Research Guide for NES 268

Political Islam

Research guide created by
John J. Hernandez
Politics Librarian, Firestone Library
Email: jhernand@princeton.edu

Navigate this guide...

• Reference
• Background
• Islamist Group Info
• Finding Books

• Finding Articles
• Finding News
• Public Opinion
• Web Sites

Basic Reference Books

Dictionaries and encyclopedias clarify terminology that can help in searching for books and articles, as well as developing a general understanding of your field. Dictionaries provide definitions and usage of terms. Encyclopedias provide more in-depth explanations of key individuals, events, and concepts. The following titles can help provide clarification of concepts, names, organzations, and individuals related to political Islam.

• Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East.
  Publisher: New York: Continuum, 2002.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: DS62.8 .P64 2002
• Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World.
  Publisher: New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004.
  Location: General and Humanities Reference (DR)
  Call Number: BP40 .E525 2004
• Encyclopedia of the Middle East Peace Process and the Middle East/North Africa Economic Community.
  Publisher: Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1997.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: DS119.76 .R67 1997
• Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East.
  Publisher: New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1996.
  Location: General and Humanities Reference (DR)
  Call Number: DS43 .E53 1996
• Historical Dictionary of Islam.
  Publisher: Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: BP50 .A33 2001
• The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.
  Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  Location: General and Humanities Reference (DR)
  Call Number: BP40 .O95 2003
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.
  Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
  Location: General and Humanities Reference (DR)
  Call Number: DS35.53 .O95 1995
• The Political Dictionary of Modern Middle East.
  Publisher: Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994.
  Location: Near East Collection (SY)
  Call Number: DS43 .K67 1994
• A Popular Dictionary of Islam.
  Publisher: London: Curzon Press, 1992.
  Location: Firestone Library (F)
  Call Number: BP40 .N48 1992b

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Background Information Sources

Since your assignment will be focused on a particular Islamist group, it may be useful to gather some background information on the countries in which such groups are based and conduct their operations. The following sources will provide political, economic, and some social information on various countries of the world.

