KATE: Hello. I need to speak with a librarian about my research project. Is this the right place?

LIBRARIAN: Yes. Please have a seat. I’d be happy to help you. What exactly are you working on?

KATE: Thank you very much. I’m writing a final research report for my political science class about democratic governance in former British colonies. I’m interested in how things such as institutional legitimacy have affected democratisation in these places. I want to know how Britain’s involvement aided, or, uh, obstructed that process.

LIBRARIAN: All right. And do you have any specific countries that you are particularly focused on in your analysis?

KATE: Well, I feel like I need to do more research to know for sure, but right now I’m looking mostly at Zimbabwe.

LIBRARIAN: I see. You sound quite clear on your topic. So what aspect of your research do you need help with?

KATE: I’ve found a lot of research on corruption and mismanagement in the government of Zimbabwe following its independence in 1980. That’s quite clear. But I’m having trouble finding articles about Britain’s support, or lack thereof.

LIBRARIAN: The first place you need to look is in government policy archives. It’s important to look at original sources for policy, as most academic scholarship will be an interpretation rather than an overview. 

KATE: And all of that information is available to the public?

LIBRARIAN: Oh yes. There’s a searchable database of archived policy records on the government’s website. If you have trouble finding anything, just call the government’s helpline. It’s their duty to provide you with that information.

KATE: Wow, that’s great. I’ll definitely take advantage of that. But I also need some, you know, critical analyses.

LIBRARIAN: Yes, well, if you are having difficulties finding critical scholarship through general searches in academic journals, then perhaps we need to get more creative with our search methods.

KATE: More creative?

LIBRARIAN: For example, we can try to access scholarship produced by academics in Zimbabwe. I’m sure they have an interesting perspective on the topic.

KATE: Wouldn’t their work have shown up in my previous searches?

LIBRARIAN: Not necessarily. It’s not uncommon for academics in post-colonial countries to want to publish locally. It’s sort of their way of keeping a distance from the institutions that oppressed them in the first place.

KATE: That makes sense.

KATE: So, how can I access those articles from here in London?

LIBRARIAN: We have a couple of options. The first is to visit the websites of universities in Zimbabwe and see if they have public databases of their research. It’d take a bit of time, but it would be worth it.

KATE: I can do that. What are the other options?

LIBRARIAN: It’s also possible for me to contact academic journals in Zimbabwe. Given that we are a major research library, they would likely give us free access to their journal archives. However, a problem I can foresee arising is that much of their earlier scholarship would have been in print...not digitalised.

KATE: Hmm... Well, I don’t have the money to fly to Zimbabwe, so...

LIBRARIAN: Our library does have funding set aside for inter-library loans. We could use some of that money to have hard copies of any pertinent articles sent to us on loan. That can take some time, though. When is your paper due?

KATE: Next week, on Friday.

LIBRARIAN: Oh, then forget that idea. We need more expedient options. We’ll start with a search of Zimbabwean universities. Have you contacted any scholars in that area?

KATE: No, not yet. I do have a few names, though.

LIBRARIAN: Best to get in touch with them right away. At the very least, they can point you in the right direction. 

KATE: Right. I’ll do that this afternoon.

LIBRARIAN: One last thought... Have you considered doing interviews of government officials?

KATE: No. That never even occurred to me.

LIBRARIAN: It might strengthen your paper if you do some field research by getting the opinions of people in government working on foreign public policy. My guess is that there are officials who would have worked on related projects, given that independence was only won some 30 years ago.

KATE: What a fantastic idea! I’m sure my professor would appreciate my putting in the extra effort as well. Your suggestions have been so helpful.

LIBRARIAN: I’m glad I could be of assistance.

 Answer

1. Political science

2. Zimbabwe

3. Corruption

4. Mismanagement

5. Government policy archives

6.  Academics in Zimbabwe

7. D

8. B

9. E

10. F