Politics of the European Union

Professor: Laura Henry
Librarian: Ginny Hopcroft
Spring 2005
 Web Sites
Journals
Indexes and Databases
Reference Books
Library Catalog
Research Strategy
Go to Library Gateway

This guide provides a collection of information sources, useful for research in this class. If you have questions about any aspect of your research, please consult the librarians at the reference desk or Ginny Hopcroft at ghopcrof@bowdoin.edu or x3298.

Web Sites

EUROPARL: European Parliament
http://www.europarl.eu.int/home/default_en.htm

Institutions of the European Union
http://europa.eu.int/institutions/inst-en.htm

Europa: the European Union Online
http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm

European Union Internet Resources
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/GSSI/eu.html/a>

European Treaties
http://europa.eu.int/abc/treaties en.htm

European Union Materials in the Garbrecht Law Library (at USM in Portland)
European Union Materials on the Internet
http://mainelaw.maine.edu/library/foreign.htm

Journals

Common Market Law Review
The Economist
The European (newspaper)
The Financial Times (newspaper)
Journal of European Public Policy
(published by the university of Strathclyde, Scotland)
Bowdoin Library began receiving only with Vol 2, 1995 to the present, so if you find articles through an abstract or other sources that appeared in this journal before volume 2, 1995, you'll have to order them through interlibrary loan.
International and Comparative Law Quarterly
Revue D'integration Europeene/Journal of European Integration
(Under "R" in periodicals; published by the Canadian Council for European Affairs)
West European Politics
Articles on domestic politics and the politics of the European Union.
World Politics Online


Indexes and Databases

To determine whether Bowdoin owns or has online access to specific journals, please check the "Find Journals" section of the library gateway.

Academic Search Premier
Library Gateway

Academic Search Premier indexes over 1800 English language periodicals in the social sciences, humanities, and science, as well as general interest magazines and several important American newspapers. Date coverage varies between periodicals some as far back as 1980; about 60% of the articles are in full text.

LexisNexis Academic
Library Gateway

LexisNexis Academic is a full text database of news and legal information. Under the "World News" section, you can search for news originating in any part of the world. "General News" has news of the world in major English newspapers and journals. The "Legal Research" section has EU legislation and treaties unnder European Union Law (Celex). Duration of coverage varies between publications within the database; some go back as far as 1980.

CIAO
Library Gateway

CIAO is a full text database of working papers, conference proceedings, policy briefs and some articles for the study of international relations, published from 1991 forward, and produced collaboratively by the Columbia University Libraries and Columbia University Press. Of particular interest for this class are the fulltext working papers from the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels.

World News Connection
Library Gateway 1996-present
Foreign Broadcast Information Service Reports (FBIS) Index
Reference CD-ROM 1978-1996

This CD-ROM is an index to the Library's microfiche collection of these reports. The FBIS reports are daily compilations of broadcasts, speeches and newspaper articles from around the world, selected and translated by the CIA. The FBIS series is continued in online full text format by World News Connection.

Government Documents Monthly Catalog
Library Gateway 1976-present
Government Index 1890-1976

Bowdoin's collection of U.S. government documents is not yet fully cataloged, so this online index is used to locate government publications. Produced by the Government Printing Office, the Monthly Catalog indexes government documents back to 1976. For earlier indexing, please consult the print version of the Monthly Catalog, beginning in 1892, and located in the Government Documents Collection.
When you locate a relevant document in this index, please make note of the "Sudocs" number in order to locate the document in Bowdoin's collection.


Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS)
Library Gateway 1972-present
Main Periodical Index 1915-1985

PAIS indexes "publications on all subjects that bear on contemporary public issues and the making and evaluation of public policy, irrespective of source or traditional disciplinary boundaries." Sources may be periodical articles, books, government documents or the reports of public and private organizations in the U.S. and internationally. Electronic coverage begins with 1972 and continues to the present. The print version covers 1915 to 1985.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Library Gateway 1975-present

This service indexes scholarly journals of both domestic and international political science. It is comprised of the merged backfiles of Political Science Abstracts and ABC Pol Sci with continuing new material. Publication coverage goes back to 1975. Selected scholarly web sites are among the retrieved sources.


Reference Books

The following reference books are useful for checking facts and statistics, gaining an overview of recent politics in a given country, and locating bibliography.

World Factbook (CIA)
Govt Ref PrEx 3.15:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Dictionary of Twentieth Century European Politics
Main Ref JA61 .S53 1993

Annuaire européen. European yearbook
Main Libr JN3 .A5

OECD Economic Surveys
Main Libr Classification varies by country; search by keyword using OECD and country name

Western Europe 2000 (Europa Publication)
Main Ref HC240 .A1 W47


The Library Catalog

The online library catalog is the primary source for accessing the collections of all the Bowdoin College Libraries. It contains electronic bibliographic records for publications in all formats. For both government documents and special collections, specialized indexes may need to be consulted since the records for those collections are only partially entered into the library catalog.

Most research begins with a subject search. The best search results are obtained by using the standardized subject headings found in the Library of Congress Subject Headings volumes. "Word" (keyword) searches different parts of the electronic bibliographic record and can often locate additional information.

Examples of useful subject headings for this class:

  • European Union
  • International Economic Integration
  • European Communities
  • European Union
  • Countries-Economic Policy


Research Strategy

Consult the Library Research Strategy for a helpful summary/refresher of the research process. Additional tips for research in political science:

1. Use both subject and keyword searching in any electronic database or index, including the library catalog.

2. When you find a relevant record for a book or article, always check the descriptors or subject headings for additional search terms.

3. Check bibliographies and footnotes of books and articles for additional relevant information.

4. For information on primary sources, please read the CBB Guide to Primary and Secondary Sources.

5. Evaluate websites carefully for accuracy, timeliness and authority.

6. Begin research EARLY.