Typical questions

• • Is Indian census data online?

• • I need journal articles on Chinese foreign policy.

Starting points

• • This is an area studies section and should be used in conjunction with the appropriate subject chapters. Closely related topics include Anthropology and Development Studies. Also relevant are the Country Information and Religion chapters, which contain resources on world religions.

• • It can also provide guidance to students and researchers wishing to decolonise their curriculum to take into account indigenous voices from the region.

• • Many students ask for resources on regions, such as East or South East Asia. Definitions can be different and may have altered historically. Check the nations required.

• • Remember that many developing nations may not have the resources to update their national websites regularly. In these cases, the international organisations listed in this section may be useful starting points for research.

• • Organisations such as WHO and the UN often have regional sub-bodies with separate websites. It is often worth locating these as they may have information not available on the main website.

• • It is also worth considering whether the nation was a former colony. For countries of the British Empire, colonial records are often one of the best resources for historical research. The Commonwealth often covers current elections and social and economic development topics.

• • It is not possible here to provide a complete list of Asian language resources. To get information on free and subscription resources, a good starting point are the library sub-section websites.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – UK scholarly societies

Use these to find information on the latest conferences, publications and research projects.

British Association for South Asian Studies

www.basas.org.uk

Largest UK academic association supporting advanced research in the humanities and social sciences of South Asia. Podcasts from events can be found on the website.

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

www.royalasiaticsociety.org

Leading learned society, established in 1823, which seeks to promote the study of Asian languages, history and cultures. Use the website to consult its library catalogue, view a digital library of online manuscripts and paintings and find out about its renowned lecture series.

Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA)

www.rsaa.org.uk

Promotes greater knowledge and understanding of Asia. Offers a library, archive and lecture series.