Getting Started
E-Reference
Encyclopedias and dictionaries are a great place to browse topics and get an idea of what you would like to research for your paper. The library's E-Reference collection gives several great options for online reference resources:
- Encyclopedia of American Immigration
Sample entry: Political, Ehtnic, Religious, and Gender Prosecution - Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos & Latinas in the United States
Sample entry: Militarization of the Border
Issues
Want to know both sides of an issue before moving ahead with your research? Try these resources:
- CQ Researcher is the perfect resource for staying on top of global and national issues. For instance, look over this entry for Debate over Immigration. On the right hand side, you'll see the Issue Tracker, which gives a timeline of events surrounding the issue. Click the Pro/Con link on the left-hand menu to jump down to both sides of the issue.
- Opposing Viewpoints similarly places issues in the context of debate. Each entry pulls together selected resources surrounding a specific topic. For instance, see this entry on Illegal Immigrants.
Key Resources
Article Databases
Here are some essential resources for research in the area of world politics or internationa relations.
- America: History & Life - A complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. For instance, see the search results for Emmigration & immigration law in the United States. Narrow the search results by adding search terms or using those recommended by the database on the lef-hand side of the screen.
- PAIS International - Contains references to more than 460,000 journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, and more.
News Resources
The Library subscribes to a variety of newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Furthermore, access to the text of many newspapers is available through Proquest Newspapers and Lexis Nexis Academic.
Ethnic NewsWatch is a comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.
Books & More
Use the Search tab to find books and other resources available in the library and online. Click the smaller Books & More tab to exclude the article search.
- For example, see these search results for immigration and interviews.
- Conducting your own interview? Here's a quick list of library books on conducting research interviews.
- Find government documents, such as the 2007 guide, Welcome to the United States, a guide for new immigrants. Compare it with The Emigrant's Hand-book, or A directory and guide for persons emigrating to the United States, from 1848!
Other Resources
- United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- United States Courts - Explains how the U.S. court system functions. Includes answers to frequently asked questions.
- Library of Congress
For instance, see The Learning Page - Immigration, or a digital collection of resources regarding The Chinese in California: 1850-1925, from the American Memory project. - Migration Policy Institute
- Destination America from PBS
- Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the United States: 1850-1990
- ImmigrationProfBlog - law professors' view on immigration
Citations
APA Style
Publication manual for the American Psychological Association
- Available for use in the library, this is the official guide to APA style.
OWL (Purdue University Online Writing Lab) - APA
- OWL is a freely available online resource provided by Purdue University. The OWL gives clear instructions for formatting your paper and bibliography in APA style.
Other:
- Includes a page specific to doing research in Political Science.
Request an Appointment
Research librarians are ready and waiting to help you with your research! Merrill is available by phone, by email, by instant messaging, or in person. Email Merrill now, or use the form below to request a research appointment.