Political Science

POSC 374: Environmental Politics and Policy

Suggested Databases

Find all of these databases on the Political Science Database List 

• JSTOR 
  • Includes academic journals and primary sources 
  • Find peer reviewed articles about treaties and environmental issues.
• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Index
  • Includes multiple types of sources such as government documents, articles, research reports, and more. Coverage begins in 1972. Includes information from over 120 countries throughout the world.
  • Look for reports and scholarly journal articles.
• ProQuest Political Science 
  • Includes journals on political science and international relations, including environmental policy. Types of sources include reports, newspapers, and scholarly journals.
  • Look for news, reports, and scholarly journal articles.
• CQ Researcher Plus Archive
  • Each issue features a look ahead, a pro-con section that presents opposing viewpoints, a chronology, and annotated bibliographies to point the way to additional research.
  • Look for information about treaties and overviews of countries.

Other Useful Research Tools

• ECOLEX: The Gateway to Environmental Law 
  • Use this tool to find information on international treaties. Search by legislation and treaties. 
  • See this example for the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
    • Includes an abstract, links to the full text of the treaty and list of participants in the treaty.
• United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (InforMEA) 
  • Includes full text of treaties, laws and cases, and news. 
  • Browse by environmental topic: biological diversity, chemicals and waste, climate and atmosphere, environmental governance, land and agriculture, and marine and freshwater. 
  • Search by keyword, such as: climate change, hazardous waste, or desertification.
• World Bank Open Data
  • Choose this database to find information on environmental indicators.
  • After opening the database, choose or search an indicator or country.

POSC 410: Seminar in American Politics

Finding Articles

• Top Databases (search simultaneously by selecting "choose database" option)
  • CQ Electronic Library 
  • JSTOR
  • ProQuest Political Science Database 
• Search by entering keywords, or the main subjects of your research topic or question. 

Finding Books

• Use the catalog (second box on the library homepage) to search for books
  • To find books about a topic: use keyword
  • To find books about a person: start with subject and type in the last name
  • Choose subject from book record to find all books with the same subject for advanced searching 

Sample Search

How has mass media led to a fear of terrorism?

• Main concepts: mass media, media effects, terrorism, fear
• Keyword combinations:
  • terrorism AND fear
  • mass media OR media effects
• Limit results to peer-reviewed journal articles, date range (such as published within the last ten years)
• Search:
  • Enter your search terms in the search boxes in Discover or JSTOR 
  • Place any limiters needed 
  • Select relevant articles based on title and abstract
  • Look for full text, and if not available, check for full text by clicking the icon: 
    • If the full text is not available, request a copy through interlibrary loan. 

Determining Peer Reviewed Journals 

• Always limit to "peer reviewed journals" in Discover 
• Cabells Directory of Publishing Opportunities
  • Search the Predatory Reports Directory and the Journalytics Directory to identify possibly predatory journals or to search for journals.

• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory 
  • Search the journal title in the search box
  • The book icon on the results page will indicate if the journal is peer reviewed 

POSC 410: Seminar in American Politics

Finding Articles

• Top Databases 
  • Roper Center Archives
  • ProQuest Political Science Database 
  • ProQuest Congressional
  • CQ Researcher Plus Archive
  • Newspaper Source
• Search by entering keywords, or the main subjects of your research topic or question. 

Databases

All of these databases can be found on the Database A-Z List.

Roper Center Archives

• Includes poll data from U.S. polling firms from 1935 - present.
• Use this database to find additional poll data on certain topics, including social issues, pop culture, international affairs, and more.

ProQuest Congressional

• Includes a variety of congressional materials, such as hearings, CRS reports, reports from the House and Senate, full text of bills and laws, and other publications. 1789 - present.
• Use this database to start your research.

ProQuest Political Science Database

• Includes over 460 political science journals, and news, reports, and articles.
• Use this database to find articles and background on policy proposals and political institutions, as well as some news articles.

CQ Researcher Plus Archive

• Each issue features a look ahead, a pro-con section that presents opposing viewpoints, a chronology, and annotated bibliographies to point the way to additional research.
• Use this database to find in-depth background information on political topics and see how political institutions developed policy proposals and laws.

Finding News Articles

• Search Discover (the first search box) on the library homepage. Choose "news" from the source type limiter at the top of the screen.
• Newspaper Source Database
  • Includes a variety of newspapers, including more than 40 national and international newspapers and 370 regional U.S. newspapers.
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers 
  • Will include additional newspapers and news articles.
• See all available newspaper databases on the Database A-Z List.