Political Science Research Guide

This online guide is developed specifically for those doing research in Political Science. It provides a recommended list of resources, which encompasses print materials, electronic databases, and selected Internet resources

All areas of political science are covered: American national, state, and local; comparative politics; international; political theory; public policy and administration; and judicial politics.

Because Political Science draws from disciplines such as history, sociology, law, psychology, area studies, and criminal justice, you may need to consult resources in those fields also.

For research help, contact Timothy A. Balch, at 304-696-2335 or by email.

Latest News & Research

Headlines collected from the Washington Post, Political Science News, and PolySigh blog

Books

Use the Marshall University Libraries catalog to locate books in the libraries. The following Library of Congress Subject Headings are examples of terms that can be used with the Basic Search by Subject Heading, or the Keyword Search, to locate books in the MU libraries look for:

Political Science
Politicians
Political
specific subjects such as Authoritarianism, Bureaucracy, Comparative Government, Democracy, Liberty, Pressure Groups, Public Opinion, State Rights, or Television and Politics.
names of geographic areas (such as countries, states, and cities) and ethnic groups, with the term Politics and Government, such as France Politics and Government
specific topics with the term Political Aspects, such as Journalism Political Aspects

For additional useful subject headings for your topic, consult the following listings, available in the Reference Collection:

Library of Congress Subject Headings (Reference Desk).
PAIS Subject Headings (Ref Z695.1 .S6P27 1984). Subject headings used by the Public Affairs Information Service for indexing publications in all fields covering the making and evaluation of public policy.
The Contemporary Thesaurus of Social Science Terms and Synonyms (Ref Z699.5 .S6K57 1993). Over 6000 terms, synonyms, near-synonyms, and closely related terms taken from the social sciences.

Browse the shelves in these call number areas to find books devoted to areas of political science:

JA Political Science (General)
JC Political Theory
JF Political Institutions and Public Administration; Comparative Government
JF1338-2112 Public Administration
JK United States Political Institutions and Public Administration
JL Political Institutions and Administration. Western Hemisphere
JN Political Institutions and Administration. Europe
JQ Political Institutions and Administration. Rest of the World
JS Local Government. Municipal Government
JX International Law [up to 1997]
JZ International Relations [after 1997]
KF Law of the United States (Federal)
KF379-382 Jurisprudence and Philosophy of American Law
KF3300-3771 Social Legislation
KF3941-3942 Public Safety: Weapons. Firearms. Munitions
KF4501-5130 Constitutional Law
KF9201-9461 Criminal Law
KF9601-9760 Criminal Procedure
KFW Law of the States
KFW1201-1790 Law of West Virginia

For books at other libraries, search other library catalogs over the Web. Books not owned by Marshall University Libraries may be ordered from other libraries using Information Delivery Services (IDS).

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Journal & Magazine Articles

The online databases and indexes listed here will provide references to articles (or in some cases full-text articles) in a wide range of periodicals, from news magazines and newspapers to scholarly and professional journals. If you have questions about choosing or using a database or index, please consult a Librarian

Full-Text Databases

Academic Search Premier
This comprehensive database features full text for over 1,200 journals with many dating back to 1990; abstracts and indexing for over 3,000 scholarly journals; and coverage of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Christian Science Monitor. It includes coverage of over 1,700 peer-reviewed journals.

Hint: Because of its wide coverage, Academic Search Premier is a good starting point for articles and you should begin searching there. Remember, articles that aren't available in full-text or page-image may still be available elsewhere in the Library.
JSTOR: the Scholarly Journal Archive
Provides full text access to older issues of core journals, generally back to the first issue. The latest two to five years of a journal may not be available, but this is a great source for older articles not included in such indexes as Academic Search Elite.
Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University Press).
Provides full text access to a variety of arts and humanities journals. Of the 78 titles available in our subscription, four are particularly useful to political science researchers: World Politics, Theory & Event, SAIS Review, and Journal of Democracy.