• Background Notes
  URL: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn
  Factual publications prepared by the staff of the U.S. State Department that contain information on all the countries of the world with which the United States has relations. Each report contains information about the country's people, history, government, political conditions, economy, foreign relations, relations with the U.S., travel, and business. These reports are updated periodically.
• EIU Country Reports & Profiles
  The Economist Intelligence Unit is considered to be a definitive source of business intelligence. The EIU publishes annual country profiles and quarterly country reports that are updated by monthly supplements to provide detailed information on political and economic trends for 180 countries worldwide. Each includes annual and quarterly economic indicators, economic forecasts, information on domestic politics, international relations, economic growth, and foreign trade. 1996 forward are available online, earlier profiles and reports in paper are held in Firestone, check the catalog for more information.
• Europa World
  The online version of the indispensable Europa World Year Book published since 1926. Europa provides detailed up-to-date surveys of over 250 countries and territories, a comprehensive listing of over 1,650 international organizations, directory information, and current analysis. Includes essential names and addresses and other information covering such areas as a country's constitution, government, legislature, political organizations, diplomatic representation, religion, media, finance, trade, industry, transport, and tourism.
• Freedom in the World.
  Publisher: New York: Freedom House. Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: JC571 .xG3
  Library Has: 1978-present
  Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
  Since 1972, Freedom House has published an annual assessment of the state of freedom in all countries and select territories. Individual countries are evaluated based on a checklist of questions on political rights and civil liberties derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each country is assigned a rating for political rights and a rating for civil liberties. The combined average of each country's ratings determines an overall status of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. See www.freedomhouse.org for more information, including publications and country ratings.
• Global Development Finance.
  Publisher: Washington, DC: World Bank. Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: HG4517 .I51
  Library Has: 1975-present
  Current Volume: Social Science Ready Reference (SSRC)
  Formerly the World Debt Tables, this is the World Bank’s annual review of trends of financial flows to developing countries, as well as projections of the global outlook in light of current global geopolitical uncertainties. The Summary and Country Tables provide comprehensive statistical data for 138 countries that report debt under the World Bank Debtor Reporting System, and summary data for regions and income groups. The data are also available online, see GDF Online.
• Human Development Report.
  Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press. Annual.
  Location: United Nations Collection (UN)
  Call Number: HD72 .H85
  Library Has: 1990-present
  Produced by the United Nations Development Programme, the HDR series advocates a shift in the development debate away from a sole concern with economic growth toward a balanced concern for equity, sustainability, productivity and empowerment. The report's Human Development Index (HDI), offers an alternative to GNP as a measure of development. In addition to the global report, there are national, subnational, and regional reports for 135 countries. See the UNDP's Human Development Report page for more details. Please note: the online editions from the UNDP site are no longer free for download, so be sure to consult with a librarian before making any purchases.
• Political Handbook of the World.
  Publisher: Washington, DC: CQ Press, Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: 7560.729
  Library Has: 1928-1970
  Call Number: JF37 .P6
  Library Has: 1975-present
  Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
  URL: http://library.cqpress.com/index.php (part of the CQ Electronic Library)
  The Handbook provides essential political information about every country in the world, including heads of government, cabinet members, leaders and programs of political parties, representation in national legislatures, news media, and membership in international organizations. Its primary focus is on government and development of the country's political climate.
• The Statesman's Yearbook.
  Publisher: New York: St. Martin's Press. Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: JA51 .S7
  Library Has: 1876-
  Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
  Similar to the Political Handbook, the Yearbook also provides detailed information about all the countries of the world. Its focus is on social and development indicators. Each entry includes a small map for quick geographical orientation, as well as a list of references for further reading.
• World Development Report.
  Publisher: Washington, DC: World Bank. Annual.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: HC59.7 .W6
  Library Has: 1978-present
  This annual report discusses the state of the world economy and prospects for the next decade. Recent volumes have been dedicated to particular themes such as the environment, health investment, and poverty. The statistical appendix, World Development Indicators, provides tables of economic data that allow the researcher to compare countries, see WDI Online.
• World Factbook
  Publisher: Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: G122 .U56a
  Library Has: 1981-present
  Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
  URL: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html (current edition only)
  This annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency provides profiles of countries throughout the world. Each country profile begins with a brief historical background and includes information about geography, population, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

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Information on Islamist Groups

A main thrust of your assignment will be to gather information about a particular Islamist group in order to construct a working profile. The following resources are helpful for locating information about various Islamist groups operating in countries throughout the world. These sources will provide some information concerning the group's activities, history, political and religious affiliations, and to some extent, their motivations.

• Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey.
  Publisher: Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: BP60 .M36 1999
  This dictionary provides essential information and discussion of the basic ideas, concepts, doctrines, ideologies, leaders, intellectuals, groups, and movements of Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world, Iran, and Turkey. Entries on basic ideas are treated at length and distinctions are made between radical and moderate fundamentalists to highlight intellectual and political differences. Entries for major groups are somewhat lengthy, while minor groups may only have a brief mention. All entries are listed alphabetically and many are cross-referenced. Also includes a geographically-arranged bibliography of selected further readings.
• Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide.
  Publisher: Detroit, MI: Longman Group, 1992.
  Location: General and Humanities Reference (DR)
  Call Number: BP10 .I73 1992
  This book is an attempt at a comprehensive survey of the status of Islamic political groups around the world. It reviews developments in Muslim countries and provides information on the organized political action among Muslim communities in countries where they are a minority. Though now a bit dated, the information found in this book can be a good place to begin research on an Islamist group.
• Political Parties of the Middle East and North Africa.
  Publisher: Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: JQ1758.A979 P65 1994
  This book provides information regarding the formation, evolution, and impact of significant political parties in the Middle East and North Africa. Coverage includes countries between Morocco and Iran, north of the Sahara, and south and east of the Mediterranean. Does not include Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, or central and west Africa.
• Political Parties of the World. 6th ed.
  Publisher: London: John Harper Publishing, 2005.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: JF2051 .D39 2005q
  Arranged by country, this book provides brief background information on each country (including its capital, population, and recent political history) followed by entries describing the country's major and minor political parties. Party information includes the official party name (generally in English), contact information (if available), party leadership, and a historical profile.
• Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World. 4th ed.
  Publisher: London: John Harper Publishing, 2004.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: JC328.3 .D43 2004
  This is a companion volume to Political Parties of the World above. The focus of this book is on activities of groups that seek to challenge the stability of the state. Also arranged by country, its coverage includes movements seeking autonomy or secession, extremist groups, proscribed political parties, governments-in-exile, and terrorist organizations.
• Jane's World Insurgency and Terrorism.
  Publisher: Alexandria, VA: Jane's Information Group. Semiannual.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: U240 .J36q
  Library Has: Current two volumes only
  While not all Islamist groups are terrorist organizations per se, many do engage in terror activities. This book provides profiles of every significant terrorist and insurgent group in the world. It includes analysis of each group's political and religious affiliations, tactics, membership, and weaponry.
• Country Reports on Terrorism.
  Publisher: Washington, DC: United States Department of State. Annual.
  Location: Firestone (F)
  Call Number: HV6431 .P377
  Library Has: 1986-present
  Current Volume: SSRC Ready Reference
  URL: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/
  Formerly Patterns of Global Terrorism, this annual report is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f(a), which requires the Department of State to provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those countries and groups meeting the criteria of Section (a)(1) and (2) of the Act. See also: Terrorist Designation Lists.
• The Making of a Terrorist: Recruitment, Training, and Root Causes.
  Publisher: Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006.
  Location: Social Science Reference Center (SSRC)
  Call Number: HV6481 .M353 2006
  This 3-volume work deals with the question of how an individual is transformed into a terrorist. The chapters address various aspects of this process through recruitment of potential members, training and indoctrination, and underlying factors that lead people to turn to terror as a means of expression.

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Finding Books

The Main Catalog is your primary tool for finding books in the Princeton University Libraries that deal with Islamist groups. The catalog also helps you find other materials, including videos, sound recordings, internet sites, and journals (the journals themselves- not individual articles). The Main Catalog provides two search modes: Basic Search and Guided Search.

Start your search out using keywords, which can be a useful technique since you may not be familiar with all the name variants for the Islamist groups you are researching. Be sure to use the Long View feature to see the full record displaying the subject headings that describe the subject matter of the item. When you find items that seem relevant to your topic, use the subject headings to find additional related items.

If you don't seem to find any books specifically on the group you wish to study, try using the name of the country in which the group operates as a subject heading. Remember that traveling down the list of headings will take you to subjects that are further sub-divided and, therefore, more specific. Traveling up the list gets you subjects that are more general. In addition, subject headings for general topics are often sub-divided by geographic regions or countries. Here are some examples:

If you find your subject searches are not yielding good results, you might want to look at the Library of Congress Subject Headings located at the reference desk. This set of large red volumes provides a listing of the appropriate subject headings that correspond to various topics. Be sure to ask the staff at the reference desk for assistance.

When you find an item you'd like to obtain, be sure to pay attention to the location, call number, and status as indicated in the catalog record. See the list of location codes for help determining in which library collection the item is held. The call number shows where in the collection the item should be, and the status tells you whether the book is available or not. For more tips on using the Main Catalog see the Help Page.

Beyond the Main Catalog, you have access to other Princeton Library catalogs, as well as regional and worldwide catalogs, via the Library Catalogs Page. If you find items outside of Princeton, you can request these be sent here via Interlibrary Loan or Borrow Direct.

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Finding Articles

There are several databases that are useful for locating journal articles, book chapters, working papers, etc. about Islamist groups and movements. You may also want to consult the many useful resources listed on the pages for Near Eastern Studies, African Studies, Latin American Studies, and Russian/Slavic Studies. Here's a useful search strategy that works for essentially any article index database.

