Political Science

GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS (Encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.)
Reference works like encyclopedias and handbooks are indispensable starting points in any research project. They give a research succinct background information that you need to explore a topic and see how to translate it into a research question. Reference works are also helpful to quickly learn more about a subject or find further relevant sources.

-Watch this video to learn about using reference works to explore a topic
 

GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS

Opposing Viewpoints Resources in Context (Gale)
Access information on social issues through viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to web sites and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Oxford Bibliographies - selected subjects
Current subscriptions include: Atlantic History, Biblical Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, Communication, Criminology, International Relations, Islamic Studies, Latin American Studies, Management, Medieval Studies, Political Science and Psychology. Oxford bibliographies are designed to be starting points for research and offer peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies. The bibliographies can be searched separately or together, by keyword or advanced search.  Search responses can include books, journal articles, web resources, multimedia, primary documents, forthcoming and related articles.  Journal citations are linked to full-text via the “find it”  link and book citations are linked to Falvey via the WorldCat link. Tutorial available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSFUHnQ1UE.

Oxford Handbook Series for Political Science
Handbooks published by Oxford University Press and related to political science, public administration and public policy in the Falvey Library stacks or accessible from the Falvey Library website.

Reference tools for specific topics in politics

BBC News Country Profiles
"Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions".

Congress A to Z: a ready reference encyclopedia - online

Quick answers to questions as well as in-depth background about the U.S. Congress including detailed appendices, tables, internet addresses, and index

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a think tank that provides research reports to members of Congress. Reports also collected at http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/CRSR/.  CRS does not make even its non-confidential publications directly available to the public online. The Federation of American Scientists endeavors to provide current, regularly updated public access to as many non-confidential CRS reports as possible. These reports are provided without congressional or CRS authorization as a public service. The U.S. Department of State also provides a selection of Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs at http://fpc.state.gov/c18185.htm.

CQ Researcher (CQ Press)
Features in-depth reports of political and social issues, including health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Reports include overview, background, current situation, pro/con views, chronology, and a bibliography. The issue tracker links to related reports. Coverage goes back to 1923.

Encyclopedia of governance - online

Concentrates primarily on topics related to the changing nature and role of the state in recent times and the ways in which these roles have been conceptualized in the areas of Political Science, Public Administration, Political Economy, and Sociology - for the period between the collapse of the post-war consensus and the rise of neoliberal regimes in the 1970s.

Encyclopedia of Libertarianism - online

Compilation of and introduction to libertarian scholarship.

Encyclopedia of politics the left and the right - online

Over 450 articles on individuals, movements, political parties, and ideological principles, with those usually thought of as left in the left-hand volume (Volume 1), and those considered on the right in the right-hand volume (Volume 2).

Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics - online

Three-volume, A-to-Z encyclopedia set includes 600 short essays on high-interest topics that explore social media's impact on politics.

Encyclopedia of U.S. campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior - online

More than 450 entries in two comprehensive volumes present a significant array topics about campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior.

Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census – online

This edition highlights changes in the Census Bureau’s data collection and dissemination practices for the 2010 enumeration, including the use of a short-form questionnaire for the actual population count, and the release in late 2010 of the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data set based on rolling samples of the U.S. population and gathered using the long-form questionnaire.

Encyclopedia of United States national security – online

Designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to some of the more complicated and abstract questions concerning world politics and national security.

Sage handbook of diplomacy – online

Provides a major thematic overview of Diplomacy theory and history.
Section One: Diplomatic Concepts & Theories Section Two: Diplomatic Institutions Section Three: Diplomatic Relations Section Four: Types of Diplomatic Engagement.

JOURNAL DATABASES
The number of scholarly articles written on a given subject are enormous and confront the researcher with the challenge of where to look and how to search in order to find the most relevant articles in the shortest amount of time.  Below you will find an annotated list of the journal data relevant for political scientists as well as instructions about how to conduct effective searches.

- View this video about how to use journal databases.
 

General Databases for Political Science

Social Sciences Citation Index/Web of Science
Provides access to current bibliographic information and cited references from the journal literature in the physical and social sciences. Search by article title word, journal title, author, cited author or reference, or address word (e.g. author's institution). Coverage begins 1956 to present.

Scopus (Elsevier)
Provides abstracts and citations for peer-reviewed journals in all major disciplines. Offers comprehensive coverage of the scientific, technical, medical, geographic and social sciences (including arts and humanities). Includes complete contents of GEOBASE multidisciplinary database.

