Political Science Research Guide

This guide is the starting point for identifying, locating, using, and evaluating  materials relating to Political Science in Carmichael Library, in other libraries, and on the Internet.  If you need additional assistance, please
Ask a Librarian.

Finding Library Materials     
Library Catalog

The Library Catalog is often the best place to begin research. Search by author, title, subject, keyword, or a variety of other specialized searches.  

Subject headings for Political Science and related subject headings, and subtopics number well over 500 terms. Selected major headings are listed below:

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Call Numbers

Carmichael Library uses the Library of Congress system to classify its materials.  Most books on political science can be found in the J (Political Science), K (Law), or D, E, F (History), HV (Terrorism), HX (Socialism, anarchism, utopias) call number ranges:

D World history, history of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

E - F  History of the Americas

HV6431 Terrorism; Suicide - political aspects

J  General legislative and executive papers

JA Political science (General) [includes propaganda]

JC Political theory

JF Political institutions and public administration

JJ Political institutions and public administration (North America)

JK Political institutions and public administration (United States)

JL Political institutions and public administration (Canada, Latin America, etc.)

JN Political institutions and public administration (Europe)

JQ Political institutions and public administration (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.)

JS Local government. Municipal government

JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration

JX International law

JZ International relations

K International law

KF United States law

KD British law

KZ International treaties

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Reference Materials

Selected political science and political science related reference books in Carmichael Library are listed below:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (2001).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Ref BF76.7 P83 2001). Style manual recommended by many education and social science disciplines. Library has three copies in reference. In addition, the Library's home page links to Purdue University's writing center where you will find explanations and examples. In addition, you can link to APA's electronic references to determine how to cite electronic media.   

• The World fact book [electronic resource]. Washington DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 1997- Internet Access: Click here for access

• Encyclopedia of African nations and civilizations / Keith Lye and The Diagram Group. New York: Facts on File, c2002. Ref DT14 .E43 2002  
• Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture / Barbara A. Tenenbaum, editor in chief ; associate editors, Georgette Magassy Dorn ... [et al.].  New York : C. Scribner's Sons ; London : Simon & Schuster : Prentice Hall International, c1996. Ref F1406 .E53 1996 in 5 volumes
• Columbia chronologies of Asian history and culture / edited by John S. Bowman. New York: Columbia University Press c2000. Ref DS33 .C63 2000
• Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East / edited by Reeva S. Simon, Philip Mattar, Richard W. Bulliet. New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c1996. Ref DS33 .E53
• Worldmark encyclopedia of the nations / Timothy L. Gall, editor in chief. Detroit : Gale Group, c2004. Ref G63 .W67
• American immigrant cultures : builders of a nation / edited by David Levinson, Melvin Ember. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, c1997. Ref E184 .A1 A63448 1997
• Encyclopedia of U.S. foreign relations / senior editors, Bruce W. Jentleson, Thomas G. Paterson. New York : Oxford University Press, 1997. Ref E183.7 .E53 1997
• The CQ researcher. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, 2000. Ref H35 .C672
• Propaganda and mass persuasion : a historical encyclopedia, 1500 to the present / Nicholas J. Cull, David Culbert, David Welch. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2003. Ref HM1231 .C85 2003
• Taking sides : clashing views on controversial political issues / edited, selected and with introduction by George McKenna and Stanley Feingold. Guilford, Conn. : McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, c2001. Ref HN1 .T765 2001 [Gives essays on Pros and Cons of political issues. Many other titles are in this series...]
• Opposing viewpoints series (See Catalog) Titles in series are on such topics as Drug abuse, National security, Poverty... and are classified according to subject.
• Encyclopedia of terrorism / Harvey W. Kushner. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, c2003. Ref HV6431.K883 2003
• Terrorism : a documentary history / [compiled by] Bruce Maxwell. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, c2003. Ref HV6431 .T4594 2003
• Historical dictionary of utopianism / James M. Morris, Andrea L. Kross. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2004. Ref HX806 .M626
• The Statesman's year-book. New York [etc.] St. Martin's Press [etc.]; Ref JA51 .S7
• Dictionary of politics : selected American and foreign political and legal terms / by Walter John Raymond. Lawrenceville, Va. : Brunswick Pub. Corp., c1992  Ref JA61 .R39 1992
• Political philosophy : theories, thinkers, concepts / Seymour Martin Lipset, editor. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, c2001. Ref JA71 .P6226 2001
• The State of the Union messages of the Presidents, 1790-1966. With an introd. by Arthur M. Schlesinger. Editor: Fred L. Israel. New York, Chelsea House, 1966. Ref J81 .C66
• Encyclopedia of human rights issues since 1945 / Winston E. Langley. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1999. Ref JC571 .L2747 1999
• Encyclopedia of the American presidency / Leonard W. Levy, Louis Fisher, editors.  New York, N.Y. : Simon & Schuster, 1994. Ref JK511 .E53 1993
• The encyclopedia of the United States Congress / edited by Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, Morton Keller. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1995. Ref JK1067 .E63 1995
• America votes. Washington : Elections Research Center, Congressional Quarterly. Ref JK1967 .A8 (Library has volumes 1-26; v. 26 covers 2003-2004)
• Political corruption in America : an encyclopedia of scandals, power, and greed / Mark Grossman. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2003. Ref JK2249 .G767 2003
• The Europa world year book. London, England : Europa Publications Limited, c1989-

