Subject Guide: Political Science

The Library's Subject Guides help you find resources that are specialized for certain areas of study. There are many other resources available which provide generalized information--not specific to one topic or area. To see more of these general resources, see the Subject Guide: General page.

Databases

Databases provide information about journal, magazine and newspaper articles.

• American History in Video
• Confidential Print: Middle East
• CQ Researcher
• CQ Weekly Report
• Digital National Security Archive
• Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports
• The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
• International Bibliography of Political Science, 1960-2000 JA 71.5 .I64
• International Index [print]: 1905-1965 Abs/Ind AI3 .R49
• International Political Science Abstracts, 1989-present
• JSTOR
• Left Index
• Lexis-Nexis Academic
  Hint: BBC Monitoring includes international news reports translated into English.
• LexisNexis Congressional Universe
• The Nixon Years, 1969-1974
• Ohio Capitol Connection
• PAIS
• PAIS Archive
• Project Muse
• Roper Center iPoll Database
• Social Issues Researcher (SIRS)
• Social Sciences Citation Index, 1980-present
• Social Sciences Index [print]: 1974- Abs/Ind AI3 .S61
• The Times (London) Digital Archives, 1785-1985.
• U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, 1975-2006

Reference Resources

Reference books provide background information on a people, terms and concepts.

• African American Political Participation: A Reference Handbook
• America Votes  JK1967 .A8
• Almanac of American Politics  JK1012 .A44
• Campaign and Election Reform: A Reference Handbook
• Civil Liberties in America: A Reference Handbook
• Congressional Quarterly's Federal PACs Directory, 1956-2000  JK1 .C66
• Conservative Christians and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook
• Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues
• Encyclopedia of Political Communication
• The Executive Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics
• Foreign Relations of the United States JX233.A3
  Published by the State Department, this series presents the official documentary historical record of major foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity of the U.S. government.
• Guide to Congress  JK1021 .C565 2008
• Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources
• Information Sources of Political Science
• The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics
• The Legislative Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics
• Media and Politics in America: A Reference Handbook
• Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed
• Political Handbook of the World  JK37 .P6
• Oxford Reference Books Online: Politics & Social Sciences Collection
  Nine online reference books relevant to political science and recent political history. Search the entire collection at once, or select one book to search.
• Religion and Politics: A Reference Handbook
• U.S. Social Security: A Reference Handbook
• Who's Who in American Politics

Web Resources

Here are some Web sites we think you might find useful:

• American Presidency Project
• Denison Government Web Sites
• FactCheck.org
  
• Favor Factory Database
  Database created by The Seattle Times that shows who received earmarks and who gave them in the 2008 defense bill.
• Federal Election Commission
• Follow the Money
  From the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
• Freedom of Information Resources
  The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' guide to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
• GovTrack.us
  Tool for tracking activities in U.S. Congress.
• Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book
  From the federal government's Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
• Legislative Sourcebook
  From the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC.
• LegiStorm
  Access to public information relating to Congress, such as staff salaries and financial disclosure statements.
• Living Room Candidate
  Presidential campaign commercials dating back to the 1950's.
• Maplight.org
  Illuminates connections between campaign donations and legislative votes in U.S. Congress
• Open Government Guide
  Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' compendium of information on every state's open records law.
• Opensecrets.org
  A guide to the money in American elections.
• Papers of the Presidents
• Pew Research Center
• Policy Archives
• Political Information.Com
• Politico
• PolitiFact
• POTUS: Presidents of the United States
• Project Vote Smart
• Pro Publica
• Real Clear Politics
• ScienceWorksForUS
  Site highlights scientific research supported by recent stimulus legislation.
• Scripps Library
  Archive includes over 2,500 hours of secret White House recordings, presidential oral history interviews, and speeches.
• Television News Archive, Vanderbilt University
• Thomas
  Source of legislative information from the U.S. Congress.
• USASpending.gov
• Washington Independent