Summary
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Typical questions
• Does the British government still fund aid programmes in India?
• Where can I find recent research on ICT and development?
• I need statistics on trends in foreign aid to DRC Congo.
Points to consider
• Development studies students often need access to financial data on foreign aid. This section has a statistical data sub-section to guide you to key resources.
• Increasing numbers of development organizations (including charities) are publishing full-text reports on the web. As a result, some libraries have discontinued purchasing print copies. Students are advised to explore the internet portals sub-section to locate recent references.
• Researchers focusing on specific regions of the world may also benefit from consulting the appropriate area studies sections of this book. Additionally, many of the journal indexes in the Economics section cover economic development issues.
Where to look
Key organizations
Scholarly
Use these websites to trace key publications, conference listings and information on cutting-edge research.
Development Studies Association
www.devstud.org.uk
Seeks to connect academic and NGO research organizations in the UK and Ireland.
European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)
www.eadi.org
Professional network for Development Studies scholars and organizations in Europe.
Inter-regional Coordinating Committee of Development Associations (CCDA)
www.iccda.net
Umbrella network for a number of regional Development Studies organizations. Established in 1976 and renowned for its efforts in encouraging co-operation between North/South researchers. The website is good for tracing links to key bodies outside Europe and North America.
Society for International Development Forum
www.sidint.net
Founded in 1957, SID is a well established network of Development Studies researchers and organizations. Website is a good source of news stories plus links to organizations worldwide.
Charities
Many charities now possess websites where they post full-text news stories about their projects, plus comment on government development aid projects. A leading example is:
Oxfam
www.oxfam.org.uk
For advice on tracing other examples see the Charities section.
Government departments
Useful for information on aid projects, policy and budgets. Remember that government departments often change their names/remits. Further advice on tracing official publications is given in the Government Publications section.
Department for International Development (DFID)
www.dfid.gov.uk
Body of UK government with current responsibility for managing foreign aid. Its website provides free access to Research4Development (R4D), www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/AboutR4D.asp, a database containing information about research programmes supported by DFID. It contains many in-depth case studies and evidence-based reviews.
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- Information
- Know it All, Find it Fast for Academic Libraries , pp. 85 - 96Publisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2011