  Ref JN1 .E85

• West's encyclopedia of American law / [project editors, Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps]. Detroit : Thomson/Gale, c2005. Ref KF154 .W47 2005
• Encyclopedia of the American Constitution / edited by Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2000. Ref KF4548 .E53 2000
• U.S. Constitution online. The constitution explained... "It was, however, written in the 18th century, and many of the ideas, concepts, words, phrases, and euphemisms seem odd to us today, if not down right foreign. Some of the more obscure words are defined in The Glossary. But what of the Constitution itself? What does it mean? What does each article, each section, say?... " This web site gives definitions and explains the constitution.
• Code of Alabama. by Alabama. Charlottesville, VA: Michie Co. Ref  KFA30 .A25

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Journals and Periodicals
Journals and periodicals are listed in the Library's Main Catalog under their individual titles (e.g. American political science review, Political science quarterly, etc.) and also under appropriate subject headings followed by the subdivision - Periodicals (e.g. Political Science - Periodicals).  

To determine the contents (titles and authors of articles in journals) of each journal, you will need to consult one of the online databases or periodical indexes such as Academic Search Premier or Expanded Academic ASAP, etc. 

Carmichael Library receives many of its political science journal subscriptions in print (i.e., paper). Others may be accessed  electronically via one of our subscription databases. Current journal issues are filed on the main floor until they are bound and in some cases replaced with microfiche. Bound periodicals are shelved on the Ground Floor in alphabetical order. Periodicals on microfiche may be found in the microfiche cabinets on the Main Floor of Carmichael. They are filed in alphabetical order by journal title, then by volume and issue in the microfiche cabinets. 

Below is a selected list of Political Science journals currently received by Carmichael Library.  

• Christian Science Monitor

• Congressional Digest

• Current history

• Population Bulletin

• Supreme Court Debates

• UN Chronicle

• Washington Monthly

Below is a list of Political Science journals and databases compiled by the University of Michigan... check Carmichael Library's catalog to see if we have online access to these resources...

Political Science Resources Periodicals

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Electronic Resources
Databases

Electronic access to journal articles is available from the Databases  page.  [From the Library 's Home page (http://www.montevallo.edu/library), select  "Databases by Name".] Most databases can be searched using author, title or subject in either basic or advanced search formats. The results of a search will include either a citation, a citation and abstract, or a citation, abstract and full text of the article depending on the database searched.

Listed below are databases pertaining to Political Science that are available from the Databases page.  You can access these, and other databases, from the Databases by name page or the Databases by subject page.

Please click on database of interest:

• Academic Search Premier This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for 1,000 titles. Academic Search Premier is updated on a daily basis via EBSCOhost. This database contains many political science or political science related journals that may be full text or will link to the fulltext.

• CQ Researcher is a fulltext database that offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of today's most important issues. Each report is on a single topic—more than 12,000 words of text and extensive bibliographies... Each weekly issue provides up-to-date information on controversial subjects written by CQ's staff of experienced reporters with comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Controversial topics [are] addressed in a balanced, unbiased manner. The database goes back to 1991and also affords immediate access to the newest CQ Researcher reports as they are published... The CQ Researcher covers a wide range of social, economic, political, and environmental issues. Each report is divided into specific sections to guide research.

