Welcome to History 2240 Latin America INMP Class Page
This research guide contains sources and tips on conducting research for your INMP project and negotiations.
You'll find resources containing background information and current information on Guatemala (and the broader Central American regions) as well as the other countries that will be represented at the INMP negotiations.
Below is a chart indicating the issues and the recommended types of sources
The Issues:
- Refugee Human Rights
- Women and children (girls) access to education
- Climate Change (Paris Global Climate Change Agreement) – impact health, employment, industry
Perspectives from which to analyze the issues and suggested types of sources:
Note that these are suggestions - don't confine yourself to any single or type of resource.
Issues | The issues (General overview) | History of issue as related to Guatemala | Current status of issue in Guatemala | Viewpoint of other nations |
Sources | Encyclopedias, Books | Encyclopedias, Books, Journals and Magazines, Newspapers, Websites | Encyclopedias, Books, Journals and Magazines, Newspapers, Websites | Encyclopedias, Books, Journals and Magazines, Newspapers, Websites |
The other INMP countries and NGO
- Haiti
- Mexico
- United States
- Iran
- India
- Germany
- Oxfam
Finding Books
Use the COD Library's book catalog to find books & videos. You'll need a current library card to check out books.
Search terms - finding the right ones.
If one search term doesn't work, don't give up, try another!
For example, In addition to searching for books on Climate Change, try Global Warming, or Greenhouse Gasses.
Searching for information on the country and issue
Try using the country name, followed by the issue.
Use Keyword search where possible.
Guatemala AND History
Guatemala AND Refugee
Guatemala AND Refugee AND "Human Rights"
Haiti AND Education
Haiti AND Education AND Women
Haiti AND Education AND Children
If COD Library doesn't have a book on your topic, try I-Share
I-Share
I-Share allows COD students to borrow books from over 80 Illinois academic libraries. You must have a current COD library card, and create an account to request books from an I-Share library.
E-book Collections
Most books in these collections can also be located and accessed by searching in the Library's book catalog.
- ebrary
Collection contains many History-related books. Many e-books can be viewed from your computer or downloaded to your e-book reader. You need to create an account to download e-books to your device.
- EBSCO e-book collection
- Humanities (ACLS) E-book Collection
Collection includes some books on History. NOTE: Books can be viewed by single page on a computer, or, can be downloaded to an e-book reader. You'll be prompted to create an EBSCO account. The loan period for e-books is four hours. Books can be renewed after the initial loan period expires.
This resource includes over 1500 full-text, cross-searchable books in the humanities selected by scholars for their continuing importance for research and teaching. Pages from this collection can be printed and emailed.
Reference Works
Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are useful for learning about background information on a topic in History.
Please note that print reference books may be used while in the library only. Online reference books may be accessed from any on or off-campus computer. You'll need a library card to access online books and articles from off-campus.
Click on the links below to access the online book/website or record/description of the print book.
Encyclopedias
General Encyclopedia
Consider using these online encyclopedias as a first stop in getting background information on the countries and topics.
- Credo Reference
- Contains over 800 subject specific encyclopedias on a wide range of topics. When you do a search in Credo, it searches across all titles. You can limit search results by topic, but try and do a general search first as the most appropriate resources usually come display first.
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- World famous for it's extensive content on just about every topic under the sun.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)
- Similar to Credo, this database has over 100 encyclopedias on a wide range of topics.
Subject Specific Encyclopedias
- The human rights encyclopedia JC571 .L523 2001
- An encyclopedia of human rights in the United States KF4747.5 .C37 2011
- The practical guide to humanitarian law KZ6471 .B6813 2014
- Encyclopedia of diasporas : immigrant and refugee cultures around the world DS134 .E63 2004
Refugee Human Rights
Women and children (girls) access to education
- Routledge international encyclopedia of women : global women’s issues and knowledge HQ1115 .R69 2000
Climate Change (Paris Global Climate Change Agreement) – impact on health, employment, industry
- The atlas of climate change : mapping the world’s greatest challenge. QC981.8.C5 D69 2006
- Encyclopedia of global warming QC981.8.G56 E46 2010
Databases
The Library subscribes to many databases that provide access to thousands of popular and credible, scholarly journals. Many databases provide access to full-text articles, while some provide information about the article only (citation). Request (for free!) through Interlibrary Loan copies of articles to which the Library doesn't have full-text access.
