POL340: Home

Use our interlibrary loan service to request articles. 

Use E-ZBorrow to request books.

• Begin your literature review early.
• Take into account access to data when defining your topic.
• Keep a list of search terms, concepts, subjects and alternatives.
• Evaluate what you find.
• Be organized. Keep citations as you research. Consider using a citation manager such as EndNote Basic, Zotero or Mendeley.
• Ask for help when needed.

Try a citation manager to organize your sources and create citations:

The best strategy for finding statistics is to identify the stakeholders (governments, companies, organizations) and do a thorough search of their publications and Internet pages.  Keep in mind that it's possible that the data you're seeking might not be available in the desired format. It could be that no one is currently collecting it, it's not accessible online, and/or it might only be accessible for a fee.

The data sources in this guide can provide a good starting point for your research. Some additional tips for finding data:

• Define your topic: Define the subject of your research, the specific geographical region, and the timeframe you're interested in. If you're unable to locate the exact data you need, consider adjusting one of these factors and conducting another search.
• Identify organizations that might collect this data and try searching their websites.
• Check the data citations in journal articles or books on your topic.
• Ask a librarian or your professor for assistance.