Public Policy - BA Thesis Research

BA Thesis Research in Public Policy

Books - Articles from Academic Journals - Newspaper Articles - Dissertations
RefWorks and Citation/Style Manuals - Getting Help

Getting Started

The BA Paper - A Library Guide for Students

Books

Help Guide

How do I find books?

Finding Books at Other Libraries

All Libraries: WorldCat

Other Libraries: Center for Research Libraries, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago Public Library, Newberry Library

Articles from Academic Journals

Help Guide

How do I find articles?

Effective Search Techniques
Includes information on limits and boolean searching

Locating Databases

Database Starting Points: A list of the top database for each field.

Research Guides by Subject: The subject guides provide a comprehensive listing of all of the databases for a particular field. Please note that there isn't a subject guide for all fields.

Database Finder: The Database Finder on the Library's web site is a good way to locate a resource if you know the title. It also provides a subject search option, which will retrieve databases catagorized by subject. However, the lists of databases for each subject area may be very lengthy (especially for many of the social sciences) and do not provide as detailed descriptions as the Research Guides. There is an Advanced Search tab which allows you to search for database by type. This can be very helpful for locating statistical databases or reference databases.

Newspaper Articles

Accessible via the Database Finder on the Library's web site.

Databases Which Contain National and International Papers in Full-Text

Lexis-Nexis
Includes national and regional/local papers. Does not include all publications, however (for example, the Chicago Tribune). Go to Advanced Search for to select international or regions to search.

Factiva
Very comprehensive coverage of US and international newspapers (including papers in a variety of languages). However, the database can be tricky to use. Go to "Region" to select the area you would like the newspapers to be from. Make sure to highlight the country or region to search.

ProQuest Newsstand
Another good source for US newspapers in full-text.

Other Newspaper Databases

Chicago Tribune

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Washington Post

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Wall Street Journal

Dissertations

Help Guide

How do I find dissertations?

Databases

ProQuest Dissertations
Dissertations from 1997- are available online in full-text. Older issues can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or purchased.

RefWorks and Citation/Style Manuals

RefWorks
Use RefWorks to organize, collect, and share research.

• Using RefWorks With the Library Catalog: By Direct Export or Import Filter
• Using RefWorks With Library Databases: Step by Step Instructions
• RefWorks Quick Start Guide: A step-by-step tutorial for using RefWorks
• Using RefWorks and Write-N-Cite from Off-Campus: Important if you are using RefWorks from Off-Campus
• and RefWorks: Linking to Full-Text from Your RefWorks records.
• Editing Output Styles : Editing a style for annotated bibliographies, footnotes, or other custom styles.
• RefWorks Workshops: Register for a RefWorks class.

Citing Right
A guide to citation manuals and academic honesty.

Getting Help

Rebecca Starkey
Reference Librarian, Reference and Business Information Center
rstarkey@uchicago.edu
773-702-4484

Ask a Librarian

Bibliographers/Subject Specialists