• Ethnic Newswatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press. Coverage begins in 1990.

• Expanded Academic ASAP This database contains many political science or political science related journals that may be full text or will link to full text. A premier database for research in all the academic disciplines! Unparalleled in its depth and scope, this premier database offers balanced coverage of every academic concentration -- from advertising and microbiology to history and women's studies. Combining indexing, abstracts, full text and images, Expanded Academic ASAP™ delivers answers for both the novice and the experienced researcher -- all in one seamless search.

• Legal - Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals is now available with full text with International coverage and access to scholarly articles, symposia, jurisdictional surveys, court decisions, legislation, books, book reviews, and more. This is an excellent resource for attorneys, educators, business people, law librarians, students, paralegals, and others involved with the law.
• LexisNexis Academic provides full-text documents from over 6,000 news, business, and legal publications,  with a variety of flexible search options

  LexisNexis Academic NEWS supplies a wide variety of authoritative sources, including:

  • Full-text of more than 350 newspapers from the U.S. and around the world, many same day of publication, plus the most extensive archives available anywhere of Financial Times (dating back to 1982), The New York Times (dating back to 1980) and The Washington Post (dating back to 1977)
  • More than 300 magazines and journals and over 600 newsletters, including: American Newsweek, and Variety Journalism Review, Business Week, The Economist, Library Journal, New Republic,
  • Hard-to-find broadcast transcripts from the major television and radio networks, including ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and NPR, as well as political transcripts covering Congressional committee hearings, press briefings from the State, Justice, and Defense departments, and presidential news conferences

  Legal Research

  Students can use LexisNexis Academic to access primary source material such as case law, statutes and regulations or dive into secondary source materials such as legal news or law reviews for background or analysis of a legal topic. They can even validate their case law research with Shepard’s® Citations for the Supreme Court.

  Country Analysis

  Get current and detailed information on more than just European and OECD countries. Locate hard-to-find information on emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Find data on a specific industry within a country including market size, consumer behavior, and competitor information for 154 industries.

• Opposing viewpoints resource center "is designed to aid students in the study of today's hottest social issues. Draws on the acclaimed social issues print series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Thomson Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources. The result is a dynamic online library of current event topics: the facts as well as the arguments of each topic's proponents and detractors."
• ProQuest Newspapers  Full text access many national and international newspapers ... Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Barron's, BBC Monitoring, Chicago Tribune, Los Angles Times, New York Times, Times (London), USA Today, Wall Street Journal...
• Social Sciences Full Text  This database contains many political science or political science related journals that may be full text or will link to the full text and page images from scores of key publications, plus abstracting and indexing of hundreds of others. An in-demand resource for a wide variety of users ..., Social Sciences Full Text covers the latest concepts, trends, opinions, theories, and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences.
• Sociological Index "The world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. This index features more than 1,300,000 records with subject headings from a 15,000 term sociology-specific thesaurus designed by expert lexicographers. This file also contains informative abstracts for more than 815 'core' coverage journals dating back to 1895. In addition, this file provides data mined from 'priority' coverage journals as well as 2,840 'selective' coverage journals."
• World Data Analyst is provided by the Encyclopedia Britannica and features a unique collection of in-depth information about the countries of the world... Data is in PDF format and is fulltext.

Additional information about specific databases is available at each database site. 

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Internet Links
Please click on web link of interest: 

• Careers in Political Science This online site is produced by the American Political Science Association. "A bachelor's degree in political science can lead to exciting careers in federal, state and local governments; law; business; international organizations; nonprofit associations and organizations; campaign management and polling; journalism; precollegiate education; electoral politics; research and university and college teaching. Political science majors gain analytical skills, administrative competence and communication abilities that are valued in a wide spectrum of potential career areas."

• Capital Eye Capital Eye is a money-in-politics newsletter published by the Center for Responsive Politics. Capital Eye aims to educate its readers and encourage them to examine the role of money in the U.S. political system. It includes substantive, topical articles on issues related to money and politics, and other features designed to explore the impact of money on elections and public policy.

• Country Information: Background notes. US Department of State. "These publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Background Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus and are added to the database of the Department of State website you are now using."

