LibGuides: UGS 303: Latin America: Environmental History and Sustainability / Knapp: Learn more about your product and country

Broad overviews of topics

Start by finding broad overviews of your chosen commodity and country. These sources are good for background knowledge, keyword brainstorming, identifying important names, dates, and events, identifying various aspects of your topic, narrowing your topic, and finding other sources using the bibliographies presented at the bottom of entries.

Ask yourself these questions:

1) What are the different parts of my commodity chain?

2) What are the conditions in my country (economy, health, crime, social, environmental, etc.) that I should learn more about in order to understand how this product affects the country?

PLEASE NOTE: These databases provide overview articles that are a good starting place for topic definition and keyword gathering but DO NOT count towards your 2 library source requirements. Please use the pages at left to find the journal articles, books and news sources you may use for this requirement.

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
encyclopedia articles that offer a good first stop for topic exploration and fact finding.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files. A list of sources included in our subscription is available.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
Click the pdf index at the bottom left of the screen to locate table numbers relevant to your topic. Learn how much of your commodity is purchased in the US, for example.
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a compilation of social, political and economic statistics. The focus is on national data, but some tables cover regions, states, cities, and comparative international statistics. Each table identifies the source of the data. Tables can be downloaded in xls or pdf format.
Divided into broad sections such as Population, Health and Nutrition, Education, Foreign Commerce and Aid, Prices and many others, the database can be searched or browsed to retrieve results that can then be narrowed by source, geography, time period, subject, and other breakdowns.

World Bank Documents
Global partnership working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. These documents can help you uncover the challenges and controversies surrounding your commodity.