Northwest Missouri State University B.D. Owens Library

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[ Countries and Cultures Research Guide ]

This guide is for students researching countries and cultures for various classes in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Quick Start
(Quick overview of countries) 		Keywords For Searching
(Brainstorm keywords to search with)
Search for Books
(Search for books in Missouri and beyond)
 Search for Articles
(Locate journal & magazine articles)
WWW Resources
(Web sites and Internet search strategies) 		Request Books and Articles
(Get materials Owens doesn't have )		 Citing Sources
(Citation examples)		 Ask a Librarian
(Ask a librarian for research assistance.)
Foreign Relations and Trade Information
Locate foreign trade data and reports, as well as United States foreign policy information from a wide range of respected sources.

United Nations Cartographic Center
The Country Profile Maps section on this site is a great resource for overview maps.

View a video to see how to copy the maps to a PowerPoint presentation.

Human Rights
"The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress. The reports cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Click the appropriate year, then region, then country to access a specific report. 		International Business Etiquette
Tips for finding information on international aspects of business etiquette and business travel.
 
 
Quick Start

The CIA World Factbook
The CIA World Factbook includes brief statistical data about the geography, people, economy, government, communication, defense and transportation of each country.

CountryWatch.com
CountryWatch is a world leader in providing country specific geopolitical intelligence on each of the 192 countries of the world.

Country Studies at the Library of Congress
This site contains studies of over 101 countries by the federal government. Click on the name of the country to go to that country's study. To determine the copyright date of the study, click on the country's name. Also, each individual study has a search option.

Credo Reference
Credo Reference is comprised of a variety of reference works focusing on world history and culture. Works like Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures and Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary provide a wealth of information about many aspects of world culture.

Daily Life Through History (Premium)
DLtH Premium offers a fantastic array of information on people and places - past and present via: Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life, Daily Life through History series, Cultures and Customs series, Histories of Modern Nations series.

Earth Calendar
The Earth Calendar is a daybook of holidays and celebrations around the world. Search by date, country, religion, lunar phase, or holiday name.

Library of Congress Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources
This site links to multimedia resources, exhibitions, databases, and other materials on nations, regions, and world cultures. Some of the featured resources are:

1) Portals to the World
This portal links to selective resources with authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. They are arranged by country or area.

2) Research Guides and Databases
This access point links to Country Studies and the Handbook of Latin American Studies as well as "foreign law materials, specialized catalogs, digitized books and journals".

Culture and Customs Series
(Titles in this series are shelved at various call numbers. Be sure to check the library catalog to determine where the title on the country you need is located. A link to a title search in the catalog is included in the series title above.)
Use these volumes to learn about "the land, peoples, and brief historical overview; religion and world view; literature and media; art and architecture/housing; cuisine and traditional dress; gender, marriage, and family; social customs and lifestyles; and music and dance" of various nations. These books can be located in the Owens Library and MOBIUS catalogs by using a title search and entering culture and customs of followed by a country name. An example of a search is - culture and customs of nigeria You can also access this series online through the Daily Life through History database.


 
Books in Academic Libraries: online catalogs
Library Catalog
Search for (primarily) books located in Owens Library, a "cluster" of 4 academic libraries (Towers) in our region, or the combined holdings of over 50 Missouri academic libraries (MOBIUS).

Countries and Cultures: Selected Sources
These are books in the Owens Library collection covering various aspects of countries and cultures of the world recommended by librarians.

WorldCat
Search for books in libraries outside of Missouri and order them through Interlibrary Loan.
 
Country and Cultures Research Guides and WWW Resources
Visual Arts Research Guide
Biographical Research Guide
International Business Research Guide
Historical Research Guide
Drama & Theatre Research Guide
History of Dance Research Guide
Literature Research Guide
Multiculturalism in Education WWW Resources
Music Research Guide
Use Sources for Locating WWW Resources to locate reviewed Web sites or search appropriate subject directories.
Use the Search the Internet page to learn how to enter focused, efficient searches in search engines recommended by Owens Library information professionals.
Evaluate country and cultures Web sites found with search engines using the criteria suggested on the Evaluating WebSites: PART of the Research Process.
Foreign Relations and Trade Information

Background Notes
Use the the links at this site to read facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.

Business Source Premier
Click Advanced Search
In the first Find: box, type foreign relations
After word in, click the drop down arrow and click SU Subject Terms
In the second Find: box, type your country name
After word in, click the drop down arrow and click SU Subject Terms
Click the Search button to retrieve articles and reports

InfoTrac OneFile
Click Advanced Search
In the first drop down box, click Subject(su)
In the search box, type foreign policy
In the second drop down box, click Subject(su)
In the search box, type your country name
Click the Search button to retrieve articles and reports

Stat-USA  Off-Campus Authentication
This US Commerce Department site provides a wide range of current trade and social information most countries. In particular, the Country Commercial Guides and Country Background Notes located in the GLOBUS & NTDB section of the site are very useful for providing a current economic snapshots of countries.

United States Mission to the United Nations
Use the Search and and the Site Index links on this page to find foreign policy information about a country from the United States' point of view.

US Department of State
Use this site to search for a wide variety of reports and documents that provide information about foreign policy and international relations. Click in the search box in the upper right corner of the screen and search for the name of your country and "foreign policy"

US International Trade Statistics
This web resource provide statistical information describing imports and exports by category and country.
International Business Etiquette and Business Travel

Library Catalog Searches
Try these searches to locate books and eBooks
green diamond s:business etiquette and (world or international or cultur* or intercultur* or "cross cultur*")
green diamond Passport to the world.
green diamond Global business series.
green diamond Doing Business in
green diamond Enter s:guidebooks and your country name or region name
guidebook screen

Business Source Premier
Click Advanced Search
In the first Find: box, type business etiquette
In the Select a Field box, click the drop down arrow and highlight SU Subject Terms
In the second Find: box, type your country name
In the Select a Field box, click the drop down arrow and highligt GE Geographic Terms
Click the Search button to retrieve articles and reports
green diamond You could try intercultural communication, cross-cultural differences, or cross-cultural orientation in place of business etiquette
green diamond You could also try a more specific term such as DINNERS & dining, Gift giving, or negotiation
bsp search

InfoTrac OneFile
Click Advanced Search
In the first drop down box, highlight Subject(su)
In the search box, type business etiquette
In the second drop down box, click Place Name(gO)
In the search box, type your country name
Click the Search button to retrieve articles and reports
green diamond You could try intercultural communication, cross-cultural training, or international communication in place of business etiquette
green diamond You could also try a more specific term such as Table Etiquette
onefile search

Daily Life Through History (Premium)

dlth search

Return to Course/Subject Resources

Revised (August 29, 2008)
Created (February 2003)
Current Author: Frank Baudino
Links Verified (September 2006)