Welcome
This research guide is designed for students doing research for Research Methods classes. If you run into any problems, or need more assistance, don't hesitate to use the calendar to request a personal research session. If you cannot find a time when I am available, feel free to find a time on one of the other social science librarians' calendars! (Note: Choose Social Science from the list on the left to get to the joint calendar!)
Search Tips for Politics
Good searching can shorten your research time significantly. Here are my top five tips for Politics researchers:
- When researching people (or two word countries), put the name in quotes "Nelson Mandela" or "South Africa"
- When researching countries, truncate: 'Mexic*' will find items that have 'Mexico' AND ones with 'Mexican'.
- Be specific: A search for 'female suicide bombers.' is much better than one for 'terrorist methods.'
- Use the various ways of limiting a search that appear on your results screen - most interfaces let you limit by publication date, subject, format and more. Use these to narrow your results list as much as possible.
- Finally, ZSR Librarians are very skilled in helping you find the best search for your topic - just request a meeting!
Research Process Resources
Research Process Resources
- Research Project Planner (from SAGE Research Methods)Helps you think through and plan a research project from start to finish.
Choosing a Method Resources
- Methods Map (from SAGE Research Methods)Use the methods map to explore research methods.
- Which Stats Test (from SAGE Research Methods)Answer some questions to find out which statistical method is best.
Literature Review Resources
- The Literature Review (USC)A great guide on writing social science papers in general. This page is for the literature review specifically.
- Literature Review Tutorial (American University)A nice tutorial that walks you through the lit review process
- Literature Reviews (UNC Library)A nice discussion of what a literature review is and ideas on how to get started.
Annotated Bibliography Resources
Scholarly Journal Databases in Political Science (and related disciplines)
The databases below are the ones most frequently used by students doing political science research. The list starts with the politics-specific databases but also lists the many databases we have in related disciplines that often contain relevant sources. Politics is a very interdisciplinary thing, so looking at other databases is often very useful!
Databases for General International Politics and Government
- ProQuest Political Science Database This link opens in a new windowContains hundreds of leading political science and international relations journals, full-text doctoral dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, country profiles, political news and other sources. This link cross searches ProQuest Political Science Database, PAIS Index, and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Coverage: 1985-
- HeinOnline Law Journal Library This link opens in a new windowContains more than 2,000 law and law-related periodicals including international law and policy.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowProvides indexing and abstracts for journal articles, books, and dissertations covering the history of the world from 1450-- except the U.S. and Canada. For similar coverage of the U.S. and Canada, use America History and Life. Access is limited to six simultaneous users. Coverage: 1954-
Databases for International Military and Security Issues
- ProQuest Military Database This link opens in a new windowThe Military Collection provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications, and more.
- Military and Government Collection This link opens in a new windowProvides full text from military and general interest publications including government offices, journals, think tanks and more. Designed to bring current news to all branches of the military. Coverage: 1985-
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new windowFocused on strategy and policy in the various subject areas of homeland security research. Sources of information include governmental departments and agencies, academic institutions, think tanks, conference sites, non-governmental organizations, institutes and organizations, and other entities. Coverage: Details not available
- JSTOR Security Studies This link opens in a new windowContains journals, ebooks, and Open Access research reports in the field of security studies. This content looks at security studies through a broad lens, encompassing research on international security and peace and conflict studies from all corners of the globe.
Databases for International Policy and Issues
- Communication and Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new windowFor political communication, Internet and/or Social Media, news, rhetoric and more.
- Contemporary Women's Issues (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowprovides access to current full text and backfile content covering topics including civil rights, health, education, professional development, and entrepreneurship. Coverage: 1992-
- Criminal Justice Database This link opens in a new windowFor criminal justice, incarceration, international criminal justice, etc.
- EconLit This link opens in a new windowFor international economic research, political economy, foreign aid and development, etc.
- Environment Complete This link opens in a new windowEnvironmental policy, climate change, climate refugees, climate treaties, climate and trade, etc.
- ProQuest Sociology Database This link opens in a new window
Rosalind Tedford
Other Research Librarians
If Rosalind is not available, these other ZSR librarians can help you with research for Research Methods. The links below take you to their online calendars.