General & Multi-disciplinary Databases:

• JSTOR
  JSTOR is a special collection of academic journals that have been made available in full text online. The titles covered in JSTOR range back to the very first issue, but only go forward to about 3-5 years ago. You can browse and search across different subject areas and journal titles. Keep in mind that while JSTOR is a very useful collection of journals, it is not comprehensive. Be sure to also search for your topic in the other article databases listed here.
• EBSCO Academic Search Premier
  This is a multi-disciplinary full text database covering over 7,000 scholarly and peer-reviewed journals in nearly every area of academic study including: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language & linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and more. Coverage goes back to 1975.
• Wilson OmniFile
  Multi-disciplinary database providing select full text articles, abstracts, and indexing. Consists of databases for scholarly sources in agriculture, applied science and technology, art, biology, business, education, general science, humanities, law, library and information science, social sciences, as well as popular appeal titles.
• ProQuest Research Library
  Provides (mostly) full text access to a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals from 1986-present.

Specialized Databases:

• Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals
  URL: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/aulimp/search.html
  AULIMP is a subject index to significant articles, news items, and editorials from English language military and aeronautical periodicals covering all branches of the military. Covers articles published from 1988-present.
• ATLA Religion Database & ATLA Serials
  Produced by the American Theological Library Association, this service combines the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion with ATLA's online collection of major religion and theology journals. Coverage begins in 1949 although indexing for some journal titles extends back into the nineteenth century.
• Bibliography of Asian Studies
  The online version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies references principally western-language articles and book chapters pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide from 1971 to the present. Contains over 610,000 records on all subjects, though especially in the humanities and the social sciences.
• CIAO - Columbia International Affairs Online
  CIAO publishes online a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, NGO occasional papers, foundation-funded research projects, conference proceedings, books, journals, and policy briefs.
• Historical Abstracts
  This database has long been recognized as the leading bibliography providing unmatched coverage of world history (excluding North America) dealing with time periods from 1450 to the present. It covers approximately 2,000 journals, as well as books and dissertations published worldwide since the mid 1950s in history and related areas, including anthropology, genealogy, multicultural studies, political science, and sociology.
• Homeland Security Digital Library
  The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) is a compendium of materials available for scholarly research in the area of homeland security. The HSDL collection provides quick access to important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as specialized resources such as theses and reports from various universities, organizations, and local and state agencies. The HSDL is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
• Index Islamicus
  Produced by the Islamic Bibliography Unit at Cambridge University Library, this database indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world from a variety of disciplines, including accounting, archaeology, the arts, economics, education, geography, history, Islam, law, literature, science, philosophy, politics, religion, theology, travel, and zoology. Records included in the database go back to 1906.
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
  Compiled by the British Library of Political & Economic Science of the London School of Economics & Political Science, this database provides bibliographic information from an international selection of publications (including over 2,600 journals) in the fields of economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Covers 1951-present.
• International Political Science Abstracts
  Provides abstracts in English or French to articles selected from over 1,000 international journals. Topics covered include political science method and theory, political thinkers and ideas, governmental and administrative institutions, political process, international relations, and national and area studies. Covers 1989-present.
• Jane's Online
  Founded in 1898, Jane's Information Group provides a host of information products and consultancy services including technical and market information on military, law enforcement, and transportation equipment; country-by-country threat assessments; and news analysis. When using Jane's, the easiest approach is to go directly to the sources Princeton subscribes to by clicking on the My Account button. Princeton subscribes only to the following Jane's Online products: All the World's Aircraft, Armour & Artillery, Fighting Ships, World Defence Industry, Defense Magazine Library, and IntelWeb.
• Military Education Research Library Network (MERLN)
  URL: http://merln.ndu.edu
  Hosted by the National Defense University, MERLN is a comprehensive Web site devoted to international military education outreach. It represents a consortium of military education research libraries (including U.S. military education libraries, Department of Defense regional center libraries, and their international counterparts) that work together to provide access to a variety of resources. The MERLN page provides links to lots of online publications, as well as the NDU Library's Military Policy Awareness Links (MiPALs)- a series of country and issue-based online bibliographies. Use MERLN's Public Search to locate a wealth of literature relevant to politics, the military, national security, terrorism, homeland security, and many other related areas. Be sure to consult the Main Catalog first to determine if Princeton holds any of the titles listed in MERLN. You may submit interlibrary loan requests for materials we do not have (just cut and paste the necessary information into the ILL form online).
• Middle Eastern & Central Asian Studies
  Index to journal and newspaper articles, books, and web sites on the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Coverage is from 1900 to the present and includes fields such as politics, law, international relations, economics, literature, religion, the arts, anthropology, history, and archaeology.
• PAIS International
  Provides citations to articles, books, reports, and select government documents on U.S. and international public policy issues. PAIS is generally considered to be a comprehensive index to policy literature. Covers 1915-present.
• Policyfile
  Provides indexing and abstracts of research publications addressing the complete range of public policy research. PolicyFile draws its content from public policy think tanks, university research programs, research organizations, and trade publishers. The database consists of over 50,000 abstracts dating from 1990 to present, with some full-text where available and links to organizational home pages.
• Staff College Automated Military Periodicals Index
  URL: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/scampi/search.html
  SCAMPI is an index to journal articles on military and naval science, operational warfare, joint planning, and national and international politics, as well as reports from RAND and the GAO. SCAMPI is a cooperative effort of the Joint Forces Staff College Library, the National Defense University Library and the Defense Technical Information Center. Covers articles published from 1997-present.
• Sociological Abstracts
  Indexing and abstracting of the world's literature in sociology and related disciplines, both theoretical and applied. Covers 2,500 journals, conference papers, dissertations, and book reviews. Includes materials in 30 languages and covers works published 1963-present.
• Social Sciences Citation Index
  Multidisciplinary index to more than 1,725 journals in the social and behavioral sciences. This database covers works published 1956-present, and is very useful for tracing the chain of citations in social science literature. Use SSCI to find references to articles that were cited in a given article, as well as other articles that cite that article.
• StratFor
  Founded in 1996, StratFor (short for “Strategic Forecasting”) provides up-to-date geopolitical analysis and forecasts focused on international political, economic, and security issues.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  Worldwide provides citations and abstracts of the international literature in political science, including journal articles, books and book chapters, dissertations, and reviews. It also covers such areas as international relations, law, sociology, economics, and public policy. Provides references to reliable Web sites. Covers 1975-present.

