Typical questions

• • Where can I find recent research on Sen's theory of development?

• • I need historic statistics on foreign aid to Sudan.

Starting points

• • Development studies literature may be produced by academic journals, think tanks, charities, government departments and international organisations. This can present difficulties to students who may need to search several different locations and indexes to get a comprehensive overview. A particular problem is that development organisations, such as charities, are publishing full text reports on the web but these are often not indexed by library catalogues. A good method for tracing these is to use the Digital libraries listed in the sub-section below. These are also an efficient starting point for discovering practitioner literature such as aid programme evaluation reports, which are usually not included in the journal indexes.

• • Accessing statistics on foreign aid can also be an issue for researchers. The Statistical data sub-section below gives some basic guidance on this. Students are also advised to consult the appropriate area studies sections of this book. Many of the journal indexes in the Economics chapter also cover economic development issues.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – scholarly

Use these websites to trace key publications, conference listings and information on cutting edge research.

Development Studies Association

www.devstud.org.uk

Professional organisation that supports teaching, research and development practice.

European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) [Specialist]

www.eadi.org

Leading network for development studies organisations in Europe. Website has a research monitor database listing major new publications from its members, which is particularly good for tracing MOOCs.

Inter-regional Coordinating Committee of Development Associations (CCDA)

www.iccda.net

Umbrella network for a number of regional development studies organisations. 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 of 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 organisations. The website is a good source of news stories plus links to organisations worldwide.

Key organisations – 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 and Parliamentary Publications chapter.