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Information Sources

The second part of this guide highlighted resources that are most helpful in the early stages of the research process.  The encyclopedias, glossaries, bibliographies, and other reference titles listed above not only provide definitions and overviews, but also direct readers to specific sources of information, thereby saving them from having to undertake searches themselves. 

Part 3 of the guide reviews the sources of information that are central to the study of forced migration—journals, books and serial publications, unpublished reports (grey literature), and people.  Tips and strategies for conducting research in order to find more of these sources are also provided. 

1.  Journals

Studies of researchers' information-seeking habits find that journal literature is deemed to be "highly important to social scientists" (Schlotzhauer 2007, 85).  As noted earlier, because forced migration is such a multidisciplinary field, relevant research is published within a wide variety of discipline-specific journals. At the same time, a number of specialist periodical titles have been launched over the years as the study of refugees and forced migration has evolved (see Box 4). 

View a listing of forced migration-related titles.

How to find other journal articles:  To locate additional articles, you will need to search in journal databases.  In the past, these databases (or indexes) only pointed to the bibliographic details of and/or abstracts for relevant studies; in other words, it was still necessary to locate the text of the journal article elsewhere.  Increasingly, though, journal databases are incorporating full-text content.  Subscriptions to these premium services can be expensive, particularly for individual researchers, and typically are only available through libraries.  Check your local public library to find out which periodical databases they subscribe to.  In addition, many academic libraries will allow researchers to undertake searches of their journal resources sur place.  Alternatively, several journal indexes and databases are freely searchable online, including Google Scholar, HighWire Press, IngentaConnect, and PubMed.[35]  Moreover, the Open Access movement promotes free access to full-text scholarly journals online, and several directories have been developed to facilitate search and retrieval in these sources.[36]  An additional option for researchers based in developing countries is to take advantage of several initiatives to promote affordable access to scholarly literature.[37]

2.  Books

By any count, book publishing in forced migration studies has proliferated over the years.  While not an exact measure, a quick search on >refugees< in the title field of the Worldcat advanced search form produces 11,000-plus results; of those, 800 or so titles date from the 1970s while over three times as many titles date from the 1990s. 

View a listing of several book series and other serial publications that focus on refugee and forced migration issues.

How to find other books:  Worldcat is referenced throughout this guide.  It is a library catalogue that provides access to the collections of over 10,000 libraries worldwide, or over one billion titles.  It is not only freely searchable on the web, but it also will indicate the library closest to you that carries an item of interest.[38]  The Social Science library at Oxford University houses the foremost collection on refugee studies and forced migration.  The specialized nature and the comprehensiveness of the collection will invariably produce fruitful results for most research questions.  The library is open to the public. The library staff also provides document delivery services for a small fee, which means long-distance researchers can often request a photocopy of a key book chapter or section (subject to copyright restrictions).[39]  Many other specialized libraries make their catalogues available online as well.[40]  Amazon.com is the largest online bookseller, with sites available in multiple languages; its “Search Inside This Book” feature is a useful way to determine the relevance of a title.[41]  The digitization of books is a growing phenomenon, with such high-profile endeavors as Google Books and the (now defunct) Microsoft Live Search Books project.[42]  While searching Google Books may not be the most efficient way to learn about the latest forced migration publications, it does offer a preview feature for a number of titles, thereby enabling users to browse several pages in order to better evaluate the utility of a book.  Finally, another more traditional method of assessing books is the book review.  A number of the specialized journals listed above include book reviews and are indexed accordingly.[43]  Other book review services are available online.[44]

3.  Research Collections

Because of the policy and practice aspects inherent to forced migration studies, unpublished materials are common vehicles for disseminating research and analysis.  These can take the form of working papers, policy documents, research reports, conference papers, etc., and collectively, are referred to as grey literature. 

View sample collections of these materials, including paper series, databases, and digital libraries.

