Zotero
- Getting Started with ZoteroZotero is a free (and easy) citation management tool that helps you organize your research, take notes, insert citations into your writing, and create bibliographies. It can also be used for group work including sharing documents and notes. Contact library_research@hks.harvard.edu for a demonstration.
HKS Library Research Guides
Our research guides cover a wide range of topics and include links to websites that are freely available to all researchers. Note that items listed as Harvard Login will not be accessible unless using our guest computers.
Google Search Tips
Sometimes what you need is buried several pages into millions of search results. Add these limits to your searches to get more manageable and relevant results:
- " " to search words as a phrase instead of individually - "international development"
- site: to limit to a particular website or domain - site:gov or site:un.org
- filetype: to limit to a filetype - filetype:pdf or filetype:xls
Typing "international development" site:un.org filetype:pdf will limit your results to publications in pdf form (i.e. reports and working papers) hosted on the United Nations website that refer to the phrase international development. You can also use Google's Advanced Search form.
Free Major Multidisciplinary Resources for Scholarly Articles & E-Books
- Google ScholarSearch scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
- Directory of Open Access JournalsDirectory of free, full text, scientific and scholarly journals. Currently contains over 7,500 titles.
- Directory of Open Access BooksAcademic peer-reviewed books from 386 publishers.
Free Data Sources
- Google Dataset SearchUse keywords to discover datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the Web.
- Open Data RepositoriesCurated list of repositories and databases for open data from Simmons University's School of Library & Information Science.
- U.S and International Statistical AgenciesList compiled by the US Census Bureau.
Free Public Policy & Economics Resources
- Think Tank SearchA Google Custom Search of more than 1200 think tanks and research centers. Curated by the HKS Library.
- HKS PublicationsIdeas and solutions from HKS for use as a resource for students, policymakers, thought leaders, journalists, and engaged citizens.
- HKS Policy TopicsLinks to the writings of HKS faculty, researchers, practitioners, and students on topics of interest at HKS.
- HKS PolicyCastConversations with leading experts in public policy, media, and international affairs about their experiences confronting the worlds’ most pressing public problems.
- HBS Working KnowledgeSite connecting the Harvard Business School’s leading edge research and ideas on business management with practitioners, thought-leaders, and academics. Harvard is unable to provide EE participants with access to Harvard Business Review except on our guest computers.
- NBER: National Bureau of Economic ResearchFree access to working papers 18 months and older.
- SSRN: Social Science Research NetworkContains working papers in social science, law and business/economics fields. Registration is required. Set up alerts and subscribe to the JFK School of Government Faculty Research Working Paper Series.
- Rand CorporationPublications dating from 1946. Topics include criminal justice, national security, terrorism, international affairs, healthcare and energy.
- IssueLabA project of the Foundation Center, the IssueLab provides free access to thousands of case studies, evaluations, white papers, and issue briefs.