Research Guide for Economics

Contact: Dena Hutto , Director of Reference & Instruction

Reference Works

These subject-specific encyclopedias provide easy access to authoritative definitions and concepts used in the methodology and approaches to economics.

Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, 3 vols.
Ref H62.E53 2005b
Articles on the quantitative and qualitative approaches to research problems in the social sciences.

The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 4 vols.
Ref HB61.N49 1987
A dictionary of economic terms, which also includes biographies of historical economists and others who contributed to the field, as well as significant institutions.


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Literature Review Tools

A literature review on any topic begins with a thorough search for books using the library catalog, Summit, and WorldCat. But in order to conduct a more thorough search, including the journal literature and other source materials, more tools are needed. These sources are especially useful for students of economics.

EconLit (1969 - present)
A database of abstracts of journal articles originally published in the Journal of Economic Literature.

Business Source Premier (1922 - present)
Abstracts and full text articles on companies, business and industries. Includes a company and industry profiles.

Lexis-Nexis Academic
Contemporary newspapers, transcripts, business, and legal sources.

Social Sciences Citation Index (part of Web of Science) (1954 - present)
Abstracts of articles published in some of the most prestigious journals from a broad spectrum of the social sciences disciplines. An essential part of any literature search in the social sciences for its currency, selectivity, and the ability to search for important works or authors cited.


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Economic Statistics and Data Sources

FedStats
A directory of data available from over 70 U.S. government agencies. Includes useful features for locating government data by subject and geographic area, links to key indicators, and descriptions of activities of major data-collecting agencies.

Historical Statistics of the United States Millenial Edition, 5 vols.
Ref HA202 .H57 2006
Updated and expanded edition provides essays on data sources, tables, and downloadable Excel files.

International Financial Statistics
Select and download indicators from the International Monetary Fund.

Lexis Nexis Statistical
This is the most comprehensive index for publications of the U.S. government, international organizations, foreign countries, U.S. state governments, and non-governmental organizations.

SourceOECD
Portal site for all electronic publications of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development. For data, choose "Statistics" from the navigation bar at the top of the main page.

Stat-USA
A subscription service from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce on all aspects of trade and economic conditions. Includes the National Trade Data Bank and State of the Nation Library.

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Ref Desk HA202 .U5
Convenient compilation of frequently sought statistics on a broad range of topics. Includes references to data sources. Older editions in the Stacks.

TableBase
Locates and retrieves tables published in commercial as well as government publications. A unique source of statistics from marketing and industry sources not otherwise available to Reed students.

World Development Indicators Online
Extract data by country from hundreds of economic and social indicators compiled by the World Bank.


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