How to find more research collections:  As a part of their remit, the libraries at both the Refugee Studies Centre and Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies seek out grey literature and unpublished reports for their collections.[45]  Usually, though, such items are not routinely carried by libraries.  The best method of retrieving research reports is by visiting a producer’s web site, either by following the URLs invariably listed on a links page or by consulting online directories.[46]  In addition, services like the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) and DRIVER index this type of research literature specifically and can be searched online.[47] Alternatively, you can conduct a web search.  There are three types of search engines that you can use: global (those that search “all” of the web); subject-based (those that search a certain subject area); and custom (those that you create yourself).[48]  Finally, subject directories can help reduce the number of results retrieved and improve the relevance because they rely on human intervention for the selection and evaluation of relevant web sites.[49]

4.  People

In addition to the sources listed above, colleagues and peer groups represent valuable mechanisms for finding out about research.  Professional associations and conferences promote an exchange of ideas and stimulate debate among researchers.  Other “communities of practice,” such as discussion fora and informal networks serve to bring people together around a common theme. 

View examples of these information sources.

How to find more people:  Both the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) and the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) are engaged in endeavors to develop broad research networks that will promote greater collaboration among actors within the global forced migration community.  If these networks are maintained over time, they could prove to be useful resources for connecting people, enhancing communication, and ultimately, expanding knowledge and understanding of forced migration issues.[50]

Endnotes

35.  Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com), HighWire Press (http://highwire.stanford.edu), IngentaConnect (http://www.ingentaconnect.com), PubMed (http://www.pubmed.gov).

36.  For example, the Directory of Open Access Journals (http://www.doaj.org/) and BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/).

37.  Examples of these are listed in footnote 10 in this guide's "Reference Sources" section at http://forcedmigrationguide.pbworks.com/w/page/7447985/Part%20Two%2C%20Searching.

38.  For more information, visit http://worldcat.org.

39.  For more information and access to the catalogue, visit http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/about/library.

40.  See, e.g., Andrew Forbes Refugee Resource Centre (http://crs.yorku.ca/resource_centre), British Library for Development Studies (http://blds.ids.ac.uk/), Peace Palace Library (http://www.ppl.nl/), and Refugee Council Archive at UEL (http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/), among others.  Until recently, UNHCR also maintained a library and the Reflit online catalogue; unfortunately, it closed in February 2008 and all holdings were transferred to the UN Office at Geneva library (http://www.unog.ch/library).

41.  Visit http://www.amazon.com/; scroll down for access to international sites. 

42.  Google Books (http://books.google.com); information about the former Live Search Books service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Search_Books).

43.  Go to http://forcedmigrationguide.pbwiki.com/tags.php?ptag=Book+reviews for a list of periodicals with book reviews.

44.  See, e.g.,  H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences (http://www.h-net.org/reviews/home.php), Human Rights & Human Welfare: An International Review of Books and Other Publications (http://www.du.edu/gsis/hrhw/), and Law & Politics Book Review (http://www.gvpt.umd.edu/lpbr/index.htm).

45.  Information about these libraries can be found at http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/about/library and http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/libres/Pages/default.aspx, respectively.

46.  See, e.g., Refworld’s External Links page at http://www.refworld.org/links.html.  Forced Migration Online (FMO) has compiled a directory at http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/organizations.

47.  The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is located at http://www.ssrn.com/; DRIVER's URL is http://www.driver-community.eu/.

48.  Google (http://www.google.com) currently dominates the search engine landscape; other global SEs include Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) and Bing (http://www.bing.com). A subject-specific SE of relevance to forced migration is HuriSearch (http://www.hurisearch.org, a human rights SE).  More generally, specialized search engines such as the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) can produce useful results; try it out at http://www.base-search.net/.  Custom search engines are search engines you build yourself using one of the tools described in this article: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue55/search-engines. No technical expertise is necessary.

49.  An example of a subject directory is Eldis: The Gateway to Development Information (http://www.eldis.org).

50.  For more information about these projects, visit http://www.refugeeresearch.net and http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk, respectively.

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