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About this Guide
Resources for researching and writing a Political Science thesis.
Political Science Databases
Core article databases for political science research are below.
CQ Electronic Library A reference source on American politics and government that includes the following modules: CQ Congress Collection, CQ Political Handbook of the World, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Supreme Court, CQ Voting and Elections, CQ Washington Information Directory, CQ Weekly. Access individual modules or search across all CQ collections.
PAIS International Particularly strong in government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, and research and conference reports. Public policy, politics, economics, and social issues worldwide.
National Journal Group's Policy Central Indexes National Journal, The Hotline which tracks American politics and campaigns with coverage of each day's events, Congress Daily, Technology Daily, Almanac of American Politics, Poll Track and others to provide a comprehensive resource on politics and policy.
UC eLinks and Citation Linker
Sometimes the database you search doesn't link to the fulltext -- it only gives the citation. Click the button to see if Berkeley has it online, and if not, it will check for a print version. And if we don't have it at all, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.
What if there isn't a button??? Sometimes you find an article in a bibliography, a book or a footnote -- and you want to see if we have it. The Citation Linker searches through our online databases to see if it's available fulltext. If not, it sets up a search for the paper journal in Melvyl. And if we don't have it at Berkeley, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Related Databases
The Berkeley Library provides access to hundreds of databases, below are some that might be particularly helpful.
Academic Search Complete A multidisciplinary index to articles in more than 11,000 journals, many include fulltext.
America: History and Life Core resource for U.S history, also strong in some contemporary areas such as ethnic studies.
Sociological Abstracts Core resource for sociology, as well as some article in anthropology, criminology, demography, law, social psychology, and urban development.(Search all CSA/Illumina Social Sciences databases.)
Business Source Complete Full-text for several thousand scholarly business journals. Information in nearly every area of business and other sources of full text information such as country economic reports. For guidance on how to search, see
Business Source Complete tutorial
EconLit Most comprehensive index to scholarly journal articles in economics, also indexes books and dissertations.
LexisNexis Academic Core resource for newspapers from around the world and legal sources.
PolicyFile Index to public policy from a wide range of thinks tanks, Non-governmental organizations, international governmental organizations, and other institutions worldwide.
Project MUSE 250 scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. Topics include literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics and many others.
Before you can access UCB Library resources from off campus or via your laptop or other mobile devices, make sure you have configured your machine using one of two simple methods (Proxy Server is the quickest and easiest):
VPN (Virtual Private Network) After you install and run the VPN "client" software on your computer, you can log in with a CalNet ID to establish a secure connection with the campus network. NOTE: VPN is necessary if using EndNote.
Forward Citations
If an article is a few years old, but relevant to your topic, it can be very helpful to see who has cited it. There are several different ways to do this, and the results will overlap -- no single method is comprehensive.
ISI Web of Science contains the Social Science Citation Index which allows you to do a "Cited Reference" search. This shows other articles (from a prestigious list of peer reviewed journals) which have cited the target article, and it also shows the references for the the original article... both forward and backward citation.
Google Scholar also provides forward citations for some articles. It has a broader range of documents included (not just peer reviewed journals, but reports, pre-prints, etc.) and doesn't eliminate self citation or de-duplicate the results.
Cited Reference links are sometimes provided for articles indexed indatabases such as Social Services Abstracts, ERIC, EconLit, PsycInfo, etc.
Find eBooks
The Library offers over 100 e-book and e-text collections in specific subject areas. E-books in collections marked * are also available through OskiCat and Melvyl. You can limit your search in OskiCat to "Available online," and in Melvyl to "Online resources."
UCB: Use OskiCat to find books related to your topic at UC Berkeley. Oskicat will show you where it's located, and will also show you the Library of CongressSubject Heading -- which can help you find material other relevant books.
UC: Not enough books at Berkeley? Use Melvyl to find more books at other campuses in the UC system. Click on the REQUEST button to get through Interlibrary Loan.
