Background Information
You may not know a lot about every part of the world you'll be studying this semester. Here are some sources to get a quick summary of a country's or region's history and culture.
- Credo This link opens in a new windowCredo is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
- CIA World FactbookExtensive statistical information on every country in the world. Good population statistics, and click on the "Communications" link for media information.
- Countries, peoples and their cultures - Central & South AmericaFor each country, there is a 20-page country profile including colorful maps, and 10 categories of information: General Information; Environment & Geography; Customs & Courtesies; Lifestyle; Cultural History; Culture; Society; Social Development; Government; and Economy. Each profile also includes full color photographs, valuable tables of information including fun “Do You Know?” facts, and a comprehensive Bibliography.
- Countries and their CulturesAn encyclopedia that examines over 200 countries. Includes information about religion, sports, food, demographics, and all aspects of culture.
- Culture and Customs SeriesThey're a little bit old, but there's a book for your country!
Historical Guide to World Media Freedom by ISBN: 9781608717651Publication Date: 2014-06-18Brings together historical data on media freedom since World War II, providing consistent and comparable measure of media freedom in all independent countries for the years 1948 to present.
More Data
- Passport (Euromonitor) This link opens in a new windowLook for the Consumer Lifestyles report. Type in your country and "lifestyles" in the search box.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatistics, studies and reports from over 18,000 sources. Includes data from businesses, government departments, market research concerns or associations and more.
- OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)The OECD collects and analyses data and makes recommendations to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Use the "Countries" drop down menu. Many articles about Spanish speaking countries come in a Spanish version.
- United Nations Statistics DivisionThe UN collects statistics for every nation, with particular focus on health, gender, and economic development indicators. Put the name of a country in the data search box at the top right and click "go".
- UNESCOUNESCO is the United Nation's Education, Scientific, and Cultural group. The webpage is also available in Spanish if you click at the top left. Search your country under the "Countries" dropdown menu. Check out the section on Communication and Information.
- ITUThe Telecommunication Development Sector is a specialized branch of the UN working on communication and internet. They collect statistics on key connectivity indicators for 200 countries.
- LatinobarometroBased in Chile, this company does annual public opinion polls of 18 Latin American countries. In Spanish! Go to Analisis Online for some great stats.
- NCESThe National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. also publishes comparative reports with other nations. Includes access to the PISA data (Programme for International Student Assessment, conducted by the OECD.)
- Pew Research Center Global Attitudes & TrendsPew not only does excellent reporting on statistics and public opinion in the US (check out their great research on Hispanics) but they also survey people from all over the world about global issues. Search your country in the box.
- CEPRCenter for Economic and Policy Research has op-eds as well as reports and data about economic and social issues.
Search for information
Search Belk Library's online system to find both library materials and articles in our databases. Use the search box below to do a basic search on library materials and databases.
Article Databases
- Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new windowThe best media and communication database. Use the drop-down box at the lower right to limit to Spanish articles.
- Hispanic American Periodicals Index This link opens in a new windowAuthoritative, worldwide information about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the United States.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndex and abstracts of sociology, anthropology, criminology, demography, education law and penology, race relations, social psychology and urban studies. 1963-
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowHistorical Abstracts covers modern world history (excluding the United States and Canada which are covered in America: History and Life) from 1450 to the present.
- JSTORThousands of full-text articles on every topic. Use the check boxes to select the subjects you need - for example History, Language & Literature, or African Studies. You can limit to French by using the drop-down menu.
Google Scholar Spanish
You're probably familiar with Google Scholar, a way to search only scholarly resources in Google. But did you know it came in a Spanish-only version? Remember to enter your search terms in Spanish: for example, not "immigration United States" but "immigración Estados Unidos."