowledge: 1900-present. Major database indexes 10,000+ academic journals in the sciences, social sciences, arts & humanities, plus conference proceedings

 Alt-PressWatch:  1995-present. Full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press. 

Google Scholar: Accustomed to the easy Google search box, but flooded by too many irrelevant results? Google Scholar focuses on just the academic and scientific research literature. If you set up your "Scholar Preferences" for UC-Elinks, and set your browse for remote access, it will help you view the articles that UC has licensed for you, but regular Google users might be asked to pay for themselves.

SPECIALIZED SUBJECTS AND DISCIPLINES

 America: History and Life: 1964-present. International database for research on all periods of U.S. and Canadian history, from before European settlement through latest decade. Includes abstracts of journal articles and listings of books and dissertations. For the rest of the world, use Historical Abstracts

PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service):1972 -present. Lists print and electronic articles, books, and government publications on issues of public policy, including politics, government, economy, and law. For 1915-1976, go to the PAIS Archive.

Business Source Complete:  Dates of coverage vary, some journals back to early 20th century. Abstracts and full text in virtually all subject areas related to business. Journal and magazine articles; also books, industry reports, company profiles

EconLit: 1969-present. Abstracts journal articles, books, dissertations, and working papers in economics. New records added monthly. Produced by American Economic Association.

ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center): 1966-present. Educational Resources Information Center is a database sponsored by the U.S. Dept of Education to provide access to educational-related literature.

Education Index Retro (Wilson): 1929-1983. Education Index Retrospective indexes over 500 English-language periodicals. Covers all aspects of education

Index to Legal Periodicals (Retrospective):  1908-1981. Indexes over 750 legal periodicals published in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia,New Zealand. Also annual surveys, yearbooks, and annual reviews of work in a given field or topic