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Political Science
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Below are a few major, frequently used sources for the study of political science. This section does not include legal materials. These can be found in Law: A Brief Guide. Political Science is also covered by interdisciplinary indexes such as Expanded Academic ASAP, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Social Sciences Index. These can be found in Social Sciences: A Brief Guide. The Ginn Library of the Fletcher School has a valuable collection of material in international relations. It is open to all Tufts students and faculty. Please consult with a reference librarian for directions to many sources in your topic. Internet resources require a Tufts I.D. number for off-campus access (authorized users statement). |
Facts and Background Information [back to top]
Subject specific reference materials can help you to gain broad-based knowledge of your field, through vocabulary, factual information, additional references, and bibliographies. Some suggested print sources:
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics
Dictionary of European History and Politics
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
A comprehensive source of articles on religious and political aspects of Islam and the Islamic world, including the Oxford Dictionary of Islam,
the Oxford History of Islam, and a concordance and two translations of the Qur’an.
Doing a subject search in the catalog allows you to retrieve specific types of sources.
Political Science - Encyclopedias
Political Science - Dictionaries
In addition, the following electronic and print resources provide valuable information:
Demographic Information
Census of Population and Housing, 1990, Block Statistics. Print.
Census of Population and Housing, 1990, Equal Opportunity File. Print.
Census of the United States. Print.
County and City Data Book. Print.
State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. Print.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Statistical
Universe. 1973-
Statistical information from the U.S. government, including the
Statistical Abstract of the United States and other sources. Online
version of American Statistics Index, Statistical Reference Index,
and Index to International Statistics.
Congressional Guides
Almanac
of American Politics. Print.
Previous years in the stacks.
You can search for books about political science in the library catalog in several ways:
Keyword
Searching
Type in words that describe your topic:
Subject
searching
If you know the Library of Congress subject heading used to describe
your area of research, you can search for a particular subject.
If you don't know the Library of Congress Subject Headings, speak
to a librarian for help. Some examples of subject searches are:
Books on political science can be found under the call number range J1-JZ6350. For help in browsing the collection, consult with one of the reference librarians.
To locate books in other Boston Library Consortium libraries and request them, use the Boston Library Consortium Catalogs. To locate books in many libraries throughout the world, use WorldCat.
For more information on searching article indexes, see our Database Searching Tips (also available in PDF).
Alt-PressWatch
(How to search)
Full-text articles from magazines and journals of the alternative
and independent press. Coverage includes a broad range of critical
issues confronting contemporary society, including ecology and
the environment, grassroots organizing, labor, indigenous peoples,
public policy, genetics, and much more.
American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies, 1939-present
Provides information on East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Sources indexed include
journals, books, dissertations, online resources and selected government publications published in
the U.S. and Canada.
American
Public Opinion Index
Print index to the full-text microfiche collection American Public
Opinion Data at Micro .F672.
Bibliography
of Asian Studies (How
to search)
An index of Western-language articles, monographs, and book chapters
published since 1971.
Columbia
International Affairs Online (CIAONet) (How
to search)
Provides searchable access to the full-text of working papers
and conference proceedings from 45 leading research centers in
the field of international policy and scholarship. CIAO also provides
abstracts from key foreign policy journals and the texts of twelve
books on various aspects foreign affairs as well as links to internet
resources and a calendar of meetings and conferences.
CIS
Index
Print index to the working papers of the U.S. Congress and the
Executive Branch.
Congressional
Index
Print index to public bills and resolutions. Also tracks progress
of bill from introduction to resolution.
Congressional
Universe 
A major online resource for information on all aspects of Congressional
work. Includes hearing transcripts, committee reports, bills,
committee prints, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register,
the Code of Federal Regulations, and public laws.
CQ Researcher
Comprehensive balanced reporting and analysis on current issues in the news.
CQ Weekly
Expert coverage of the U.S. Congress: status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, and backroom maneuvering.
Current
Contents Connect
A current awareness database with a multidisciplinary focus,
covering over 8,000 of the world's scholarly journals grouped
into the following broad disciplinary areas: Agriculture, Biology, &
Environmental Sciences; Art & Humanities; Clinical Medicine;
Engineering, Computing & Technology; Life Sciences; Physical,
Chemical & Earth Sciences; Social & Behavioral Sciences.
Also included is access to ISI Current Web Contents.
Gerritsen
Collection (How
to search)
Begun in the late nineteenth century, the Gerritsen Collection
represents books and periodicals tracing the development of feminist
consciousness through four centuries and fifteen languages. The
Collection is one of the most important single sources in the
study of women's history.
Homeland Security Digital Library
The Homeland Security Digital Library collection provides quick access to important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as specialized resources such as theses and reports from various universities, organizations and local and state agencies in the field of homeland defense and security related research.
Index Islamicus
The Index Islamicus covers Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. It is produced by the Islamic Bibliography Unit of the Cambridge University Library and indexes articles back to 1906.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
The IBSS has more than two million references to articles and books going back to 1951 in the social sciences. It is produced by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
LexisNexis
Includes articles from major American newspapers and regional
papers, statistics, company financial information, country and
state profiles, and medical information. Major source for federal
case law and statutes, the U.S. Code, law reviews, and state legal
research.
