Guide to Library Resources for Political Science

Most of the library resources listed below have peer-reviewed content, meaning that the information has been reviewed by experts in the field before it was published. These resources are usually the most accurate and reliable, and your instructor may require that assignments be completed with only peer-reviewed resources. Non-peer reviewed resources, such as newspapers and websites, are marked below with an asterisk*.

If you have problems finding any resource, please email us at Ask-a-Librarian, phone (405) 208-5065, or come to the information desk on the first floor of Dulaney-Browne Library. Items not held by the library may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan using convenient online forms for books and articles.


I. Commonly Used Subject Headings

To find print books and ebooks held by our library, go to the Catalog on the library homepage and select “Subject” from the drop-down menu, then type any of the following subjects (or a subject of your choice) into the search-box; in the search results, click on the subject heading for a list of titles. (Note: If you don’t know the exact subject heading for your topic, click on “Search more books,” then “Catalog” and select “Advanced Search”; type your topic words into the third or lowest box for “Search in: Subject.”)

United States politics and government
Elections United States
[any country name] politics and government
Elections [any country or state name]
Developing countries politics and government
United States foreign relations
State governments
[any country name] foreign relations
Local government United States
International relations
Presidents United States
International law
United States Congress
International organization
Constitutional law United States
Public administration
Constitutional history United States
Political science philosophy
Constitutional history Great Britain


II. Selected Print Reference Sources

These sources are a good place to begin your research or to find general information on a topic. Available on the first floor of Dulaney-Browne Library (library use only).

R 328.77 AL62 2006 Almanac of American Politics

R 328.73 C7493g5 Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to Congress

R 324 C76g5 2005 Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Elections

R 320.959 L532d Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia

R 320.951 D561 Dictionary of the Politics of the People’s Republic of China

R 342.73 En19L2 Encyclopedia of the American Constitution

R 353.031303 En19 Encyclopedia of the American Presidency

R 341.2303 Os5e3 Encyclopedia of the United Nations

R 327.73 En19 Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations

R 349.73 G798 Great American Court Cases

R 353.0313 C76g3 Guide to the Presidency

R 327.03 P712i5 International Relations: A Political Dictionary

R 320.03 Ox2k2 Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World

R 347.7326 Ox2h2 2005Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States

R 327 P769p 2005/2006 Political Handbook of the World 2005-2006

R 320 St797y 2007 Statesman’s Yearbook 2007

R 923.273 W628 Who’s Who in American Politics

III. Selected Periodicals: Journals and Newspapers

These leading periodicals are available in online databases (see Part V below), with some limited print or microform holdings at Dulaney-Browne Library (first floor and/or basement-level storage – ask at information desk). To find individual journal titles, go to the library homepage, click on “Online Resources” in upper-left corner, then click on “Journals list.” Type in title (or any title of your choice), and follow the links. To find newspaper titles, see instructions for NewsBank and Newspaper Source in Part V.

American Journal of International Law (JSTOR)

American Journal of Political Science (EbscoHost, JSTOR)

American Political Science Review (print, microform, JSTOR)

Congress & the Presidency (EbscoHost)

*CQ Weekly (print, microform, EbscoHost)

Foreign Affairs (print, microform, EbscoHost)

Foreign Policy (print, microform, EbscoHost)

Harvard Law Review (EbscoHost)

Journal of Politics (print, microform, JSTOR, EbscoHost)

Public Administration Review (print, microform, EbscoHost)

*New York Times (print, microform, and NewsBank)

Political Science Quarterly (print, JSTOR, EbscoHost)

*Roll Call (Internet -- http://www.rollcall.com/)

*Washington Post (NewsBank)

*Content is authoritative but not peer-reviewed

IV. Internet Resources

The following websites are available for free and are mostly non-peer reviewed content. (Note: Many government documents may also be found in the library’s online catalog, with links in their catalog record to the full-text of the document on the Internet).

*Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Political Science)

*Foreign Affairs Online (portal to other websites)

*GPOAccess (federal government publications online)

*Legal Information Institute (Cornell University)

*National Academy of Public Administration (portal)

*National Political Index (portal)

*Political Information (portal)

*USA.gov Government Made Easy (federal government website)

*Content is authoritative but not peer-reviewed

V. Online Databases
The databases below allow you to search thousands of full-text articles or citations to articles. Go to the library homepage and click on the “Online Resources” button in the upper-left corner, then click on “Find articles.” From the list of databases, select one of the following (you will be asked to log-in). To search all of the EbscoHost databases combined, use the “Search EBSCOHost” search-box on the library homepage (Note: Some functions, such as limiting results to full-text and peer-reviewed items, may not be working for all databases in this combined search).

EbscoHost: Academic Search Premier; Business Source Premier

[For best searching, choose “Advanced Search”; remember to check “Full-Text” and “Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals” before running your search; for best results when searching topics, choose from the “Select a Field” drop-down menu “TI Title,” “SU Subject Terms,” or “AB Abstract”; to search more than one Ebsco database at a time, click on “Choose databases,” check desired boxes, and click “Continue.”]

JSTOR

[Exclusively peer-reviewed content; for best searching, use “Advanced Search,” and select “Title” and/or “Abstract” from the drop-down menus; check “Article” to limit results to articles.]

*NewsBank

[Full-text of newspapers and newsmagazines nationwide and from around the world; click on “Access World News” to go to an interactive map that will find newspapers for specific locations; or, use search-box to search all news sources combined (not recommended); for combined search or individual newspaper, “Advanced Search” works the best, and using drop-down menu to select “in Lead/First Paragraph” can also be helpful.]

*EbscoHost: Newspaper Source

[Includes newspapers as well as transcripts from CNN, PBS, and FoxNews; for best searching, use “Advanced Search”; for best results when searching topics, choose from the “Select a Field” drop-down menu “TI Title,” “SU Subject Terms.”]

WorldCat

[Mostly citations to books and articles, not full-text; mix of peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed; use drop-down menus to limit seach terms to author, title, or subject; use “Limit type to:” books or articles, and check “Items in my library” to search what is available through Dulaney-Browne Library; to find items anywhere, leave this box unchecked; when you retrieve an item that you want which is not held by our library, click on “Libraries worldwide that own item” to see if a nearby library has it, or click on “Borrow this item from another library” to bring up form to fill out for Interlibrary Loan; this form goes directly to our Interlibrary Loan office.]

*Content is authoritative but not peer-reviewed