LibGuides: English: 76-10X Series (First-Year Writing): Virtue or Violence: Choosing a Response to Conflict

BACKGROUND SOURCES

To find background sources, the best strategy is to look at encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and books. This strategy applies to library catalogs and databases that contain "reference collections".

Here is how you can locate these materials:

First and foremost, build a list of related words (synonyms vs antonyms; broad vs narrow terms). For example, Conflict (anger, battle, clash, collision, disagreement, rivalry, etc.) or Approach (resolution, management, settlement, solution, strategy, etc.)
Always use Advanced Search so you can build a specific strategy, using AND, OR, NOT, and specific fields:
- For example: [Subject] contains Conflict AND [Subject] contains Resolution
Don't forget to use truncation (a character that is used to find various spellings). This is typically automatic in today's searches BUT some databases require it. Sample characters are * - a star replaces one or more characters at the end (conflict* = conflict, conflicting, conflicted, etc.), a ? typically replaces 1 character in any position in the word (Wom?n = woman and women), and so on.

Here are some sample results from our library catalog, based on the strategies above:

Culture Wars by Roger Chapman; James Ciment A collection of letters from a cross-section of Japanese citizens to a leading Japanese newspaper, relating their experiences and thoughts of the Pacific War.
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 9780765622501
Encyclopedia of Conflict Resolution by Heidi Burgess; Guy M. Burgess In the past 20 years, conflict resolution--which includes such negotiation techniques as mediation and arbitration--has grown rapidly as a scholarly and professional field. More and more people are finding that these techniques provide an efficient and cost-effective means of settling personal, organizational, business, community, and international disputes. Encyclopedia of Conflict Resolution is the first of its kind and presents all the concepts, techniques, information, and resources vital to this important field. Topics covered include events, people, organizations, and training and academic programs. This is a useful reference work for students, parents, teachers, and business people, as well as mediators and other conflict resolution professionals.
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 0874368391
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence by Jeffrey L. Edleson (Editor); Claire M. Renzetti (Editor) "From assisted suicide and batter women to human trafficking and sex offenders, this guide provides an excellent overview of the state research on interpersonal violence. This set is highly recommended for academic libraries." -John R. M. Lawrence Interpersonal violence is behavior that intentionally threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts harm on another. This violence invades both the public and private spheres of our lives; many times in unexpected and frightening ways. Interpersonal violence is a problem that individuals could experience at any point during the life span-even before birth. Interpersonal violence is experienced not only throughout the life course but also as a global problem in the form of war, genocide, terrorism, and rape of women as a weapon of war. The Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence provides accurate, research-supported information to clarify critical issues and educate the public about different forms of interpersonal violence, their incidence and prevalence, theoretical explanations, public policy initiatives, and prevention and intervention strategies. These two volumes contain more than 500 accessible, jargon-fee entries written by experts and provide cross-references to related entries, as well as suggested readings for further information. Key Features Defines key concepts and explains theoretical principles clearly and succinctly Provides information on current data sets, regional and national organizations specializing in various dimensions of interpersonal violence, and relevant Web sites Serves as a quick reference guide to definitions, statistics, theories, policies, and prevention and intervention programs Discusses concern with interpersonal violence as a problem across the life span and across cultures Addresses careers in the many fields of interpersonal violence
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 9781412918008
Publication Date: 2008-06-19
Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict by Lester R. Kurtz (Editor-In-Chief) The 2nd edition of Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict provides timely and useful information about antagonism and reconciliation in all contexts of public and personal life. Building on the highly-regarded 1st edition (1999), and publishing at a time of seemingly inexorably increasing conflict and violent behaviour the world over, the Encyclopedia is an essential reference for students and scholars working in the field of peace and conflict resolution studies, and for those seeking to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for social justice and social change. Covering topics as diverse as Arms Control, Peace Movements, Child Abuse, Folklore, Terrorism and Political Assassinations, the Encyclopedia comprehensively addresses an extensive information area in 225 multi-disciplinary, cross-referenced and authoritatively authored articles. In his Preface to the 1st edition, Editor-in-Chief Lester Kurtz wrote: "The problem of violence poses such a monumental challenge at the end of the 20th century that it is surprising we have addressed it so inadequately. We have not made much progress in learning how to cooperate with one another more effectively or how to conduct our conflicts more peacefully. Instead, we have increased the lethality of our combat through revolutions in weapons technology and military training. The Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict is designed to help us to take stock of our knowledge concerning these crucial phenomena." Ten years on, the need for an authoritative and cross-disciplinary approach to the great issues of violence and peace seems greater than ever. More than 200 authoritative multidisciplinary articles in a 3-volume set Many brand-new articles alongside revised and updated content from the First Edition Article outline and glossary of key terms at the beginning of each article Entries arranged alphabetically for easy access Articles written by more than 200 eminent contributors from around the world
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 9780123739858
Publication Date: 2008-09-05

EXHIBIT, ARGUMENT, & METHOD SOURCES

These sources are more likely to be journals, specialized books, databases that contain data sets. To find them, you need to think about the type of information you need and ask yourself:

Who might publish that information? For example, datasets on conflict are typically collected by organizations that have an interest in collecting this information: for example, the united nations, international organizations, gallop reports, etc.
What type of exhibit? Are you looking at historical data? current data? How long of a set? Are you needing surveys?
Where would this data be published? reports (by for-profit), gallop surveys (by governments or a non-profit), statistical publications (typically by organizations)? Original research (typically in journal articles)?