National Journal Group's Policy Central
This full-text resource contains the National Journal, one of the
leading journals on policy and politics, as well as the Congress Daily,
the Almanac of American Politics.
PAIS
Index to articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents,
book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs
and international relations.
PAIS
(Public Affairs Information Service) (1957-2000)
Print index covers books, periodical articles, government publications,
reports of public and private agencies relating to public policy,
international relations, etc.
Policy
Research Online File (How
to search)
Provides access to major think tanks, research organizations,
and university research programs. Contains information on a complete
range of policy issues, both domestic and international. Identifies
research from 1990 to the present. Updated weekly.
Polling
the Nations (How
to search)
Polling the Nations is a comprehensive collection of public opinion
material from the United States and abroad. It contains the full
text of some 400,000 questions and responses on 4,500 topics.
Women’s Studies International, 1972-present
Covers the core disciplines in Women’s Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research.
Includes the areas of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy, international relations,
arts & humanities, business and education. Over 2,000 periodical sources are represented.
Worldwide
Political Science Abstracts (How
to search)
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts supplies up-to-date bibliographic
information and research within the political science discipline
and its complementary fields, including international relations,
law, and public administration/policy and covers over 1000 journals
drawn from the international serials literature.
Electronic journals
Periodicals held by Tufts are listed in the catalog. Holdings in all formats are unified in one record, and most entries for journals held in digital format contain a hyperlink to the source; searches in the catalog enable one to follow these links directly. A supplementary list of electronic journals is on the Tisch homepage under Electronic Journals. For an example of a catalog search for a journal, set the catalog's Type of Search to "Journal Title," and type in Annual Review of Political Science.
Many political science journals held in digital format are parts of Project Muse or JSTOR. Others can be found in Science Direct, Blackwell-Synergy, or Wiley Interscience. Although these databases include search engines for the journals they contain, the indexes listed above are the most comprehensive and authoritative sources for the literature of the discipline, and frequently link directly to the journal article itself.
CQ
Public Affairs Collection (How
to search)
The CQ Public Affairs Collection is a full text resource from
Congressional Quarterly Press that contains statistical and historical
analyses, historic documents and primary source materials, as
well as a directory of key government, nonprofit, and private
organizations in major policy areas.
Digital
National Security Archive (How
to search)
The Digital National Security Archive, with over 35,000 documents,
provides access to what has been called "the largest collection
of contemporary declassified national security information outside
the United States Government."
iPOLL Databank
The iPOLL Databank from the Roper Center Public Opinion Archives focuses on national scope surveys and contains not only the complete question text and responses to half a million questions from as far back as 1935, but also information such as study abstracts, links to questionnaires, datasets and citation information where available.
Making of the Modern World Digital Archive
Full-text searching of digital facsimile images of literature on economy and business,
published from 1450 through 1850.
United Nations Treaty Collection
Treaties and international agreements entered into by members
of the United Nations and registered with the Secretariat are
included in this
searchable database. Full text of the treaties is available
in the
section labeled United Nations Treaty Series. In addition to
the
certified texts, this collection provides status information
on the
treaties and other related material. The League of Nations
Treaty Series
is also included.
Tufts University Political Science Department
General
American Political Science Association Home Page
Avalon
Project at the Yale Law School
A digital library of pre-18th to 20th century documents relevant
to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy
and government, with annotations, indexes, and links to supporting
materials.
Marx/Engels
Internet Archive
Complete or partial text of over sixty works of Marx, Engels,
and other Marxist writers, plus biographical materials and photographs.
Political Science Resources
From the University of Keele, U.K.
Political
Science Resources on the Web
From the University of Michigan Documents Center.
Stat-USA
An online service of the most recent international trade information
available from the National Trade Data Bank, the National Economic,
Social & Environmental Database, the Economic Bulletin Board,
Global Business Procurement Opportunities, and the Bureau of
Economic Analysis.
Domestic
AllPolitics
From Time/CNN.
FedStats
Links to more than 70 U.S. Federal agencies that provide statistics
for public use.
Lincoln Institute of Land
Policy
This non-profit educational institution focuses on the teaching
and study of land policy, including economics of land use. Includes
education, research, and fellowship program information, as well
as the newsletter Landlines and other publications.
POTUS: Presidents
Of The United States
A part of the Internet Public Library.
Survey
Research Center
From Princeton University.
Urban Land Institute
A non-profit education and research institute that is dedicated
to providing responsible leadership and education in the use of
land in order to enhance the total environment. A source of information
on urban planning, growth, and development.
Foreign
International Court of Justice
International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
Political Database of the Americas (formerly Latin American Political Database)
PRAXIS
From University of Pennsylvania.
U.N. Scholars' Workstation
From Yale University.
U.S. State
Department Office of the Historian
Presents the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy.
U.S.
State Department Regional Affairs
World-wide information from regional bureaus of the State Department
containing press briefings and statements as well as testimony
and remarks from the Secretary of State and other officials.
War, Peace and Security
Guide
Bilingual (French/English) access to internet resources on armed
forces of the world, contemporary conflicts, international relations,
military art and science, military history, arms control, and
peacekeeping.
WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
Contact a Librarian [back to top]
Christopher Barbour.
Contact for questions about library collections.
Connie Reik.
Contact for reference questions and instruction requests.
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