Indexes & Bibliographic Databases

These databases and indexes will provide citation information (author, article title, periodical name, volume & issue, date) for articles, essays, book chapters, dissertations, and other materials. You can then use that information to see if the item is in the MU Libraries by searching the library catalog, or--if the item is not owned by us--order it from another library using the Information Delivery Services (IDS).

CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (available in CSA Social Sciences subject area)
A merger and extension of Political Science Abstracts and ABC POL SCI, this international database covers over 1,170 titles in political science and its complementary fields, back to 1975. Links to full text sources have been added for some titles since January 2001.
America: History and Life
Good source for scholarly articles in history published since 1964. Covers articles, book and media reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada.
Government Periodicals Universe
Covers about 170 titles of substantial research value published by the U.S. government. Updated quarterly.
Historical Abstracts
Good source for scholarly articles in history (other than the United States and Canada) since 1450. Published since 1954, it covers over 2,000 journals and includes citations to articles, book and media reviews, and dissertations.
MarciveWeb DOCS
Index of U.S. government publications since July 1976.
PAIS International (OCLC Public Affairs Information Service)
Includes over 480,000 records for periodicals, books, government publications, and other sources from 120 countries, back to 1972. Links to web resources are included. (The print version covers 1915-1997.)
Sociological Abstracts (available in CSA Social Sciences subject area)
Provides abstracts and citations to articles in over 1,700 serial titles (as well as books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers) in sociology and its complementary fields, back to 1963.

Selected Periodicals

In the list below, click on the Periodical Title to see MU library holdings in all formats. Unless noted, all titles are scholarly peer-reviewed (refereed) publications.

Print Subscriptions
The following periodicals are available in print format in the MU Libraries; online access is also available in many cases. This is not an exhaustive list of journals you may find useful, just a starting point.

General and Political Theory

PER/JA1 .A5 American Journal of Political Science
Basic journal covering all aspects of political science in a very scholarly and well documented way. Official journal of the Midwest Political Science Association.
PER/H1 .A48 Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Not peer-reviewed)
Each issue has a theme, with articles dealing with that theme from several directions. Excellent source for paper topics.
PER/JA8 .B7 British Journal of Political Science
Covers a wide range of topics.
PER/JA4 .C35 Canadian Journal of Political Science
Focuses on Canadian politics and government. Articles mostly in English, with some in French; abstracts in English and French.
PER/JA8 .P72 Political Quarterly
Articles on modern political issues in Europe and Great Britain, from a mostly British viewpoint.
PER/JA1 .P62 Political Research Quarterly
Covers all areas of political science, often with a quantitative analysis or model-building emphasis. The Western Political Science Association's official journal.
PER/JA1 .R4 Review of Politics
Articles with a "philosophical and historical approach to politics."

American National, State, and Local

PER/JA1 .A6 American Political Science Review
Official publication of the American Political Science Association and the major journal in the field. Articles are well documented, although there is a bias towards quantitative approaches. Includes extensive book review section.
PER/JK1.A48 American Politics Research, before 2001 titled American Politics Quarterly
Covers all areas of American politics and government at all levels.
PER/JK501.P82 Presidential Studies Quarterly
Discusses the presidency in all its aspects and relationships. Each issue covers one theme.
PER/JK1 .P48 Publius
Published by the Center for the Study of Federalism, this journal covers federalism in the U.S. and other countries.
PER/JK2403.S7 Spectrum: the Journal of State Government (Not peer-reviewed)
Covers issues affecting state governments, put out by the Council of State Governments.

Comparative Politics

PER/JN248.J65 Commonwealth & Comparative Politics
Concentrates on politics and government of the British Commonwealth nations.
PER/JA3.C65 Comparative Political Studies
Cross-national comparative studies, both quantitative and theoretical.
PER/JA3.C67 Comparative Politics
The standard journal in the field, covering institutions in both developed and developing countries.
PER/JN101.P3 Parliamentary Affairs
Articles on parliaments in all countries, although with an emphasis on the British parliament.

