All guides: International Studies and Development: Key resources

Journal articles

Find journal articles and case studies on all aspects of international studies and development.

Search databases using the main keywords that describe your topic. For example: gender microfinance Africa

(Add “case study” as a search term to find case studies)

Taylor & Francis Online
Peer reviewed journal articles on global development, social sciences, and international relations. Includes a comprehensive collection of area studies.
ProQuest Central
A large, multidisciplinary collection, ideal for starting your research. Subjects include social sciences, economics, education, health, politics, and communication.
SAGE Journals Online
Select the Social Sciences & Humanities discipline hub to search for research articles. Covers international relations, economics and development, communication, cultural studies, languages, and gender studies.
Wiley Online Library
Find journal articles, book chapters and encyclopedia entries. Subjects include development studies, communication and political science.
Brill e-journals
Research human rights, international relations, languages and social science topics. Includes a large collection of regional studies.
JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive
Great for both current and historical research. Covers development studies, international relations, peace and conflict studies, communication, and area studies.
Informit
Find Australian content on social sciences, health, education, and public affairs. Includes the Indigenous collection and Asia collection.
Cambridge Core (Cambridge University Press)
Contains journal articles and books on a range of topics. Subjects include international relations, languages, area studies and social science research methods.
HeinOnline
Search U.S. and international law journals. Useful for researching international law, civil rights and social justice topics.
Project Muse
Journal articles and books from university presses and scholarly societies. Covers human rights, women's studies, languages, politics and international relations, and area studies.
Scopus (Elsevier)
A multidisciplinary collection covering a broad range of social science topics. (Click “FindIt” to access the full text)
Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics)
A multidisciplinary collection, including area and cultural studies, development, and international relations. (Click “FindIt” to access the full text)

Country and regional profiles

Many of the recommended databases (listed above), contain area studies. These examine the history, politics, languages and social culture of geographical regions.

Use the Statistics section of this guide to find more country and regional data and analysis.

MarketLine
Search for country profiles, country and risk reports and city profiles. Includes PEST and PESTLE reports. These provide political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental analysis. Use the "Geographies" tab to browse regions and countries.

CIA World Factbook
Country and regional intelligence on people, government, economics, military, security and transnational issues. Includes details on international disputes, refugees, military expenditure, poverty levels, and health issues.
NationMaster: Country Profiles
A directory of comparative economic and demographic indicators. Browse by category or country.

OECD iLibrary
Socio-economic data, analyses and country studies. Browse by theme to find books, papers and statistics.
Passport
Find country industry reports and economic data. Research consumer markets, trends and forecasts. Access the interactive "Dashboards" section to explore global data and country comparisons. Create custom reports on future demographics, population, and income and expenditure.
Business Source Complete (EBSCO)
Search for country reports, profiles and risk reports. Also includes industry reports, journal articles and case studies.

Development reports and indicators

Sustainable Development Report (SDR)
A global assessment of countries' progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Development Reports (WDR)
Annual reports by the World Bank examining current themes in development.
World Development Indicators (WDI)
The World Bank's compilation of cross-country comparable data on global development.
United Nations Human Development Reports
Focused on advancing human development beyond the economy. Promotes innovative new ideas and policy changes to expand opportunities, choice and freedom.
World Economic Outlook (IMF)
Detailed analysis of the world economy. Covers issues affecting industrial countries, developing countries and economies in transition.
Asian Development Outlook
The Asian Development Bank's analyses of developing countries in Asia. Covers economic and development issues.
Human Rights Watch: World Report
Review of human rights trends and developments in over 100 countries.
World Inequality Report
Evidence-based research by the World Inequality Lab of social scientists. Contains extensive data and analysis of the drivers of inequality worldwide.
Global Hunger Index (GHI)
Measures progress and compares hunger at global, regional and national levels. Includes rankings, trends, issues and country case studies.
World Health Statistics (WHO)
Comprehensive annual data on world health trends, issues and sustainable development goals.
GEM: Global Education Monitoring Report (UNESCO)
Tracks progress on education towards sustainable development goals.
Global Gender Gap Report (World Economic Forum)
Benchmarks and compares gender-based gaps for over 150 countries. Examines economic participation and opportunity, education, health and political empowerment.
Progress of the World’s Women (UN Women)
Evaluates progress towards women living free from violence, poverty and inequality.
The State of the World’s Children (UNICEF)
Examines key global issues affecting children, including disability, conflict, urbanization and child labour.
State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (UN)
Provides critical information and raises awareness about indigenous peoples' issues.
Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Explores evolving structures around the world for addressing systemic risks.
GEO: Global Environment Outlook (UNEP)
Examines the health, challenges, risks and impacts of the global environmental situation.
World Cities Report (UN Habitat)
Evidence and policy analysis of the economic, social and environmental aspects of urbanization.
The Reality of Aid Report (UCHA)
An analysis of global humanitarian aid. Provides worldwide and country information on a range of human welfare themes.
Development Program Progress Reports
Produced by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Reports on major countries and regions in which Australia provides international development programs.

The Statistics and Websites sections of this guide list additional sources for finding reports and indicators.

Academic study skills

Assignments: get started

Assignments: get started is your guide to finding, evaluating and referencing sources of information.

Learning lab

Access the Learning lab to develop skills in writing, critical thinking, assessment tasks and much more.

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Library subject guides

International Studies and Development

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Journal articles

Country and regional profiles

Development reports and indicators

Academic study skills