Library Guides: Journalism: Background Info

FOR Journalists BY Journalists

An open-access site by Harvard Kennedy School that curates scholarly studies and reports

An international association of journalism organizations that supports the training and sharing of information among investigative and data journalists

Journalism: A Profession in Flux

These recent e-books highlight trends in your evolving profession:

Exploring Transmedia Journalism in the Digital Age by Renira Rampazzo Gambarato (Editor); Geane C. Alzamora (Editor)
Publication Date: February 2018
Journalism by Tim P. Vos (Editor)
Publication Date: May 2018
Risk Journalism: Between Transnational Politics and Climate Change by Ingrid Volkmer; Kasim Sharif
Publication Date: April 2018

Welcome to Background Info

This page provides listings of key resources by type to support you in your research and investigations.

General Reference Sources for Background Info

Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
Collection of full-text encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources.
A database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources. Titles include: the History of Dispute series, Encyclopedia of Modern China, Encyclopedia of Religion, the Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography and many more resources. (Formerly titled Gale Virtual Reference Library)

Oxford Reference Online
A large collection of specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries across a wide range of subject areas.

Biographies

Biography Reference Bank
Full-text biographies of hundreds of thousands of individuals from antiquity to the present, from well known print resources.
Contains biographical information on approximately 500,000 individuals from antiquity to the present. Contains the full text of well-known biographical resources like Current Biography, the World Authors Series, Nobel Prize Winners, World Artists, World Film Directors and many other sources.
American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Scholarly full text biographies and bibliographies on thousands of Americans.
Biographical portraits of more than 17,400 American men and women.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) This link opens in a new window
Full text scholarly biographic dictionary of prominent figures from the United Kingdom. Please note: There is a 1 user limit (try again later if it doesn't work at first).
Includes more than 50,000 biographies of individuals who shaped the history of Great Britain and beyond. From the fourth century BC to the 2000. Includes illustrations.
Ancestry Library
Access to this resource will be discontinued effective 06/30/24 due to library budget cuts. Please use Family Search as an alternative resource. "Includes approximately 4,000 databases including the U.S. Federal Census images & indexes from 1790 to 1940; historical maps; vital statistic records, military records, immigration records, Federal Slave Narratives, and much more."
Ancestry Library Edition provides almost all of the document reproductions and functionality available in the personal-subscription Ancestry.com product. However, some Ancestry.com materials are absent from Ancestry Library Edition, including e-books from the Families and Local Histories Collection, city directories, and historical newspapers.

Businesses

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Corporate financial database that provides information on U.S. and international public companies
Provides financial information on U.S.and international companies. The database consists of the following components: U.S. and International Company Data, Archives, Annual Reports, Factsheets Plus, Factsheets Express, Institutional Holdings, Insider Trades, Expanded Long-Term Debt, Equity Portraits, and Corporate Bond Portraits.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Click on the "Company Info" button to search for businesses (includes recent news articles and legal cases).
Nexis Uni allows users to set up personal accounts to personalize your research experience. Nexis Uni has replaced LexiNexis Academic. [dates vary]
Reference USA This link opens in a new window
Current and historical business data on millions of companies in the United States.
Includes over 13 million U.S. companies. Provides searching and sorting features by industry, geographic location, company employee size, company name, sales size, etc. Also includes residential addresses for 120 million U.S. households.

Countries

EIU Viewpoint This link opens in a new window
In-depth analysis of current economic and political events in more than 200 countries.
Includes commodity and industry forecasts as well as data at the global and country level in the areas of business and political risk, market opportunities, economic policy, demographics, energy, telecommunications. and macroeconomic indicators. Information is browsable by geography, industry, topic, and current theme.
Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new window
A collection of the statistical abstracts from many countries, including country-level data not easily found elsewhere.
These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Global and regional statistical compendia issued by international organizations are included.

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Journalism: Background Info