POL 403 - Akbaba - Political Science - Research Guides at Musselman Library

Finding Background Information

General Reference Sources

Gale Reference eBooks This link opens in a new window
Provides a database of encyclopedias and reference sources for research. Coverage include the Arts, Business, Education, the Environment, History, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Religion, Science and Social Science. 2000 – present.
Statesman's Yearbook This link opens in a new window
Covers key historical events, population, city profiles, social statistics, climate, recent elections, current leaders, defence, international relations, economy, energy and natural resources, industry, international trade, religion, culture, and diplomatic representatives, as well as fact sheets for countries world wide. Browse by places, people, international organizations, or abbreviations. Includes editions from 1864-present.

Political Science Reference Sources

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Foreign Policy Analysis
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Foreign Policy Analysis examines the theories and factors that influence and determine foreign policy. In a wide-ranging set of over 100 articles, experts examine topics as diverse as climate change, organized crime, two-level games, and veto player approaches.

Foreign Affairs This link opens in a new window
Provides access to ForeignAffairs.com including the entire digital archives, 1992 to the present. Foreign Affairs is published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a nonpartisan organization. Articles are written by academics, foreign affairs practitioners, journalists, and other informed writers. The magazine covers a broad range of issues in contemporary international affairs from political, historical, legal, and economic perspectives.

Think Tanks

Brookings Institution
Brookings is an nonprofit public policy organization which provides research in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development.
Council on Foreign Relations
CFR is an independent, nonpartisan think tank which provides background information, commentary and articles about foreign relations and international affairs.

Political Science Databases

PAIS International This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to political science articles, government documents, books, and more from over 2,462 publications in the areas of public affairs, public policy, social issues, and international relations. Citations date from 1915-present.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Provides abstracts of materials from professional journals, major news magazines and books devoted to international politics and political analysis, 1975-present.

Interdisciplinary Databases

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to thousands of full-text scholarly journals, trade and professional titles, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, case studies, and market reports. Content covers all major subject areas, including business, health and medical, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, science and technology, and religion.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to content across all disciplines. Search or browse books, journals, images, and primary sources.

Quantitative

Here are a few selected general data sources you may find useful. Also try the International Statistics research guide for more suggestions.

World Bank Data This link opens in a new window
Free and open access to a comprehensive set of data about development in countries around the globe. Databases available include World Development Indicators, Global Development Finance, African Development Indicators, Global Economic Monitor, Doing Business Database and many more.

Religion and State (RAS) Project
Required use for quantitative studies. Provides a set of measures that systematically gauge the intersection between government and religion.
Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
Provides access to data about American and international collections and includes features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers.
World Values Survey
Provides survey data about values and cultural changes in societies all over the world. Topics include "Perceptions of Life," "The Environment," "Work," "Family," "Politics and Society," "Religion and Morale," and "National Identity."
Minorities at Risk
University of Maryland research project that monitors and analyzes the status and conflicts of politically-active communal groups in all countries with a current population of at least 500,000.
UNData
Provides 15 databases from different UN agencies covering agriculture, health, human development, communication technology, industry, population, refugees, trade and tourism.

Qualitative

Access World News This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text articles from over 10,680 U.S. and international newspapers, offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Includes The Gettysburg Times (2008-present) and The Evening Sun (2001-present).

Encyclopedia of World Constitutions by Gerhard Robbers
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 0816060789
Publication Date: 2006
A brief overview of the country is followed by standard subsections: "Constitutional History," "Form and Impact of the Constitution," "Basic Organizational Structure," "Leading Constitutional Principles," "Constitutional Bodies," and so on. Articles range from 4 to 13 pages in length, and each concludes with links to the text of the constitution in its original language (and, if needed, an English translation) and secondary sources for further reading.

UN Digital Library
Includes speeches, reports, press releases, and other documents that may be of interest for a qualitative study.

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Collection of legal history and government documents, including 2,400 law-related periodicals, the entire Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and U.S. Reports back to 1754. Contains all of the world's constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, and access to the full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase.

Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They are well known for the public opinion polling.
Gallup Poll (print volumes)
The print volumes include Gallup polls through 2017.