Disaster Studies

DELCAT | Getting Started | Periodical Indexes and Abstracts | Statistical Sources | Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

DELCAT

Books provide background information, definitions, and data from past research on your topic. Bibliographies that list additional reference sources are often given at the end of each chapter or at the close of the book.

Use DELCAT, the online catalog of the University of Delaware Library, to locate books on your research topic. If you have trouble identifying appropriate subject headings, try a keyword search or ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

Additionally, DELCAT lists the titles of the periodical subscriptions the library receives: magazines, journals, and newspapers (serials).

Examples of searches in DELCAT

dam and disaster*
disasters
disaster* and tornado*
disaster relief
disaster relief and emergency
earthquakes and California
earthquakes and tsunamis
environmental disasters

food relief
food relief and famine
foreign aid
hurricane katrina
natural disasters
natural disaster* and assistance
natural disaster* and floods and relief
severe storms

Getting Started

Academic OneFile. Location: Library Databases: Comprehensive database of more than 8,000 journals covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature, and other subjects. Most of the journals are in full text.

CQ Researcher Plus Archive. Location: Library Databases: A database of in-depth reports that explore a single "hot" issue in the news each week. Topics include topics such as disaster preparedness, rebuilding New Orleans, earthquake research, and disaster response.

LexisNexis Academic. Location: Library Databases: Contains the full text of articles from U.S. and international newspapers, as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Location: Library Databases: A database that provides a one-stop source for information on controversial social issues. Included are viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to Web sites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Sociological Abstracts. Location: Library Databases: Indexes journals in sociology, criminal justice, social work, and related social sciences disciplines.

Journal, Newspaper, and Magazine Articles

Business Source Premier. Location: Library Databases: Full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications. significant articles from nearly 1000 business and management journals. Good for topics on the economic impact of disasters.

Compendex. Location: Library Databases: Contains references to scholarly journal articles, technical reports, conference proceedings, and some books in every engineering discipline, plus some related disciplines.

Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management. Location: Library Databases: Provides access to the scholarly literature concerning environmental sciences and pollution management, including links to full-text electronic journal articles.

Ethnic NewsWatch. Location: Library Databases: A comprehensive, full text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native American press. It provides a rich collection of articles, editorials, and reviews with a broad diversity of perspectives often at variance with the mainstream media.

GEOBASE. Dublin, OH: Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Location: Library Databases: GEOBASE covers geography, geology, ecology, international development, and their related disciplines. Good for topics dealing with natural and environmental disasters and hazards.

GeoRef. Location: Library Databases: GeoRef covers the world's literature in geology and the geosciences.

JSTOR. New York, N.Y.: JSTOR, 1994- . Location: Library Databases: Provides access to the backfiles of more than 200 scholarly journals in Asian studies, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, political science, population studies, and sociology. Full text and graphics are available. Journals included are: American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, and Contemporary Sociology.

LexisNexis Congressional. Location: Library Databases: Comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information. Includes information on members of Congress and Congressional committees, a hot topics list, and full text of bills and laws.

LexisNexis State Capital. Location: Library Databases: Comprehensive access to state bills and statutes, constitutions, proposed and enacted regulations, newspapers of record, articles about legislative issues affecting all 50 states, and information about legislators. Provides subject and author indexing to access approximately 170 magazines and newsletters with substantial research value published by the U.S. government.

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service). Location: Library Databases: Indexes books, periodicals, and government documents on issues concerning public policy.

PsycINFO. Location: Library Databases: Indexes journals in psychology and related social science disciplines. Recent years include chapters and articles in books.

Sage Urban Studies Abstracts. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1973- . Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref HT51 .S24): This quarterly publication indexes and abstracts selectively books, articles, pamphlets, governments publications, etc., on subjects such as housing and public services.

World News Connection Location: Library Databases: An online news service that offers translated and English-language news and information compiled from thousands of non-U.S. media sources, including news agencies, newspapers, and radio and television stations. The information covers significant socioeconomic, political, and environmental issues and events. Generally, this information is available within 24-72 hours from the time of original publication or broadcast.

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

The Associated Press Library of Disasters. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1998. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GB5019 .A85 1998)

Bumgarner, Jeffrey. Emergency Management. Boston : Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref HV551.3 B85 2008)

Beacham's Guide to Environmental Issues & Sources. Washington, D.C.: Beacham Pub., 1993. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GE115 .B43 1993)

Campbell, Ballard. Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History. New York : Facts On File, 2008. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E179 .C27 2008)

Pampel. Fred. Disaster Response. New York : Facts On File, 2008. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref HV553 .P35 2008)

Encyclopedia of Earth System Science. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1992. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref QE5 .E514 1992)

Encyclopedia of Global Change: Environmental Change and Human Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GE149 .E47 2002)

Davis, Lee Allyn. Environmental Disasters: A Chronicle of Individual, Industrial, and Governmental Carelessness. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1998. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GE140 .D383 1998)

Davis, Lee Allyn. Manmade Catastrophes: From the Burning of Rome to the Lockerbie Crash. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1993. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref D24 .D38 1993)

Davis, Lee Allyn. Natural Disasters: From the Black Plague to the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1992. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GB5014 .D38 1992)

Eastlake, Keith. World Disasters: Tragedies in the Modern Age. New York, NY: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref D24 .E27x 2001)

Fitzpatrick, Patrick J. Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref QC944 .F58 2006)

Miller, E. Willard. Natural Disasters: Floods: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref GB1399.3 .M56 2000)

Smith, Roger. Catastrophes and Disasters. New York, NY: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref D24 .S65x 1992)

Statistical Sources

American FactFinder. Bureau of the Census. Location: Internet (http://factfinder.census.gov/): Statistical data from Census 2000, the 1990 Census, the Economic Censuses, and many Census surveys.

County and City Data Book. Washington: U.S. Dept. Of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: U.S. G.P.O. Location: (http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS31661) Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref HA202 .A36): Presents a variety of statistical information on states, counties, cities and places in the United States. Data are gathered from many federal agencies.

Gallup Brain. Location: Library Databases: A 70-year archive of public opinion, from the Gallup Organization. Gallup Brain contains the answers to more than 136,000 questions, and responses from more than 3.5 million people interviewed by The Gallup Poll since 1935.

LexisNexis Statistical. Location: Library Databases: Indexes and abstracts statistical publications issued by the federal government (ASI), state governments and private publishers (SRI), and intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations (IIS).

Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington: Bureau of the Census. Annual. Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref HA202 .A1) Latest ed. at Reference Desk Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc Census Area, first row) Location: Internet (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/): Contains a wealth of statistics including crime statistics. This volume serves as a prime source for U.S. industrial, social, political, and economic statistics. There is a subject index to tables in the back.The original sources of each table's statistics is included in a footnote following the tables.

This page is maintained by Erin Daix, Reference Department.

Last modified: 03/24/09