Research guide for
73-270 - Writing for Economists, Spring term 2010
Profs. Rudman and Koerbel 

First, some preliminaries:

1. Get to all books, library services and databases here: search.library.cmu.edu
2. New! Library page for Tepper Economics students
3. If you’re off campus, use this first and follow instructions
4. Online journal list – here you can check to see if a journal is contained in one of our databases
5. Interlibrary loan – if we don’t have the book or article that you need

Economics research

Peer-reviewed articles:

• EconLit - the primary resource for locating economics literature, and online version of the Journal of Economic Literature; primarily has abstracts, but you can use the “Get It” feature to find the full text of a document
• JSTOR - historical collections of important academic journals, including those in economics, finance, marketing, operations research, statistics and management
• Academic OneFile – cross-disciplinary database of 3500 journals for academic research
• Berkeley Electronic Press – articles in the areas of macroeconomics, theoretical economics, and economic analysis and policy

Papers before publication:

• NBER – working papers and datasets from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the nation's leading nonprofit economic research organization
• Economics Section of Social Science Research Network (SSRN) – early research results through working papers and forthcoming papers in either abstract or full-text format
• Research Papers in Economics (RePec) – international database of working papers, journal articles and software components
• Fed in Print - economic research published by analysts at Federal Reserve banks

Google Scholar - you can track down all of this in one place - and get access to our subscriptions IF you are on campus or using the VPN.

And BOOKS - don't forget - we have thousands of them and get more every day! Both print and electronic text.

Sources for datasets

Databases:

• LexisNexis Statistical - the "Customize Data" segment provides demographics, health, income, expenditures, prices, retail trade, etc., with various breakdowns and graphing and mapping applications. The other segments provide the data from thousands of statistical publications.
• World Development Indicators - from the World Bank - datasets for 700+ development indicators, in areas such as finance, communications, the environment, education, labor, health, and economics, for 208 countries and 18 country groups, from 1960 to the present
• International Financial Statistics – from the International Monetary Fund - data for major economic aggregates used in economic analysis as well as current data on exchange rates, international liquidity, international banking, currency, interest rates, prices, production, trade, government accounts, and national accounts
• Compustat Excel Analytics – company financial data and industry averages, a part of Standard & Poor’s Netadvantage database
• Compustat, CRSP, OptionMetrics– vast quantities of data on company financials, securities prices, options, and fixed-income securities, available through Tepper’s subscription to WRDS
• ICPSR Data Sets (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) - an archive of social science data for research and instruction, including historical time series of International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Census Bureau, Federal Reserve, and many more
• SimplyMap - creates maps and graphs with data on: demographics, housing and building structures, income, retail sales and sales potential, consumer expenditures and preferences, market segments, consumer price indexes, quality of life, employment, business establishments by industry, historical census data from 1980, and future projections - at geographic units from national to block group level.

Other places:

• Statistical Abstract of the United States (also in print at the Hunt Reference Desk) - U.S. and international statistics across a broad range of topics - sources listed at the bottom of each table which will lead to more detailed reports on the same topic
• NBER – datasets and links from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the nation's leading nonprofit economic research organization
• Federal Reserve data sources
• Census Bureau – official US Government site for demographics and business statistics
• Consumer Expenditure Survey – continuing studies of the purchasing behavior of US consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit characteristics
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – data on employment, wages, productivity, occupations, prices, etc.
• Bureau of Economic Analysis – national, international, regional, and industry accounts measures, such as GDP, government expenditures, balance of payments, etc. Federal Reserve Economic Database

Dictionaries for business & economics

• The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics - the classic source online and also in print in Hunt Reference, HB61 .N49.
• Quick online dictionaries: Credo Reference; Oxford Reference Online

Cumulative sites:

• Links to economic and financial data sources of interest to economists and business statisticians, from the Econometrics Journal.
• Resources for Economists on the Internet – guide sponsored by the American Economic Association, with resources of interest to academic and practicing economists

Citation research

ISI Web of Knowledge – scholarly literature of the sciences, social sciences and the arts & humanities, with the special feature of citation searching: you can take known papers or authors and find all the other papers that cite them, for a comprehensive literature review 

Other relevant research sources:

• INFORMS PubsOnline provides access to journals published by INFORMS, the professional association for operations research and management science - articles come from the fields of engineering, management, mathematics and psychology
• PsycINFO - the premier international database for psychology and related fields, which includes journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports, dissertations
• Dissertation Abstracts – summaries of dissertations and theses in the English language in all disciplines
• Community of Science (COS) - a global registry that searches for funding opportunities for students, academics and professionals, and for the experts working on a particular subject

Company/industry research –

• Standard & Poor’s Netadvantage – reports on major industries; Compustat company financial data; detailed stock, bond and mutual fund reports, as well as outlook and trends by S&P equity analysts
• Business & Company Resource Center – excellent news and trade journal content, as well as company profiles, company histories, investment reports, and industry surveys
• Hoovers Online – basic company and industry background; can make company and competitor lists
• MarketLine – detailed research reports on thousands of industries, companies, and many countries.
• Mergent Online – best for financial data on international public companies. You can download in Excel, and build customized comparative reports
• ProQuest Direct – local, national, and international newspapers, journals and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times - covers management and economics literature in its ABI-INFORM component
• Lexis-Nexis Academic – wide-ranging coverage of business news, company information, legal events, international, national and local business news

Evaluating Websites and Citing Your Sources:

• Internet Detective , and the Web Page Evaluation Checklist
• Saying where you got your information: the Citation Machine, Purdue's Online Writing Lab

Fun: Fear the Boom and Bust

We’re here to help! Hunt Library Reference Desk: (412) 268-2442; huntref@andrew.cmu.edu

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