• Political Science Resources: Think Tanks. Brookings Institute, Heritage Foundation, Libertarian, Rand Corporation, Twentieth Century Fund, WorldWatch Institute ... think tank links; Current news and links to opinion pieces... Compiled by Grace York, Political Science Librarian University of Michigan Library ...

• Encyclopedia - InfoPlease The Political Science Encyclopedia from Infoplease gives definitions of terms and concepts...and access to more than 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

• FairVote.org Founded in 1992 and operating for many years as the Center for Voting and Democracy, FairVote is the leading national organization acting to transform our elections to achieve unfettered, fraud-free access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful choices and majority rule with fair representation and a voice for all. Organization that researches how voting systems affect participation, representation and governance. As a reform catalyst, we develop and promote practical strategies to improve elections for local, state and national leaders. FairVote is a proud member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the National Council of Women's Organizations.

• Historical: American Memory Historical Collections Links to many historical documents and guides to primary resources such as: A Guide to the American Revolution, 1763-1783,  Primary Documents in American History, A Guide to World War I Materials, etc.

• Maps: Atlapedia online. Atlapedia Online contains full color physical maps, political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.

• OpenSecrets The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center’s work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government.

• Political Science Research Guide Internet Resources (Naval Academy) with links to United States Government Resources and Information

• Political Science Resources on the Web (University of Michigan) Extensive list with links. Compiled by Grace York, Political Science Librarian University of Michigan Library ...

• The Keele Guide to Political Science. A professional resource listing from the The School of Politics, International and Philosophy, Keele University.

• This Nation.com American government and politics online, a sited dedicated to providing factual, unbiased information about government and politics in the United States of America. Links to many historical documents such as the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, etc... This Nation.com is researched and written by Jonathan Mott, Ph.D.

• Terrorism Portals to the World. Selected internet resources selected by the Library of Congress subject experts. Created and maintained by the Hispanic Division, Collections and Services Directorate.

• US Supreme Court Decisions Maintained by the LII (Legal Information Institute) at Cornell Law School. Links to current as well as historic decisions of the Court.

Political News & Opinion

• BBC International version; links to news for Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, UK, Business, ... additional links to Country profiles, etc. ...

• Christian Science Monitor

• CNN.com Inside Politics Links to current political news...

• CNN.com Election 2008 The latest on candidates, key issues, states to watch and fundraising...

• MSNBC.com

• Foreign Policy Journals: The Library has access to the fulltext of many foreign policy journals via such databases as Academic Search Premier, Expanded Academic ASAP, etc. A few selected titles are listed below.

  • Foreign Affairs

  • Foreign Policy

  • Foreign Relations

  • Harvard International Review

  • International Affairs

  • Journal of International Affairs

• Political Information A search engine for politics and political news... Over 5000 carefully selected policy & political websites with links to such opinion journals and magazines as The Nation, National Review, New Republic ... This site is constantly-updated ... authoritative political news sources, with a list of useful links to supplement the searches, news headlines, etc.... Colin Delany Editor

• Political Resources on the net.  This web site consists of "Listings of political sites available on the Internet sorted by country, with links to Parties, Organizations, Governments, Media and more from all around the world." Editor: Roberto Cicciomessere - Update: Irene Abigail - Page design: Daniela Cacace - © 1995-2009 Radio Radicale - All Rights Reserved.

• ProQuest Newspapers  Indexing and full text access to some 669 national and international newspapers ... Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Barron's, BBC Monitoring, Chicago Tribune, Los Angles Times, New York Times, Times (London), USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times...

• Yahoo! - Politics Directory of internet resources maintained by Yahoo!

• Yahoo! - Political Science Directory of internet resources maintained by Yahoo!

Political Film Studies

• Film History Index: Journals. Annotated list of journals. Some of these journals have links to the fulltext, others may be fulltext in Carmichael Library. Check the online catalog for holdings or World Cat for possible Interlibrary Loan. The Film History Index provides Internet resources on the international History of Cinema from different approaches. The documents and materials gathered on this site should not be taken to reflect the view of Frédéric Gimello-Mesplomb, his editor.

• The Film Journal index... "dedicated to serious film writing..." Articles critiquing film... One feature title: "Ideology and the Modern Historical Epic: How the political concerns in the genre have changed since 11th September 2001."

