MU Libraries Sourcepack
Political Science 3000
"Introduction to Political Research"
Professor: James Endersby
Political Science Librarian: Nancy Turner Myers
Finding BOOKS: From the MU Libraries' Gateway, choose MERLIN Catalog. Select our own location (Columbia) and then "Keyword Search." Type in words describing the topic or issue you are researching. Once you have a list of hits, select one that looks on-target, then examine the subject headings for that item. Try clicking on that subject to retrieve similar items. Subject heading searches generally pull up more relevant hits than a keyword search.
If you do not find enough books on your topic to meet your needs, change your search to "ALL MERLIN." By doing so you will be checking the library holdings at UMSL, UMKC, UMR, and MU all at once. Still not enough? Click on the MOBIUS Union Catalog button. This expands your search to about 50 additional libraries in our statewide network. Most books you find through MERLIN or MOBIUS are requestable online, just click on the "Request Item" link. Books requested through MERLIN or MOBIUS take two to three working days to arrive. You'll be notified by email when your book(s) is ready for pickup.
As a good starting point, there are many specialized Reference books (encyclopedias, handbooks, almanacs, directories) that cover all aspects of Political Science and its sub fields. Most are located in the Reference Collections on the first floor of Ellis Library. You can find them in the MERLIN catalog with a "key word" search, for example, typing "politic* and encyclopedia" yields 155 titles, such as:
Encyclopediaof African American politics
Encyclopediaof American religion and politics
Politicalencyclopediaof the Middle East
Finding ARTICLES: From the MU Libraries Gateway page, click on "Databases" to go to a list of 300+ databases that index thousands of journals, magazines, newspapers, government documents, and many other types of materials.
I. If you're looking for BACKGROUND material:
From Libraries' Gateway page select "Databases"; then, "Popular Databases" Often a good starting point, these are general databases that cover all subjects and are especially good if you have a topic that is very current or is interdisciplinary.
CQ Researcher Contains hundreds of weekly reports, focusing on contemporary controversial issues. Provides extensive background information, history, chronology, identification of key events, individuals and organizations, and further resources.
Academic Search Premier Index to major journals and magazines in all subject areas, with good coverage of politics and political science journals. Many articles are full-text. Updated continually. Generally, coverage is 1984 to date. Click on "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" to limit search results to research articles.
Newspapers can be an excellent source of information, especially for an emerging phenomenon or local issues. Although often brief, newspaper articles can lead you to experts on a topic and advocacy groups, or help identify key incidents and players. From the MU libraries' Databases page, click on the category, "Newspapers" for a listing of choices. The databases Factiva and Lexis Nexis Academic cover hundreds of state, national and international newspapers, including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian and Le Monde, wire services, and transcripts from radio and television programs. For specifically Missouri news, the database, Newsbank covers the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Kansas City Star.
For additional coverage of current Missouri legislative affairs, see Missouri Digital News.
II. If you're looking for more SPECIALIZED information:
From Libraries' Gateway page select "Databases", then, "All Subjects" and then "Political Science" This includes Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, for the most comprehensive coverage of the international literature in Political Science and its related fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy. Currently, over 1000 journals are monitored for inclusion. This database covers 1975 to the present, and includes many links to the full text.
There are many other databases that may be useful in the Political Science category, depending on factors such as topic focus, time period, type of material needed, and so on.
(Note: If you are accessing any MU databases off campus, from a non-MU server, (e.g., aol, Mediacomm), you will be asked to enter your Pawprint).
Selected Top Journals in Political Science (according to the SSCI Journal Citation Reports) :
American Political Science Review
American Journal of Political Science
Journal of Democracy
Journal of Politics
Journal of Conflict Resolution
Political Science Quarterly
Annual Review of Political Science
Political Geography
If you want to see models of how to do a literature review, how research is reported, how statistical data is displayed, etc., you can search all of these journals and hundreds more, using the databases listed above. You can search by key word or subject to identify specific articles, as well as by author or journal name. The eight journals listed above are all available online via the "Electronic Journals" link from the MU Libraries gateway.
III. Finding the JOURNALS that contain articles you want:
Finding the Full-text of Journal Articles: http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2048/login?url=http://mulibraries.1cate.com
If you're looking at results in one of the databases listed above just click on the button next to the article citation. The article will display if it's available electronically. If there is no online access, you'll be give the opportunity to look for a print copy in the MERLIN Catalog or to order it from our interlibrary loan service.
If you have an article reference, but are not currently in a database, go to the MU Libraries' Gateway page and click on the Electronic Journals link in the upper right hand side of the screen to enter Find it @ MU. Once in Find it @ MU you're given the opportunity to search for a specific article or journal title. If electronic coverage is not available, check the MERLIN Catalog to see if we have a print subscription to the journal.
MU Libraries does not subscribe to all journal titles. If you find a journal article that you need, but cannot find the article using Find it @ MU, fill out a journal article request form which is available from the Express Forms drop down menu at the top, center of the MU Libraries Gateway page. You will need to register the first time you use our interlibrary loan service which is called ILL@MU. Usually you will receive the article electronically via e-mail within a few days of placing your request.
Finding GOVERNMENT Information:
From the MU Libraries Gateway page (at top), click on the box, "Books, Articles and More" and then click on "Subject Guides." Scroll down the page to the category, "Government & Law" for links to resources on U.S. federal, state government and legal research.
If you do not find what you need from these pages, check the sites for location, hours and contact information for further assistance.
Finding and Acquiring DATA for Statistical Analysis:
MU Libraries Data Archives Service
I. Sources for raw data, which can be manipulated in SAS & SPSS:
a) ICPSR website http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/
--MU has subscription for unlimited downloads.
--Download directly from website to your computer, 24/7
b) Roper Institute website http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/
--keyword search at the variable level through the iPOLL database
c) Many free sites on the internet http://www.iassistdata.org/tools/othersites.html
II. Sources for published statistics
b) Fedstats list of statistics, A-Z
Fedstats Reference Shelf
c) Statistical Abstract of the United States (annual publication, 1884-present)
MERLIN link
Contact your librarian:
If you have questions about finding statistics and acquiring data,
contact Marie Concannon, Government Documents and Data Services Librarian,
office 106-B Ellis Library, concannonm@missouri.edu, phone 882-0748
If you have questions related to Political Science,
contact Nancy Turner Myers, Political Science Librarian,
office 164 Ellis Library, myersn@missouri.edu, phone 882-3342
This SOURCEPACK is a service of Ellis Library