Office Location: 117A Hesburgh Library | KKIC 318 Hesburgh Center
Contact Info:
574-631-6656 | 574-631-8534
About this Guide
Library resources for the study of the effects of war and violent conflict on children, youth and adolescents.
Facts
Reference tools provide background information, the who, what, where and when -- and a bit of the how and why -- for any topic. They include subject and biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias, almanacs, chronologies, directories and atlases. Many, especially dictionaries and encyclopedias, are now available online. Many others, especially historical atlases and chronologies are still only available in print.
Wikipedia can be a great quick help in identifying the "who, what, when and where" of any given issue -- subject to later verification. Librarians use it all the time. However, it can be very suspect when it comes to "how and why" questions especially those involving conflict situations. Use it but use it with caution!
PRINT
Selected examples of print reference sources. All titles are located in the General Reference Collection (1st floor, Hesburgh Library).
Religion and violence: an encyclopedia of faith and conflict. BL 65 .V55 R45555 2011
Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict. HM 291 .E625 2008
Handbook of peace and conflict studies. JZ 5538 .H36 2007
Encyclopaedia of war, peace and global security. JZ 5588 .E53 2005
Provides full text for books in the public domain (out of copyright)
Provides links to sources for books still in copyright
While WorldCat and Google Books show promise of becoming truly world wide catalogs of books, they have not yet reached that goal. To expand your retrieval try using major library catalogs in appropriate countries. While, there is no universal listing, these two websites are excellent.
Most people are familiar with keyword searching (think Google). However, most library catalogs and commercial, subscription databases also provide a subject headings search option. This approach can be extremely helpful in many cases. Give it a try.
While the following search functions are almost universally available, their specific form will vary from database to database. The examples listed here are the most common forms. If one or more do not work in a given database, look for a Help, Information, Tips, etc. tab or label somewhere on the home page. There are often found in the upper left or right of the screen and sometimes indicated by a ? or I symbol.
* -- asterisk -- truncation
( ) -- parentheses -- nesting or grouping of similar terms
" " -- quotation marks -- phrases
and, or, not -- logical or boolean operators
(Note: Google requires "OR" to be capitalized.)
In addition to phrase searching with quotation marks, many database offer proximity searching and other special features. This allows you to specify number of words that may appear between two search terms and their order. This feature can be especially helpful if you are searching in the full text of articles. For instance EBSCO databases use the following proximity operators.
n# -- where # = the number of words between 2 terms in any order.
w# -- where # = the number of words between 2 terms in the order typed.
Databases
Single Subject Databases
The most frequently relevant database for locating journal articles in Peace Studies is, not surprisingly, Peace Research Abstracts (PRA). Given that Peace Studies is a multi- or inter- or trans-disciplinary discipline, you will also want to use other single subject databases most relevant to your particular topic. Selected relevant subject databases for Peace Studies at Notre Dame are listed below. Additional databases are available on each discipline's "Subject Page" and through the Libraries's home page by searching under the "Databases" tab.
Multi-Subject Databases
Again, since Peace Studies involves so many discrete academic discipliens, multi-subject databases will of signigicant help. They cover fewer sources in any specific subject than single subject databases do. However, since they cross disciplinary boundaries and cover many or all subjects, they will often turn up otherwise hard to locate materials.
BEST BETS
Peace Research Abstracts Journal (EBSCO) --- the only database devoted to peace and conflict studies --- includes most disciplines --- addresses interpersonal and inter-/intra- group and national conflict
International Relations and Security Networdk (ISN) --- working paper, policy briefs, documents, etc. --- similar to CIAO --- produced by the Center for Security Studies and Conflict Research, Zurich, Switzerland
Web of Science --- can be limited to "Social Sciences" and/or "Arts and Humanities" sections --- features citation tracking, i.e. one can track who cited whom --- strictly scholarly analysis
Google Scholar --- look for "FindText" links for items available in a database available at Notre Dame --- is an "academic" subset of the larger "Google world"
NGO Research Guide (Duke University Libraries) --- provides links to NGO websites.
"Googling" --- "Google" the name of the NGO or IGO to locate its website.
UNITED STATES
For information from and about the U.S. government, consult the Political Science subject page; --- select the "Reference" tab; and --- scroll down to "Government."
CURRENT V. OLDER NEWS ACCOUNTS ("older" = over a week old)
It is relatively easy to obtain current new accounts using the Web. You can either go to a favorite news source directly (for instance by "Googling" the name of the source) or use a service such as Google News. Getting "older" accounts (just about anything over a week or so old) often involves paying a fee. The databases listed below contain archived news accounts and any assocaited subscription fees have already been paid.
Alterately "Googling" the official or common name of the country and a topic or agency name and limiting your search to the .gov domain and the country code using the "Advanced Search" option should usually provide a link to official publications.
In addition to governemnt documents increasingly being made available on the Web, Notre Dame has several online and print collections of documents that may be found by searching Catalog Plus or Catalog Classic (ND Catalog) or by using the Databases tab on the Libraries homepage.
Another means of accessing IGO publications is to "Google" their name (i.e., search for the name of the group enclosed in parentheses, e.g., "european union" and then use the navigation or search system of their web site. Reports and analysis from IGOs are often available free of charge from their websites.
NGOs
An excellent guide to locating NGOs and their documents can be found at:
Another means of accessing NGO publications is to "Google" their name (i.e., search for the name of the group enclosed in parentheses, e.g., "human rights watch" or "amnesty international") and then use the navigation or search system of their web site. Reports and analysis from NGOs are often available free of charge from their websites since part of their mission is often to disseminate vital information to the general public. In many cases we have older publications in paper or microfilm.
This page offers links to guides for the most frequently used citation systems. These citation systems are available in RefWorks for the automatic creation of bibliographies. However, it's always essential to check automated output. So, even if you use RefWorks, reference to citation guides is always necessary.
FindText
FindText is behind the scenes software that links most of our databases to each other. A simple click on a FindText image, , initiates a search of all of our FindText enabled databases and our catalog to determine if we have a full text copy of the item that you've selected, first online and, if it's not available online, in print or microfrom in our collections. If no copy is found locally, a link to our Interlibrary Loan service appears.
To take advantafe of this feature, do not enable the "full text" only option available in many databases.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that provides books, mivrofilms, videos and copies of articles that we either don't on or that are missing from our collections. Notre Dame has most of the core peace studies materials. However, it cannot possibly buy every study of every real or potential conflict. Therefore, it is quite likely that you may need to use ILL.
Photocopies often arrive as pdfs in 24 to 72 hours.
Books usually take a week to 10 days since a physical copy must be shipped.
There is no cost to you for the service.
The ILL forms are available through links and on the ILL page.
If you should have questions about an ILL request, the ILL office is located on the first floor behind the Reference Desk along the north wall of the Hesburgh Library.
ILL may be contacted M-F from 9 to 5 at Library.ill.1@nd.edu or: (574) 631-6260.
, initiates a search of all of our FindText enabled databases and our catalog to determine if we have a full text copy of the item that you've selected, first online and, if it's not available online, in print or microfrom in our collections. If no copy is found locally, a link to our Interlibrary Loan service appears.
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