Library Home Page > Research Topics Human Rights 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 human rights.  Below you will find pointers to suggested research terms about human rights, materials in the library catalog about human rights, websites relevant to human rights, and links to library databases that contain information about human rights.  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 human rights: human rights "freedom of religion" genocide political prisoners prison conditions torture slavery The following terms are best combined with the phrase "human rights" as shown: capital punishment and human rights countries (Cambodia, Rwanda, etc.) and human rights discrimination and human rights education and human rights equality and human rights freedom and human rights global and human rights health and human rights housing and human rights justice and human rights medical care and human rights national security and human rights NGO (Non-governmental Organization) and human rights private property and human rights suffrage and human rights violence and human rights (Some of these terms will also be valuable when combined with each other such as "global" and "justice" - see below.) Back to top of page Materials in the Library Catalog about Human Rights We have the following materials in the library catalog about human rights: human rights genocide global and justice  (Note the combination of terms using the boolean operator "and".) A great place to begin your research on any topic is the print reference area.  These are a few of the titles that might help in your research on human rights. Encyclopedia of Ethics  Ref 63 .E45 1992 The Encyclopedia of Philosophy  Ref B41 .E5 Encyclopedia of Sociology  Ref HM425 .E5 2000 The Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism  Ref BX841 .H37 1995 Historic Documents  Ref E 839.5 .H572 Human Rights: The Essential Reference  Ref K3240.4 .H847 1999 International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences  Ref H41 E6 1968 Routledge Encyclopedia if Philosophy  Ref B51 .R68 1998 Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women  Ref HQ 1115 .R69 2000 Violence in America  Ref HN90 .V5 V5474 1999 West's Encyclopedia of American Law  Ref KF 154 .W47 1998 Back to top of page   Websites on human rights The following websites will help you with your research on human rights: Human Rights Watch   "[L]awyers, journalists, academics, and country experts of many nationalities and diverse backgrounds...conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world."  http://www.hrw.org/ Listing of International Human Rights Advocacy Groups  "The primary emphasis of many of the organizations listed here is to advocate on behalf of victims of human rights violations. These violations may include war crimes, torture, slavery, and denial of basic needs for survival, ethnic discrimination or denial of self-determination. http://www.webcom.com/hrin/intlgrps.html#list Human Rights Internet  "HRI is dedicated to the empowerment of human rights activists and organizations, and to the education of gevernmental and intergovernmental agencies...on human rights issues."  http://www.hri.ca/welcome.cfm Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights  This "first academic center to focus exclusively on health and human rights, combines the academic strengths of research and teaching with a strong commitment to service and advocacy." http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/fxbcenter/ International Human Rights Law Group   "The International Human Rights Law Group is a non-profit organization of human rights and legal professionals from over 20 countries engaged in advocacy, strategic human rights lawyering and training around the world."  http://www.hrlawgroup.org/  UNICEF Innocenti Research Center  This site is devoted to research and advocacy for children's rights around the world.  http://www.unicef-icdc.org/    United Nations Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights  The UN's official site, directs the viewer to a variety of human rights resources.  http://www.unhchr.ch/ University of Minnesota Human Rights Library   A great starting point.  This site provides a large number of documents and pertinent links.  http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/  Amnesty International Online  Perhaps the best known human rights organization, their website deals primarily with political prisoners, but also other issues of concern to human rights advocates and researchers.  http://www.amnesty.org/   Back to top of page Library Databases Relevant to Human Rights The following SMC databases contain material relevant to human rights.   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. Philosophy and Religion Collection Covers such topics as epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy, world religions, biblical studies, religious history. Includes more than 300 full text journals. 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. National Newspapers (U.S.) Searchable index for recent issues of the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. Full-text for newer issues and citations for older materials. More information on coverage Newspaper Source (Regional, National and International) Provides selected full text for 25 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers. 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. Ethnic NewsWatch News, culture and history from the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press -- English and Spanish language. 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. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection Provides coverage of nearly 550 full text journals, covering topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods. Military and Government Collection Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 350 journals and periodicals and indexing and abstracts for more than 450 titles. Oxford Reference: Military History Dictionaries and reference titles on military history. Readers' Guide Retrospective 1890-1982 Comprehensive indexing of general-interest periodicals. Coverage includes the years 1890 through 1982. ABI/INFORM Business news and information from more than 410 full text journals. Coverage includes all subject areas related to business. Business Source Premier Business Source Premier provides full text for nearly 8200 serials. Coverage includes all subject areas related to business. 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. Researched and evaluated by: Michael Colling, Librarian 4/25/02 Back to top