International Politics and Relations

PER/DU80.A94 Australian Journal of International Affairs
Particularly good for Asian and Pacific Region countries.
Reading Room/D410.C82; Morrow; Media Current History: a Journal of Contemporary World Affairs (Not peer-reviewed)
Besides articles on particular countries or regions, this journal summarizes the month's political events in various countries.
Reading Room/D410.F6; Media Foreign Affairs
The premiere journal in the field, with distinguished authors and book reviewers. Probably the world's most influential foreign relations journal.
PER/JX1.I52 International Affairs
Good source for scholarly British and European views on all areas of international relations.
Reading Room/JX1901.I55; Media International Organization
Emphasizes role of intergovernmental organizations.
PER/D839.I58 International Studies Review
Published by the International Studies Association, this title includes articles analyzing current scholarship and suggesting future research, and book reviews.
PER/F1401.J68 Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs
Covers U.S. policy towards Latin America, and relations by and among South American countries.
Reading Room/JX1.J68; Media Journal of International Affairs
The second oldest journal in the field, published by Columbia University. Each issue covers a single topic, from a variety of viewpoints.
PER/H1.P8 Political Science Quarterly: the Journal of Public and International Affairs
Started in 1886, this covers a wide range of topics. Older issues are available through JSTOR.
PER/JX1901.W7 World Affairs
One of the oldest journals in the field, associated with the American Peace Society. Short articles with particular emphasis on issues affecting conflict resolution.

Public Administration and Public Policy

PER/JK1.A49 American Review of Public Administration
The journal's goals are to advance the knowledge of public administration and improve its practice. Articles on a wide variety of topics.
PER/JL1.C3 Canadian Public Administration/Administration Publique du Canada
Scholarly articles by academics and practitioners on public policy and public management at all levels of Canadian government. Articles in English or French, abstracts in both languages.
PER/H1.P72 Policy Studies Journal
Scholarly articles on issues at all levels of government.
Reading Room/JK1.P85; Media; MUGC Public Administration Review
Basic journal in the field, published by the American Society for Public Administration.
Reading Room/JS344.C5 A2; Media; MUGC Public Management: PM (Not peer-reviewed)
Focuses on management of cities and counties.
PER/JK1.C65 Congressional Digest (Not peer-reviewed)
Each monthly issue deals with a particular policy issue, giving background and arguments on each side. Great for paper topics and debates.

Online Periodicals
Many of these periodicals, both popular and scholarly titles, are indexed within online databases such as Academic Search Premier. Often, only selected years are available and all articles from an issue may not be full-text. To search for articles from a particular journal within the database, limit the search by using "journal name" or "title" fields.

Arab Studies Quarterly
Comparative Strategy
Independent Review
International Security
Journal of Democracy
Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
Law and Contemporary Problems (Not peer-reviewed)
Policy Review (Not peer-reviewed)
SAIS Review: a Journal of International Affairs
Washington Quarterly