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Finding News Sources

News sources can be very useful for finding primary coverage of specific events, as well as feature articles and editorials related to your topic. For additional resources, be sure to consult the Newspaper Indexes page.

Contemporary News - U.S. & International (mid-1980s to present):

• Lexis Nexis Academic
  Provides full text access to news from across the U.S. and around the world. Coverage of most newspapers goes back to the mid 1980s, but varies widely. Also provides access to business, legal, and medical journals, as well as corporate financial information. Click on News in the red bar to begin your search.
• NewsBank Full-Text Newspapers
  Provides full-text of many major national and regional newspapers from the United States and around the world. Use the clickable map to select a country or state to search.
• Factiva
  Database from Dow Jones & Reuters that provides full text access to various newspapers and news wire services.
• ProQuest Newspapers
  Provides indexing and full text of the Wall Street Journal (back to 1984) and the New York Times (back to 1980) and abstracts only of USA Today (back to 1989).
• Google - News
  URL: http://www.google.com/news
  Google News pulls together related headlines and photos from approximately 4,500 news sources worldwide, automatically arranging them to present the most relevant news first. Google News enables you to see how different news organizations around the world report the same events. Stories are updated continuously throughout the day, making this an especially useful source for breaking news.
• National Public Radio
  URL: http://www.npr.org
  NPR is an internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming. The NPR web site provides a searchable, full-audio archive of programs, including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, etc., going back to 1996. Transcripts are available on the site for purchase, but these are also available for free via Lexis-Nexis back to 1992.
• Public Broadcasting System
  URL: http://www.pbs.org
  Here you can find pages highlighting the award-winning PBS news-related programs, including Frontline, POV, NOW, NewsHour, and NOVA. Transcripts, audio, and video files of previous broadcasts are available. Transcripts of NewsHour are also available via LexisNexis back to 1982. Podcasts and RSS are also available on this site.
• Vanderbilt University Television News Archive
  URL: http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu
  The Television News Archive collection at Vanderbilt University is the world's most extensive and complete archive of television news dating back to August 1968. The collection holds more than 30,000 individual network evening news broadcasts from the major U.S. national broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC (1968- ), CNN (1995- ), PBS (2000- ), FOX (2003- ); more than 9,000 hours of special news-related programming; and ABC's Nightline (1989- ). Access to TV-NewsSearch is free, but requires registration. You may request video segments (on loan only) for reference, study, classroom instruction and research for a fee. Important: the fees (up to a limit) are covered by our Interlibrary Loan Services, so contact a librarian if you need to obtain material from this collection before placing an order.