World: Still want more? You can search thousands of libraries through WorldCat on FirstSearch and then request the material through UC e-links or directly via Interlibrary Loan.
Google Books: Library catalogs don't search inside of books. Google Books can help you identify the book you need, then click on "Find in a Library" to see if we have it.
Find Dissertations
Find Dissertations by searching Dissertations and Theses (Dissertation Abstracts) Full Text, which indexes graduate dissertations from over 1,000 North American, and selected European, graduate schools and universities from 1861 to the present. Dissertations published since 1980 include brief abstracts written by the authors and some feature 24-page excerpts. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and some full text coverage for older graduate works.Also see Find Dissertations and Theses for other specialized sources.
Dissertations completed at UC Berkeley can be found in OskiCat, using the feature allowing you to limit to dissertations/theses.Older dissertations not available full text may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or using the "Request" option in Melvyl.
Google Books
Why use Google Books? Library catalogs (like OskiCat) don't search inside books; using a library catalog, you can search only information about the book (title, author, Library of Congress subject headings, etc.). Google Books will let you search inside books, which can be very useful for hard-to-find information. You can then use Google Books' Find in a Library link to locate the book in a UC Berkeley library, or search OskiCat to see if UC Berkeley owns the book.Try it now:
Data and Statistics
These links will guide you to various sources for statistics and data. If you are interested in manipulating a dataset on your own, please visit the Doe Library's Data Lab in 189 Doe.
Proquest Statistical Datasets Local, state, U.S. and international governments and organizations. Customize the data by selecting subjects and variable of interest. View your data in side-by-side tables, charts and even maps.
ProQuest Statistical Insight Indexing and statistical tables from three key sources: American Statistics Index (ASI; 1973-present), Statistics Reference Index (SRI; 1980-present), and Index to International Statistics (IIS; 1983-present). The American Statistics Index links to many full text documents published 1994-present.
American Factfinder (U.S. Census Bureau) Interactive, searchable database for population, housing, industry and business statistics. Data from the American Community Survey, Census 2000 and more.
RAND State Statistics Statistics include: business & economics; population and demographics; education; community; health & socioeconomic; government finance; census; politics & public opinion.s.
Field Poll An independent, non-partisan, media-sponsored public
opinion news service. Each year the poll covers a wide range of political and social topics examining California public opinion.
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research Contains domestic and international survey data. The Center's Public Opinion Location Library (iPOLL) gives online access to a database including poll questions asked in US from 1936 to present.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Presents up-to-date U.S. economic statistical information in areas such as 'Inflation and Spending' and 'International Statistics.' Also available are the latest numbers for the Consumer Price Index, unemployment rate, and the Producer Price. Provides past and current statistics for the U.S. economy as a whole; regional economic data can be obtained by clicking the state on a color-coded map.
California Statistical Abstract Compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State. The contributor for each table is given at the bottom of the table and may be contacted for more details or an explanation of the data.
Historical Statistics of the United States (HSUS) Comprehensive statistics and quantitative facts on US history. Date coverage varies by subject with some data going back to 1790. Allows users to download tables and statistics.
SimplyMap A web-based data analysis and mapping application that allows users to create custom thematic maps, tables and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data for the United States.
Polling the Nations A compilation of public opinion polls and surveys from more than 6,500 national, state, local and special surveys in the U.S. and over 60 other countries. The surveys date from 1986 and contain information on over 3,000 social, political and economic issues.
Gov Info
These resouces can help you discover and locate information from the government. More resources can be located in the Library's Government Information pages.
American Presidency Project Contains all major publications of the U.S. Office of the President, including: Public Papers of the President, Inaugural Addresses, Executive Orders, Signing Statements, and other information such as radio addresses, party platforms, videos of debates, and popularity polling data. This project was developed by two political science professors at UCSB.