JSTOR
A searchable and browsable archive of full-text core journals and books in the humanities, social sciences and mathematics.

Best Databases for Multidisciplinary Journals

Project Muse
Searchable collection of recent full-text humanities, social science and mathematics journals published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

PAIS International (ProQuest)
The Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) database contains references for over half a million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, and more. 

HeinOnline
General scholarly legal database with current U.S., foreign and international law, law review articles, legal classics and historical documents. Provides fully-searchable and image-based text of over 500 law journals, Supreme Court Reports, Treaties in Force, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1977-2003) and the Federal Register (1936-1994).

Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)
Index to international, English language journals in psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, economics, political science and law.

Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest)
Covers sociological topics in fields such as anthropology, economics, education, medicine, community development, philosophy, demography, political science, and social psychology. Journals published by sociological associations, groups, faculties and institutes, and periodicals containing the term "sociology" in their titles are abstracted fully.

ProQuest Social Science Journals

Indexes over 570 journals, with much full text access. Disciplines covered include addiction studies, gerontology, econometrics, international relations, minority studies, urban studies, and more.

More Specialized Databases

FindPolicy
Open source search engine focused on reports and analyses from leading policy research organizations.

America: History and Life (EBSCO)
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes citations for journal and magazine articles, book reviews and dissertations. Abstracts of journal articles are included together with selected full-text. Indexing goes back to 1964.America: History & Life is a self-paced interactive tutorial for students new to this resource.

Nexis Uni (formerly Lexis-Nexis)
Nexis Uni provides access to legal cases, statutes and secondary materials such as law reviews, practice materials and an encyclopedia. Company and industry reports, filings and news are available as are general news sources published in magazines, newspapers and blogs. LexisNexis online services and the materials contained therein are under copyright by LexisNexis. All rights reserved. No part of these Services may be used except for research purposes, and the Services may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the LexisNexis Academic Library Solutions. Materials retrieved from the Services may not be duplicated in hard copy or machine-readable form without the prior written authorization of LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions, except that limited reproduction of output is permitted solely for individual use by the Authorized User or internal distribution within the Subscribing Institution in accordance with the terms of this Agreement unless further limited or prohibited by the Copyright Act of 1976. Under no circumstances may the Materials or any portion thereof be used to create derivative products or services.

GenderWatch (ProQuest)
A full-text database that provides authoritative historical and current perspectives on the evolution of gender roles as they affect both men and women. GenderWatch supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) studies; family studies; gender studies, and women's studies with a unique interdisciplinary approach. Offers researchers with articles on wide-ranging topics like sexuality, religion, societal roles, feminism, masculinity, eating disorders, day care, and the workplace.

HOW LITERATURE REVIEWS HELP WITH RESEARCH:
Literature reviews are helpful to better understand a topic, organize existing explanations, generate possible hypotheses for your research ans serve as a gateway to high quality and relevant scholarly sources.

- Watch this video about how to use available resources to review the literature.



SELECTED LITERATURE REVIEW RESOURCES:
- Annual Review of Political Science
The Annual Review of Political Science covers significant developments in the field of Political Science including political theory and philosophy, international relations, political economy, political behavior, American and comparative politics, public administration and policy, and methodology.
- Annual Review of Sociology
The Annual Review of Sociology covers the significant developments in the field of sociology including major theoretical and methodological developments as well as current research in the major subfields.
- Oxford Bibliographies - selected subjects
Oxford bibliographies are designed to be starting points for research and offer peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies.

HOW TO CONDUCT A LITERATURE REVIEW:

> Learning how to write a literature review - tips from the University of Wisc. - Madison Writing Center

> Types of APA Papers - Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab reviews general requirements for the literature review, experimental report and other types of papers. Sample APA paper that includes brief literature review.

> A Brief Guide to Writing the Psychology Paper - a publication of the Harvard College Writing Center brief guide series.

Article: Writing narrative literature reviews

How to books at Falvey:
Doing Your Literature Review
The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students
The Literature Review Six Step to Success

- Zotero

-Citation Style Chart – depicts the same citation in MLA, APA & Chicago Manual of Style formats

- APSA Style Manual (Complete)

- Villanova Writing Center

Listed in this guide are general and selected political & international resources and journals related to polling and public opinion.