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Reference Sources

The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion Ref. BL65 .P7E53 1998
Covers the interconnections of politics and religion. Signed articles on broad themes, and specific subjects.
The Statesman's Year-Book Ref. JA51 .S7
Information on international organizations, associations, and leagues; and individual countries' politics, cultures, and economies.
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions Ref. JA61 .B56 1987
Guide to central concepts and people in the study of political institutions, organizations, and movements. Includes bibliographies.
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought Ref. JA61 .B57 1987
Covers major ideas, leading theorists, and the historical development of thinking about politics. Includes brief bibliographies.
The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Political Thinkers Ref. JA83 .R725 1998
Brief biographies of 174 leading thinkers of this century, including major ideas and suggestions for further reading.
Dictionary of Geopolitics Ref. JC319 .D495 1994
Definitions and background on terms about the geographic dimension of foreign policy and relations. Extensive bibliography of sources.
CQ Weekly Report Ref. JK1 .C15 and Congressional Quarterly Almanac Ref. JK1 .C66
The primary source for what's going on in Congress. Weekly issues with an annual cummulation.
Congressional Quarterly's American Congressional Dictionary Ref. JK9 .K73 1993
Brief definitions and explanations of terms in current use by the U.S. Congress, especially the legislative process.
Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. Ref. JK511 .E53 1994
Multidisciplinary study, with 1,011 articles in four volumes. Includes bibliographies.
Congress A to Z: a Ready Reference Encyclopedia Ref. JK1067 .C67 1993
A mix of broad overviews and more detailed articles, with tables of data and a selected bibliography.
Political Parties & Elections in the United States: an Encyclopedia Ref. JK2261 .P633 1991
Includes both long survey articles and shorter ones, all with bibliographies. Good starting point for research.
The Book of the States Ref. JK2403 .B6
Basic source for information on and about state governments. Statistics, comparative tables, and directories of officials.
Europa World Year Book Ref. JN1 .E85
Same type of information as in the Statesman's Yearbook, but much more detailed.
The Municipal Year Book Ref. JS344 .C5A24
Basic source for information on and about city and county governments. Articles, statistics, directories of officials, and reference sources.
The International Relations Dictionary Ref. JX1226 .P55 1988
Arranged by subject, each entry gives a definition and its significance to the field of study.
West's Encyclopedia of American Law Ref. KF154 .W47 2005
Multi-volume set with over 4,000 entries on terms, concepts, events, movements, cases, and persons significant to U.S. law.
Black's Law Dictionary Ref.Desk KF156 .B53 1999
The standard dictionary for law.
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution Ref. KF4548 .E53 1986
Interdisciplinary study of the Constitution. Each article is signed, and many have brief bibliographies. Index of court cases.
Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court Ref. KF8742 .A35E53 2001
Articles on all aspects of the Court, important decisions, and persons connected with the Court. Includes suggested readings.
Political Quotations: a Collection of Notable Sayings on Politics from Antiquity through 1989 Ref. PN6084 .P6P64 1990
Four thousand quotations on specifically political subjects, arranged by general subject headings. Indexes of keywords and author.

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Statistical Sources

Statistical Abstract of the United States Ref.Desk HA202 .U5
The major source for census and other statistics. (Online version available at http://www.census.gov/statab/www/)
The Book of the States Ref. JK2403 .B6
Basic source for information on and about state governments. Statistics, comparative tables, and directories of officials.
County and City Extra 2000: Annual Metro, City, and County Data Book Ref. Desk HA203 .C68 2000
Statistical information for every state, county, metropolitan area, and congressional district; and cities with 1990 populations over 25,000.
The Municipal Year Book Ref. JS344 .C5A24
Basic source for information on and about city and county governments: articles, statistics, directories, reference sources.
The Yahoo! Directory of Government Statistics
http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/Statistics/
Links to online statistical sources, arranged by country, including the United States
Statistical Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html
Comprehensive set of links to online statistical sources. Maintained by the University of Michigan Documents Center.

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Biographical Sources

A good starting point for biographical information is the Biography and Genealogy Master Index (Ref. Z5305 .U5B56 1980), which indexes a vast assortment of sources, including general titles such as Who's Who in America, Who Was Who in America, Who's Who, Who Was Who, and the New York Times Biographical Service. More specialized resources include:

Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774-1971 Ref. E176 .B575
Information on the careers of all cabinet heads, presidents, and vice-presidents. Includes short bibliographies.
Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978 Ref. E176 .B573; ... 1978-1983 Ref. E176 .B5733 1985; ... 1983-1988 Ref. E176 .B5734 1989; ... 1988-1994 Ref. JK2447 .M86 1994
Brief entries, with bibliographies, for all those who took the oath of office after 1789. Arranged chronologically within each state.
Who Was Who in American Politics Ref. E176 .M873 1974
Very brief entries on over 4,000 past political figures.
The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents: White House Biographies, 1789-2001 Ref. E176.1 .D56 12001
Facts about their lives and terms of office, portraits, and daily life of a president.
Biographical Dictionary of Congressional Women Ref. JK1012 .F57 1999
Biographies of 200 women who have served in the Congress.
The Justices of the United States Supreme Court, 1789-1969: their lives and major opinions Ref. KF8744 .F75
Extensive biographies of each of the Justices, with selective bibliographies and extracts from representative judicial opinions.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 Government Documents Ref. Y1.1/3:100-34
Brief entries with personal and political information, with pictures. Can also be searched at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp
Official Congressional Directory Government Documents Y4.P93/1:1/
Brief entries with personal and political information, offices, and committee assignments. Also available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/index.html for 1995 on.
Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989 Government Documents Y1.1/7:101-117
Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995 Government Documents Y1.1/7:103-325
Women in Congress, 1917-1990 Government Documents Y1.1/7:101-238
Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789-1993 Government Documents Y1.1/3:104-26

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Internet Resources

The Web provides a tremendous number of resources for political science research. It is essential that you use a good search engine (such as Teoma, HotBot, Alta Vista, Excite, and Google) or directory site (such as the Librarian's Index to the Internet, INFOMINE, About.com, and the Scout Report). Also, see the next section for some political science gateways. Examples of some interesting and useful web sites are:

Official web sites for the three branches of the federal government:

U.S. House of Representatives http://www.house.gov
U.S. Senate http://www.senate.gov
Thomas: legislative information on the Web http://thoams.loc.gov
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov
U.S. Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov

Official pages for major international organizations:

The United Nations http://www.un.org
The European Union in the United States http://www.eurunion.org/index.htm
Europa: the European Union On-Line http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm
International Governmental Organizations links http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/igo.html
Political Science List of Lists

List of electronic discussion lists on politics and political science.

Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/index.htm#top
Searchable collection of over 500 public domain images of American political history.
Stateline.org
http://www.stateline.org/
A Project of the Pew Center on the States. Follows the development in the states of major issues on the public agenda.

Great sources for political news and rumor:

CNN.com Inside Politics http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/
CSPAN.org: public affairs on the Web http://www.c-span.org/
Roll Call: the newspaper of Capitol Hill http://www.rollcall.com/

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Internet Gateways & Collections

APSANET: The American Political Science Association Online
http://www.apsanet.org/
Homepage of the main professional political science organization. Links to departments, conference papers, etc.
Yahoo!Government directory
http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/
Extensive set of links to sites related to government, including documents, embassies, international organizations, and politics.
Political Science Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/polisci.html
Excellent set of links to a wide variety of resources. Maintained by the University of Michigan Documents Center.
Political Science Information
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/GSSI/poliscie.html
Gateway from the University of California at Berkeley Library.
Librarians' Index to the Internet: Politics
http://lii.org/search/file/politics
Broad set of links selected and evaluated by librarians.
Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/
Very nice site maintained by a political scientist at the Univ. of Keele (United Kingdom), with a built-in search engine.
PA Online
http://bss.sfsu.edu/~mpa/paonline/paonline.htm
Sites related to Public Administration, from the San Francisco State University MPA program.
Resources for Political Science
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/polsci/
Long set of links to a variety of resources, maintained by the library at Vanderbilt University.
Political Science/Law
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/soc/polisci//
Outstanding set of links, from the Louisiana State University Libraries.
Foreign Affairs Online
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html
Set of links designed to assist students and others interested in international relations, international law, and U.S. foreign policy.

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Prepared by Timothy A. Balch, Reference Services Librarian.

Suggestions for improvement welcomed.

Last updated 07/22/05