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POS 450

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The following resources have been compiled by the librarians with specific emphasis on resources valuable for use in POS 450.

 

Reference Books

  • Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy.  2002. REF 327.73 En19 2002 

  • The Europa World Yearbook.  c1989-.  REF 341.184 Eu74
     This is a highly useful source for a detailed overview and recent contemporary history regarding a country. 

  • Political Handbook of the World. 1975-. REF 320.2 P757 

Both Europa World Yearbook and Political Handbook of the World give significant information and statistical data including political parties, international relations, and recent elections.

  • Statesman's Year-book.  1864-. REF 310 St1 2006


Finding Articles

For most senior papers, the sources used should be primarily scholarly: books, journal articles and peer reviewed resources.  The primary databases for periodical coverage for political science are:

  • Academic Search Premier  
    Covers both "scholarly/peer-reviewed" and general, popular titles. Choose "peer reviewed" if you wish to limit your search to scholarly articles.  You may also search by journal name.  Select "journal name" in the drop down field limiter to the right of the search box or the periodicals menu tab at the top of the screen.  Both ways will allow you to browse as you might browse hard copies. 
  • Columbia International Affairs Online 
    CIAO bills itself as "the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs."  It lists materials from a wide variety of sources, such as think tanks and NGOs, in addition to coverage of selected books and periodicals. 
  • JSTOR 
    This archive of academic journals is a full-text resource of journals with historical perspective.  One way to find successful results is to search Google Scholar.  In the Google Scholar search box, type your desired search terms adding "JSTOR" after.  (See, for example, a search on  the phrase "balance of power"  which limits your search to full-text journals within JSTOR.)  
  • Wilson Omni File 
    This is an excellent basic database comparable with Academic Search Premier.  All articles are full text.  
  • LexisNexis Academic 
    Provides access to a variety of full-text sources, including world-wide newspapers, magazines, news wires, and trade journals. Also features government documents.
  • PAIS International 
    See a Librarian    . Our access to PAIS International is limited to mediated online searching.

The search path for locating databases accessible to Taylor students is Zondervan Library>Databases>scroll through alphabetical list.  (The subject link to Political Science may also be helpful, but is not an exhaustive list of appropriate titles.)

List of Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers will help you determine access to a specific periodical title that is accessible either in print format or electronic access. This periodical list is accessible by keyword, subject and title.


Periodicals (Journals)

This list of selected scholar journal titles is by no means an exhaustive but may help guide you to the kinds of scholarly journals to consider.  These titles are also accessible through List of Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers.


To determine the relevancy of a specific periodical article there are several things to consider.  Awareness of the field delimiters may yield important information.  For example:  document type, author affiliations, subject headings (also called descriptors) and abstract.  By reading the abstract and subject headings you can gain a much clearer picture of what the article is about.  The abstract of the article could be enough to determine usefulness.  If it is not immediately clear from reading the abstract, you will need to scan the whole article to make the best decision.  Choosing articles that are peer reviewed and have references available will also yield more scholarly results. 

Non-Scholarly Journals

Research databases, indexes & abstracts provide access to articles from many periodicals other than academic journals.  Depending on the topic, there may be appropriate articles of analysis in non-academic journals and newspapers.  Some non-academic magazines may be specialized and suitable for your needs.  Examples of some non-scholarly titles are:


Books

  • TU Libraries Online Catalog
    Note the "Search type" options.  Search by subject keyword or title keyword for best results.
    •  
  • WorldCat 
    To locate books in any of thousands of other libraries.  For best results, search by subject fields.  Interlibrary loan requests can be made directly within WorldCat by going to the ILL icon at the top of the page.  You should plan ahead when requesting interlibrary loan materials. 


Regional Studies and Bibliographies

There are numerous specialized indexes for regional studies. Some are accessible in print form; others are available online.  Consult a librarian for further assistance with specialized regional bibliographies.  Some examples of regularly updated online resources are:


Internet Resources

Legislative/voting resources:


Data collections: 


International/Comparative Politics: 


Other General Portal Sites:


Think Tanks

For most senior papers, the sources should be primarily scholarly: books, journal articles and peer reviewed resources.  Articles from websites that are authoritative "think-tanks" may also be acceptable.  An example of a "think-tank" might be The Rand Corporation.

A list of "think tanks" may be found at University of Michigan Library's Political Science Resources on the Web


Research Tools

  • RefWorks
    A citation management program that allows you to collect and organize citations, create bibliographies and works cited pages, and format papers and bibliographies to a specific citation style. To access RefWorks from anywhere off Taylor's campus, Ask-A-Librarian for the group code.

 

Product descriptions on this page are incorporated from book reviews and product descriptions from various sources.

Ask-A-Librarian for more information


 Created by Dan Bowell, University Librarian

Last revised October 30, 2009 - 10:46 AM