Databases are organized collections of information that you can search on a variety of fields, like title and author's name. iTunes is a database and so is Amazon. Even your contacts list in your phone is a type of mini database. The Library has databases of articles from newspapers, magazines and journals. We also have databases of streaming videos, music and e-books. The difference between our databases and iTunes or Amazon is that our stuff is free for you to use. You can browse the library's databases here: http://www.cod.edu/library/resources/subjectdb/
Databases - Best Bets
- Academic Search Complete
- Academic OneFile
- History Study Center
Primary and secondary history collections providing access to rare British, American and world history sources, full text articles and reference materials. Includes multimedia sources. - Informe!
Created exclusively for Spanish-speaking users, this full-text electronic reference tool is the first system to provide indexing, images and full text of popular Hispanic magazines -- not just translations. Also included is a thesaurus and interface that are uniquely designed for Spanish-speaking users. - JSTOR
- Project MUSE
Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.
Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.
Excellent source for credible scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. Articles in database were published between the early 1700s and between 1-5 years ago.
Project MUSE offers full-text current and archival articles from 500+ scholarly journals from major university presses covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more. Updated continually.
Encyclopedias
General Encyclopedia
Consider using these online encyclopedias as a first stop in getting background information on the countries and topics.
- Credo Reference
- Contains over 800 subject specific encyclopedias on a wide range of topics. When you do a search in Credo, it searches across all titles. You can limit search results by topic, but try and do a general search first as the most appropriate resources usually come display first.
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- World famous for it's extensive content on just about every topic under the sun.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)
- Similar to Credo, this database has over 100 encyclopedias on a wide range of topics.
Newspapers - Best Bets
Digital image of every issue of the Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), cover-to-cover
Digital image of every issue of the New York Times from 1851-2009, cover-to-cover.
Provides selected full text for 23 national (U.S.) and international newspapers, including USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, The Times (London), The Toronto Star, etc. The database also contains selected full text from nearly 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers, including The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit Free Press, The Miami Herald, The New York Daily News, The San Jose Mercury News, etc. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are provided from CBS News, FOX News, NPR, etc.
Indexing and full-text articles from the world's leading financial newspaper from 1984-present.
The full text of the Washington Post 1998-Present.
Websites
Who can publish on the Internet? Anyone.
You may find a website by doing a web search or through a recommendation of another student. Before you use a website for your assignment, you should evaluate the webpage for credibility, reliability, authority and purpose. Check out the CRAP Test for more information on evaluating websites.
ICONS Research Library
The ICONS Research Library is designed to help students prepare for their participation in the ICONS' internationally-focused simulations. In particular, these resources are intended to increase participants' familiarity with their assigned countries or roles, as well as the issues over which they will be negotiating. Students conducting research on a particular country or international issue for other assignments may also find these resources helpful.
Refugee Human Rights
- Amnesty International Report 2014/15: The State of the World's Human Rights
- UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency
Find information about refugees by other countries using the "Browse by Country" drop down menu. - UNHCR Statistics and Operational Data
Worldwide statistical information on refugees. Note the Statistics Infographics and Mid-Year Trends located near the bottom of the page
Brief overviews of human rights issues by region and country.
Women and children (girls) access to education
- UNICEF Information by Country
Find demographic information, including education statistics. Select a country or region from the alpha list towards the bottom of the page. - UNESCO Educational Statistics for Guatemala
Provides education statistics on Guatemala. For other countries, select a country from the "Change your selection" drop down box.
Climate Change (Paris Global Climate Change Agreement) – impact health, employment, industry
- UN Climate Change Newsroom
Browse information on climate change or search for a specific country or topic using the search bar on the right side of the page. - Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) website listing by country.
Link to brief overview of Guatemala's plan, translated into English. - UN Conference on Climate Change - Paris Agreement
- A Reader's Guide to the Paris Agreement
- Paris Climate Change Conference - November 2015
Links to information on the Paris Agreement, including the full text of the agreement.
Article from the Atlantic Monthly magazine that interrupts the major points of the Agreement
The website of of UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change. This site provides access to the documents related to the Kyoto Protocol.