Historical News (back to mid-1800s):

• Historical New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
  Provides retrospective coverage of the New York Times going back to the first issue (1851-2004) in full text. Search by keywords and date.
• Historical Wall Street Journal (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
  Provides retrospective coverage of the Wall Street Journal going back to the first issue (1889-1990) in full text. Search by keywords and date.
• Historical Washington Post (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
  Provides retrospective coverage of the Washington Post going back to the first issue (1877-1991) in full text. Search by keywords and date.
• Reader's Guide Retrospective
  This retrospective online version of the ever-popular Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the U.S. between the years 1890-1982.

Foreign News (1975-present):

• Finding World Newspapers at Princeton
  URL: http://libweb.princeton.edu/help/research/history/guides/world_news.php
  This is a very helpful guide compiled by our History Librarian Elizabeth Bennett that offers some guidance on locating foreign newspapers of interest.
• ABYZ News Links
  URL: http://www.abyznewslinks.com
  ABYZ News Links is a portal to online news sources from around the world. It is primarily composed of links to newspaper pages but also includes links to many broadcast stations, internet services, magazines, and press agencies. Be aware that the actual news sources you will ulimately find are likely not to be in English.
• Foreign Broadcast Information Service Electronic Index
  Provides indexing to the Daily Reports of the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. These reports include translated broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements from nations around the world. Search by keyword, region and date. This index only covers reports from 1975-1996, which are mostly available in microfiche with some in paper. Ask for help locating these reports at the Social Science Reference Center. For earlier material, contact me. For more recent material, see the World News Connection below.
• World News Connection
  Continues coverage of the FBIS reports mentioned above from 1996 to present, and with full text. The search functions are similar (by keyword, region, and date) with a "latest headlines" feature for monitoring current news.

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Sources of Public Opinion

Another way of analyzing the impact that Islamist groups are having is to research how public opinion towards them has changed over time. The following are some sources that may help you to find measures of public opinion regarding your group as well as other relevant issues.

For additional sources, see the Politics, political attitudes and behavior, Public opinion polls, and the Race, ethnicity and ethnic relations sections of the Data & Statistical Services page.

Databases for finding opinion sources:

• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
  URL: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu
  Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the ICPSR provides member colleges and universities with access to an extensive data archive, as well as training facilities for social scientists conducting quantitative analysis. Search their data holdings by keyword or browse by thematic categories.
• iPOLL Databank
  Based on the files of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, this database is a comprehensive, up-to-date source for U.S. nationwide public opinion. It is a full-text retrieval system updated daily and organized at the question-level, providing tools to sift through nearly a half million questions asked on national public opinion surveys since 1935. A one-time free registration is required to use this database.
• Polling Report
  URL: http://www.pollingreport.com
  Polling Report bills itself as an independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion. Their Web site provides selected questions and summaries of responses taken from nationwide polls conducted by major pollsters, including Gallup, Harris, CNN/USA Today, Fox News, and others. Data and state-level surveys are available only to subscribers, but there are lots of alternatives out there, so I strongly recommend you talk to a librarian before subscribing!
• Polling the Nations
  Polling the Nations is a compilation of public opinion surveys conducted in the United States and more than 80 other countries. Each record includes the question asked and the responses given, the polling organization responsible for the work, the date the information was released, the sample size, and the groups or areas included in the interview.

