Researching Countries

Singapore Olympics

Festival of Fruits and Flowers, Ecuador

Mamallapuram, Indian Dance Festival, Bharatanatyam dancers

Introduction

Use the resources below to find more information about regions, topics, world cultures, development indicators, politics, world music, country health profiles, and more.

Research Guides

UMass Amherst Libraries Research Guides

The Libraries have research guides on many topics. Look at the list to find guides to specific regions or topics, such as Anthropology, African Studies, Latin American Studies, and Visiting Japan.

Library Resources

eHRAF World Cultures This link opens in a new window
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Thousands of ethnographies originally published as articles, books and dissertations. Its indexing traces social features across cultures, 1983-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
World Scholar: Latin America & the Caribbean This link opens in a new window
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A collection of archival primary sources and current statistics, articles, reports and more on people, places and topics related to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
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Publications of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Books, reports and data for every OECD country. Coverage from 1998 to present, with data sets back to the 1960s.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
World Development Indicators Online This link opens in a new window
World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources - presents the most current and accurate global development data available, including national, regional and global estimates. Coverage from 1960 to present.
Content is freely available for use by all.
Political Handbook of the World This link opens in a new window
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Information on the major aspects of each country's government and political party system.

Once you're in the database, search for "Political Handbook of the World" to see each chapter.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Political Parties of the World
Overview of political system and parties for each country in the world.

Contemporary World Music This link opens in a new window
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Tracks from current pop and traditional labels around the world.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music This link opens in a new window
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Essays, images and audio examples about world music.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

IE 7.0 or Firefox 1.0 or higher recommended.
Smithsonian Global Sound This link opens in a new window
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Music from America and elsewhere on the Folkways label. Listen for free and download for a fee. Playlist option available.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Online Resources

World Health Organization Country Profiles
Each profile page includes a country health profile, plus information about nutrition, risk factors, health service coverage, health systems, mortality and burden of disease.
European Union (Official Site)
Find information about living, working, studying and traveling in the EU; doing business in the EU; and EU documents, statistics and more.
Eurostat
Official publication of the European Community providing summary data collected through all agencies
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
A wide range of World Heritage publications, from periodicals to brochures and information kits , books, manuals, reports, and a map of World Heritage sites are available in a variety of languages for adults and young people.