Terrorism

This guide is an introduction to the research process that, while not being an exhaustive list of information resources available, should be helpful in getting started in your research about terrorism.  Below you will find pointers to suggested research terms about terrorism, materials in the library catalog about terrorism,  websites relevant to terrorism, and links to library databases that contain information about terrorism.  Please use our email reference service, contact us at (310) 434-4254, or visit us in the library at the reference desk if you need further assistance.

Go to:   Suggested Research Terms   Materials in the Library Catalog    Websites   Library Databases

Suggested Research Terms

One of the really helpful things when searching for information about a topic is a short list of terms related to a topic.  We think the following terms will help with your research about terrorism:

When searching for books in our library, it is best to remain fairly general, and therefore you would use simple words or phrases.

• terrorism
• terrorist
• counter-terrorism
• hijacking
• skyjacking
• kidnapping
• "domestic terrorism"
• "state terrorism"
• "suicide bombings"

When searching in journal databases or on the Internet, you may want to narrow your search by combining more than one term.

• violence and politics
• terrorism and United States
• terrorism and Middle East
• etc.

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Materials in the Library Catalog about Terrorism.

Click on the key phrase below to view lists of sources available at the SMC Library: 

•  terrorism

Often, the best place to begin your research is the reference area.  Here you can become quite knowledgeable about a topic and its vocabulary in a relatively brief time.  The following titles found in the reference area of the SMC Library all have significant articles or statistics on terrorism.   

• Historic Documents
• Encyclopedia of Sociology
• Violence in America

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Websites on Terrorism

The following websites will help you with your research on terrorism:

• ANSER: Institute for Homeland Security  This is not the government's Office of Homeland Security, but a private non-profit think tank that investigates issues of terrorism and makes policy recommendations. http://www.homelandsecurity.org/

• The Brookings Institution:America's Response to Terrorism.  Another private think-tank whose "large-scale project on Terrorism and American Foreign Policy...will focus the experience and analytical abilities of its scholars on both the immediate and long term challenges posed by international terrorism."http://www.brookings.edu/fp/projects/terrorism/links.htm

• Central Intelligence Agency: The War on Terrorism The official CIA site. Provides some very interesting information on recent terrorist acts, as well as a great deal of public relations copy.  http://www.cia.gov/terrorism/index.html

• Centre For the Study of Terror and Political Violence  TA British perspective from the University of Saint Andrews.  The Centre "aims to investigate the roots of political violence, to develop a body of theory spanning its various disparate elements, and to study the impact of violence, and responses to it, at societal, governmental, and international levels." 
  http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/research/cstpv/

• FBI: War on Terrorism  Presents a wide variety of literature on terrorism, including a "Most Wanted Terrorists" page .
  http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/counterrorism/waronterrorhome.htm

• Findlaw's Special Coverage:War on Terrorism  This very interesting site links to a number of articles and documents related to terror and the law.http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/us/terrorism/

• University of Michigan Library: Documents on Terrorism Maintains a long list of resources on terrorism compiled by the University of Michigan's library staff. http://www.google.com/u/umlib?q=terrorism&sa=Search&domains=www.lib.umich.edu&sitesearch=www.lib.umich.edu

• U.S. Department of State: Counter-Terrorism Office Offers the official government stance on terrorism. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/

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Library Databases Relevant to Terrorism.

Paragraph regarding library databases that may contain material relevant to <research topic>.  Databases may include magazine, newspaper and journal articles.  Please note: you must be a Santa Monica College student, faculty or staff member to use these services.
Academic Search Premier, MasterFile Premier
Academic Search Premier and MasterFile Premier provide full text for over 6200 periodicals including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
CountryWatch
Country Reviews provide geographical, political, economic, corporate and environmental information for every country in the world. Country Wire is compiled from the wire services on the latest political, economic, corporate, and environmental events on a country by country basis.
National Newspapers (1985- current)
Local, regional and national news coverage from selected newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor.
Newspaper Source Plus
Provides selected full text for many U.S. and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 800 U.S. regional newspapers.
Business Source Elite
Full-text coverage of scholarly business, management and economics journals. Also includes publications covering topics such as accounting, banking, finance, international business, marketing, sales, etc. Business Source Elite offers full text for nearly 1,000 business publications and more than 10,000 company profiles.
Regional Business News
Regional Business News provides full text coverage for regional business publications. Includes coverage of 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.
Encyclopedia Americana
Includes 45,000 articles, plus thousands of hypertext links to web sites featuring additional data. It is updated quarterly.
Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnalls New World
Provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.
JSTOR
Back issues of over 300 scholarly journals in a wide variety of disciplines: African American Studies, African Studies, Anthropology, Archeology, Art and Architecture, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, Geography, History, Language & Literature, Latin American Studies, Mathematics, Music, Middle East Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, Slavic Studies, Sociology and Statistics.
Science Full Text Select
Coverage includes popular science magazines as well as professional journals. Also covers The New York Times Science Section. Full text coverage begins in January 1995.
Science Full Text Select
Coverage includes popular science magazines as well as professional journals. Also covers The New York Times Science Section. Full text coverage begins in January 1995.