Individual opinion studies:

• World Public Opinion - Program on International Policy Attitudes
  URL: http://www.worldpublicopinion.org
  Launched in January of 2006, this site serves as a source of in-depth information and analysis on public opinion from around the world on international issues. You can access full poll reports and questionnaires by region and by topic, including development, foreign aid, globalization, trade, the environment, international security, justice, human rights, governance, and the UN.
• Zogby International
  URL: http://www.zogby.com
  Since 1984, Zogby has tracked public opinion in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Despite the shameless self-promotion, their web site provides many brief reports and news releases that summarize the key findings of their polls. Keyword searching the site is usually the best bet. PUL has purchased a modest number of selected polls, check the Main Catalog to find them.

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Useful Web Sites

The following are just a sampling of web sites that may prove useful for gathering additional information.

• Brookings Institution
  URL: http://www.brookings.edu
  Founded in 1916, the Brookings Institution is one of Washington's oldest think tanks. It is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, and public education with an emphasis on economics, foreign policy, governance, and metropolitan policy.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  URL: http://www.ceip.org
  Founded in 1910, this private, nonprofit organization is dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies
  URL: http://www.csis.org
  For four decades, CSIS has been dedicated to providing world leaders with strategic insights on, and policy solutions to current and emerging global issues. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the center's staff of 190 researchers focus primarily on three areas: the spectrum of new challenges to national and international security, monitoring of all of the world's major geographical regions, and development of new methods of governance for the global age. CSIS has programs on technology and public policy, international trade and finance, and energy.
• Council on Foreign Relations
  URL: http://www.cfr.org
  Founded in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is a non-profit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs through the free exchange of ideas. The Council's website is a good source for current issues in international affiars.
• International Crisis Group
  URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org
  Established in 1995, the ICG is an independent, non-profit, multinational organization working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. Their website can be a good source for recent information on conflicts worldwide.
• The Middle East Institute
  URL: http://www.mideasti.org
  Located in Washington, DC, the Middle East Institute provides a number of resources to keep the public objectively informed about the Middle East. This site provides access to the table of contents, abstracts, and select articles from The Middle East Journal. You can also access online policy briefs about current events in the region, descriptions of the Institute's monographs, and their online catalog of scholarly works in Middle Eastern studies.
• Middle East Research and Information Project
  URL: http://www.merip.org
  MERIP was founded in 1971 to provide information and analysis on the Middle East to the media and the public. They publish the Middle East Report.
• Middle East Studies Internet Resources
  URL:  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm
  Maintained by the Middle East and Jewish Studies Librarian at Columbia University Libraries, this page is an on-going compilation of electronic bibliographic resources and research materials on the Middle East and North Africa available on the Internet.
• Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
  URL: http://www.dayan.org
  Located in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Dayan center is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of the modern history and contemporary affairs of the Middle East.
• RAND Corporation
  URL: http://www.rand.org
  RAND is a nonprofit public policy research institution established after World War II to study national security. Current areas of research and analysis include national defense, education and training, health care, criminal and civil justice, labor and population, science and technology, community development, international relations, and regional studies. Their web site provides information on their many useful publications. See the RAND Publications Research Guide for help locating RAND publications in the library. See also the section on National Security and Terrorism, and be sure to check out their Voices of Jihad database.
• U.S. Department of State
  URL: http://www.state.gov
  The State Department advises the President in the formulation and execution of foreign policy. Their primary objective in the conduct of foreign relations is to promote the long-range security and well-being of the United States. The State Dept. website can be a good source for press releases concerning recent events in U.S. foreign relations.

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