Research Guides: Marine Corps War College (MCWAR): Open Source Research

Open Source Research

How to Find Credible Open Source Resources Online

Finding and utilizing quality open source resources is critical to making good decisions. There are those who create and promote false and misleading websites for financial and political gain. It is imperative that today's military leaders view open source websites with a critical eye.

Here are four things to ask yourself when evaluating an online resource:

1. Who owns this website?

2. Are they considered an authority on this subject?

3. Do they have a bias or agenda?

4. Can this information be verified?

Check out the links below for tips on how to properly evaluate online resources.

(Note: The websites listed on this page have already been evaluated and vetted by the Library of the Marine Corps Reference Department.)

Harvard Guide to Using Sources
This site provides step-by-step guidance to evaluating the credibility of a website.
Virginia Tech: Evaluating Webpages for Research
Provides a comprehensive checklist for evaluating websites.

Online Resources

Africa Country Studies - Univ. of Pennsylvania
Interdisciplinary approach to the knowledge of contemporary and historical Africa.
Country Indicators for Foreign Policy (CIFP)
Statistical and theoretical research on the relationship between state fragility and selected key variables.
Country Insights (Canadian Government)
Country facts, overview, history, geography, culture, politics, economy, media, and maps. Cultural nuances discussed from the point of view of country natives and foreigners. From the Centre of Cultural Learning, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Country Profiles (BBC)
Country profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.
These guides also include audio and video clips from the BBC archives.
European Union List of Countries
Basic information on the country, history, EU membership, and links to other resources.
Fragile States Index
from Fund for Peace.
International Affairs Resources from WWW Virtual Library
Annotated list of global think tanks, research institutes, papers and experts in international affairs.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Information & Statistics
IMF reports and publications arranged by country. Detailed rankings, charts and statistics.
Country Studies (Library of Congress)
Description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. Includes area handbooks published by the Army between 1986-1998.
Nation Master
Compilation of data from cited sources as the CIA World Factbook, United Nations, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). User-generated maps, graphs and statistics.
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Statistical country data on current USAID projects, country growth, demographic and health surveys and Data Online for Population, Health & Nutrition (DOLPHN).
United Nations Data
United Nations data containing 22 databases, 60 million records covering employment, education, energy, environment, health, population, refugees, and more.
World Health Organization (WHO) Country Profiles
Profiles of member countries in an indexed list.

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