• Film Studies, Center Research Links University of Chicago Film Studies Center.

• Film Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries Links to databases with reviews of book and film, Carmichael Library has many of these databases...

• Film Studies, Film Culture, University of California

• Film Studies Resources, University of California Online and print resources and strategies for finding journal literature (reviews and critical analysis) related to film, television, mass communications, and related topics.

• Media Resources Center, University of California, Berkley, Moffitt Library

• BUBL LINK Catalogue of Internet Resources: Media studies British catalog of media resources.

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Additional Resources
Associations
Please click on association of interest:

• American Political Science Association "The American Political Science Association, founded in 1903, is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members in over 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe in order to expand awareness and understanding of politics."

• US Political Science Associations
  • Great Plains Political Science Association
    Midwest Political Science Association
  • National Capital Area Political Science Association
    National Conference of  Black Political Scientists
    New England Political Science Association
    Northeastern Political Science Association
    Pacific Northwest Political Science Association
    Southern Political Science Association
    Southwestern Political Science Association
    Western Political Science Association

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Additional Research Guides
Please click to select item of interest: 

• Poly-cy: Internet resources for political science, by Robert Duval (Political Science, West Virginia University), "is outstanding for its wide range of links and explanatory material. Links are organized into categories with multiple subtopics: The Profession (e.g. associations, departments, institutes, jobs, conferences); Teaching (e.g., syllabi, Web texts, internships); Research (e.g., libraries and research aids, data sources, grants, methods, and statistical software); Service (e.g., opportunities, consultants); Publications (e.g., journals, manuscripts, publishers); Academic Subfields (e.g., American politics, comparative politics, international relations); Politics (e.g., political parties, political advocacy groups); Governments (e.g., US federal, US states, US counties and cities, foreign government sources); and Reference (e.g., general reference, news, political humor, events)." From Choice 

• Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources (University of Keele) Politics and government around the world. "Continues to be one of the best starting points for finding Web sites relating to politics and government. Organized in 14 main categories (Area Studies, British Politics, Constitutions, Data Archives, Elections, Government Websites, International Relations, Local & Regional, News and Journals, Other Political Websites, Political Parties, Political Platforms, Political Theory, Political Thought), links are then often subarranged alphabetically by country." From Choice.

• Ultimate political science links page, edited by P.S. Ruckman, Jr. (Rock Valley College), "is clearly laid out ... Created by Ruckman to provide quick links to sites of interest to political scientists, the site is organized into ten major sections: (1) Major Associations and Lists (e.g., American Political Science Association); (2) Areas of Study (e.g., African studies, political methodology); (3) Resource Links (e.g., FedStats, Teaching Politics); (4) Those Amazing Search Engines (e.g., HotBot, Northern Lights); (5) Journals and Publications (e.g., Comparative Politics, Women and Politics); (6) Political Science Texts-Publishers (e.g., Greenwood, Oxford); (7) On-Line Political News (e.g., BBC, MSNBC); (8) Daily/Archived Commentary (e.g., Ann Coulter, Molly Ivins); (9) Magazines-Web Pubs-Centers (e.g., Atlantic Monthly, Common Cause) ; (10) Humor Anyone? (e.g., Change of Grade Form, Political Cartoons)." From Choice.

• Librarian's Internet Index  Links to government and political science resources... Librarians' Internet Index (LII) is a publicly-funded website and weekly newsletter serving California, Washington state, the nation, and the world

• Virtual Reference Shelf: Selected Web resources by the Library of Congress Links to political science and government.

• InfoPlease Almanac History and government links; also links to US documents such as Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, etc.

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Government Resources
Click to link to appropriate resource below: 

• Alabama Legislature official website  Senate and House of Representatives - look up and contact representatives, and obtain the text of current bills.

• American FactFinder: US Census Bureau Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data.

• FIRST GOV: one-stop access to the U.S. Government on-line

• Executive Branch This page contains Executive Branch sites only... For more government sites, see: Legislative, Judicial or Government Resources in general.

• Legislative Branch  Links to Congressional information from official and non-official sources

• The White House
• U.S. Supreme Court

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Style Manuals

• APA Style

• MLA Style

• Chicago Manual of Style

• Turabian

• Library of Congress--How to Cite Electronic Resources Page