Here are core databases on this subject:

General Databases

Communication Source This link opens in a new window
The most comprehensive resource on the market for communication research and offers abstracts and indexing as well as full-text content from publications worldwide pertaining to Communication, Linguistics, Rhetoric and Discourse, Speech-Language Pathology, Media Studies and other fields relevant to the discipline.
CQ Researcher plus Archive This link opens in a new window
1923-present. Unbiased research reports on timely topics. Each report provides an introduction, overview, background, current situation, outlook chronology, pro/con, bibliography, etc. Keyword search for additional reports also show links to other relevant reports. Database Guide.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedias and dictionaries on a wide variety of subjects.
Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Articles in academic journals from all disciplines. Database Guide.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to databases across all major subject areas, including business, health and medical, social sciences, arts, humanities, religion, education, science, and technology.
PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new window
1894-present.The full text of nearly 80 journals from the American Psychological Association as well as its imprint, the Educational Publishing Foundation (EPF), and from allied organizations including the Canadian Psychological Association and the Hogrefe Publishing Group. It includes all journal articles, book reviews, letters to the editor and errata from each journal.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
1887-present. American Psychological Association's renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, it is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Database Guide. Also see definitions of methodologies.
Roper Center Public Opinion Archives (with iPOLL) This link opens in a new window
Archive of social sciences data. Data primarily from survey of public opinion. NOTE: Register for a free account with your CMU email address for full access to Roper iPoll content.

Political & Policy Databases

Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S. This link opens in a new window
Compilation of the most important historical documents and legislation related to immigration in the United States as well as current hearings, debates and recent developments in immigration law. This first comprehensive database includes Board of Immigration Appeals, Precedent Decisions, legislative histories, law and policy titles, extradition titles, scholarly articles, an extensive bibliography, and other related works.
News, Policy & Politics Magazine Archive (feat. Newsweek)‎ (1918 - 2015) This link opens in a new window
Backfiles of 15 major magazines (including the Newsweek archive), spanning areas including current events, international relations, and public policy. Database Guide
Peace Research Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to peace research, including conflict resolution, international affairs, peace psychology, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. The index contains more than 267,000 records, which are carefully selected from the most important sources within the discipline.
Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
Access to reports and information produced by prominent policy institutes, "think tank" and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Database Guide
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
A U.S. national data and mapping tool and analytics platform with multidisciplinary applications. Useful for social sciences, urban studies, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration, public health, policy and political science, education, business, economics, statistics, and geography, among others. Includes thousands of U.S. data indicators for demographic and socioeconomic analysis, from a neighborhood census block group in many cases, up to a national level.
Political Science Database This link opens in a new window
1985 - current. Access to hundreds of leading political science and international relations journals, providing full-text of many core titles. Over a thousand recent full-text doctoral dissertations, together with working papers, conference proceedings, country profiles, political news and other sources. Database Guide
POLITICO Pro This link opens in a new window
Politico is an American political-journalism company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States. POLITICO Pro was launched in February 2011 to provide ahead-of-the-curve reporting similar to the high-impact, high-velocity brand of journalism that made POLITICO Washington’s ultimate must read.

Pro currently provides coverage of multiple policy areas including: finance, energy, health care, technology, and transportation, and recently announced the addition of education, agriculture, and trade coverage to meet subscriber demand. Please note: Content from the Bill & Legislative Tracking section is not included in the subscription.
U.S. Political Stats This link opens in a new window
Information on election returns, congressional floor votes, Supreme Court decisions, plus presidential performance and economic indicators, as well as diverse demographics. Database has been retired and statistics are now incorporated into the DataPlanet database. Link redirects there.
World Politics Review This link opens in a new window
Provides analysis of critical global trends for policymakers, analysts, academics and readers with an interest in international affairs. Written by a network of experts and on-the-ground influencers, WPR content provides comprehensive and detailed perspectives on a wide diversity of issues including defense and security, diplomacy, economics and more.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
1975-present. Covers international literature of political science and international relations, along with complementary fields, including international law and public administration/policy. Database Guide

English: 76-10X Series (First-Year Writing): Virtue or Violence: Choosing a Response to Conflict

BEFORE YOU START: TIPS FOR A SMOOTHER EXPERIENCE

RESOURCES & TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

BACKGROUND SOURCES

To find background sources, the best strategy is to look at encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and books. This strategy applies to library catalogs and databases that contain "reference collections".

Here is how you can locate these materials:

First and foremost, build a list of related words (synonyms vs antonyms; broad vs narrow terms). For example, Conflict (anger, battle, clash, collision, disagreement, rivalry, etc.) or Approach (resolution, management, settlement, solution, strategy, etc.)

Always use Advanced Search so you can build a specific strategy, using AND, OR, NOT, and specific fields:

For example: [Subject] contains Conflict AND [Subject] contains Resolution

Here are some sample results from our library catalog, based on the strategies above:

EXHIBIT, ARGUMENT, & METHOD SOURCES

These sources are more likely to be journals, specialized books, databases that contain data sets. To find them, you need to think about the type of information you need and ask yourself:

Who might publish that information? For example, datasets on conflict are typically collected by organizations that have an interest in collecting this information: for example, the united nations, international organizations, gallop reports, etc.

What type of exhibit? Are you looking at historical data? current data? How long of a set? Are you needing surveys?

Where would this data be published? reports (by for-profit), gallop surveys (by governments or a non-profit), statistical publications (typically by organizations)? Original research (typically in journal articles)?

Here are core databases on this subject:

Relevant Guides