ProQuest Congressional One stop shopping for U.S. congressional publications. Provides index and abstracts of congressional publications back to 1789, including full text Congressional Hearings from 1824-present, full text Committee Prints from 1830-present, full text Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports from 1916-present, full text United States Congressional Serial Set from 1789-1969, and legislative histories from 1970-present.
CQ Electronic Library A reference source on American politics and government that includes the following modules: CQ Congress Collection, CQ Political Handbook of the World, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Supreme Court, CQ Voting and Elections, CQ Washington Information Directory, CQ Weekly. Access individual modules or search across all CQ collections.
CQ Weekly Provides nonpartisan information about US government and congressional affairs and subjects of concern. This online version also provides access to some articles prior to when they appear in the print version of CQ Weekly. Part of the CQ Electronic Library collection.
Here are some general news and newsmedia databases. For a full listing of the Library's news resources, check this list.
Access World News Provides full-text information and perspectives from over 600 U.S. and over 700 international sources. Offers strong regional coverage, indexing more than California newspapers such as Contra Costa Times (1995-current), Sacramento Bee (1984-current), San Francisco Chronicle (1985-current), and San Jose Mercury News (1985-current). Search categories include: California newspapers (121 titles), Greater Los Angeles (54 titles), major metropolitan titles (13 titles), Spanish-language news sources (48 titles), the World (almost 2000 titles), US (855 titles).
Factiva Provides general and business news and information from more than 9,000 sources in 22 languages, including influential local, national and international newspapers, leading business magazines, trade publications, and news wires. Includes the exclusive combination of The Wall Street Journal (1979-present), the Financial Times, Dow Jones and Reuters newswires and the Associated Press, as well as Reuters Fundamentals, and Bureau van Dijk company profiles.
LexisNexis Academic Includes over 6,000 individual titles of international, national and local newspapers and wire services; radio and television transcripts; and business, medical, industry, and legislative magazines, journals, and newsletters. Wide geographic coverage and translations from foreign-language sources, as well as news services like the Associated Press, Agence France Press, El Pais and Xinhua (New China) News Agency.
ProQuest Newspapers Indexes the New York Times (1999-present), Los Angeles Times (1985-present), Wall Street Journal (1982-present).
The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) can provide you a wealth of information from foreign news sources. The U.S. State Department ran the FBIS to translate foreign language newspapers, wires, and broadcasts into English. FBIS only translated information relating to U.S. interests, and only distributed to the public a select amount of what was translated.
At UC Berkeley, we have 2 databases for locating FBIS documents:
Finding FBIS documents from before 1996 at UC Berkeley can be tricky, and involves using both the FBIS Electronic Index and OskiCat. The best search strategies are country, city, or personal names combined with a date range in the FBIS database. Here are two examples of citation information from the database:
Example 1: FBIS Region: China (CHI) Title: USSR Delegate Attacks China In UN General Assembly Speech Date: January 15, 1980
Example 2: FBIS Region: Soviet Union (SOV) Title: Leontyev Warns U.S. Of Boomerang Effect Of PRC Arms Sales Date: January 15, 1980
When you have the results, take the abbreviation found in the FBIS region and add it to a title search for FBIS-(abbreviation) in OskiCat. For instance, in example 1 your search would be FBIS-CHI and for example 2 your search will be FBIS-SOV. If title search does not work, you can try a keyword search. This will lead you to a record for the microfiche.
Once you have your microfiche call numbers, go to the Newspaper and Microforms Room in the basement of Doe Library and look for that particular microfiche call number. You can browse the microfiche by date and find a report with the daily translations. NOTE: Some paper versions of the FBIS documents are housed off campus at NRLF. The FBIS-SOV search is an example of this type of record. In this case, you can use the request button in OskiCat to make your request. Because the record does not indicate date, this can be very confusing and browsing the microfiche may be an easier way to find this information.
Citation Management Tools
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand! The Library offers workshops on Endnote, Zotero, and Refworks! Or contact your librarian for individual help.
Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up.
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central for about $80.
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
RefWorks with Oskicat
Search OskiCat. Once you have records you want to export, if you are:
A. Viewing a list of results, check the box to the left of each record you wish to add to RefWorks, then click Save Selected Records, or
B. Viewing an individual record, click the Save Records button near the top of the window and then:
Click the View Saved button near the top of the window
Click Export Saved
Select EndNote/RefWorks under Format of List
Select Screen under Send List To
Click Submit
Use your browser’s Select All function, then Copy
Open another browser window and access your RefWorks Account.
Click References from the drop-down menu and select Import
In the drop-down menu next to Import Filter/Data Source, choose Innovative Interfaces (EndNote/RefWorks Format)
For Database, choose University of California, Berkeley
In Import Referencesinto Folder, choose the desired folder, if you have already created a folder into which you want these references to import. If not, make no selection here
Click Import
Select the radio button next to Import Datafrom the following Text.
Put your cursor in the box below Import Data from the following Text and select Edit > Paste in your browser.
By default, all newly imported references appear in the Last Imported folder. Under View / Folders, select your folder to see the citations you just imported. Note the UC-eLinks icon next to each reference.
Thanks to the Public Health Library for creating this guide!
Why Cite?
"Ethics, copyright laws, and courtesy to readers require authors to identify the sources of direct quotations and of any facts or opinions not generally known or easily checked."--
Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (Chicago: Chicago Univ. Press), p. 594
Why cite sources? Whenever you quote or base your ideas on another person's work, you must document the source you used. Even when you do not quote directly from another work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must give the authors proper credit.
Citations allow readers to locate and further explore the sources you consulted, show the depth and scope of your research, and give credit to authors for their ideas. Citations provide evidence for your arguments and add credibility to your work by demonstrating that you have sought out and considered a variety of resources. In written academic work, citing sources is standard practice and shows that you are responding to this person, agreeing with that person, and adding something of your own. Think of documenting your sources as providing a trail for your reader to follow to see the research you performed and discover what led you to your original contribution.
How do you cite sources? The means to identify sources is to provide citations within your text linking appropriate passages to relevant resources consulted or quoted. This can be done through in-text parenthetic notes, footnotes, or endnotes. In addition, a bibliography or list of works cited, is almost always placed at the end of your paper. The citation system and format you use will be determined by the citation style you choose.
Below are links to guides for the three major styles used for most academic papers or research in the humanities, social sciences, and some scientific disciplines:
APA Style Guide (Purdue) - From the American Psychological Association. Often preferred in the fields of psychology and many other social sciences.
MLA Style Guide (Purdue) - From the Modern Language Association of America. Often preferred in the fields of literature, arts, humanities, and in some other disciplines.
Turabian & Chicago Styles Guide - From the work of Kate Turabian at the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Press. Often preferred in history and many other disciplines.
How do you choose a style? Ask your instructor which style sheet he or she wishes you to use and if there are other special formatting instructions you should follow.
Where do I find the most authoritative information about these styles? If you have questions or citations not covered by the Library's guides, please consult one of the following official style manuals. If you consult other, less official manuals or online style guides that purport to explain these style, please be aware that these sometimes contain errors which conflict with the official guides:
APA Style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2010 (call number: BF76.7.P83 2010, multiple libraries). Official APA style guide.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009 (call number: LB2369.G53 2009, multiple libraries). A somewhat simplified guide, adequate for undergraduate and most other research papers.
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 3rd ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2008 (call number: PN147.G444 2008, multiple libraries). For graduate students, scholars, and professional writers (more depth on copyright, legal issues, and writing theses, dissertations, and scholarly publishing).
Turabian Style
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996 (call number: LB2369.T8 1996, multiple libraries).
Chicago Style
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003 (call number: Z253.U69 2003, multiple libraries).
Using APA 6th
"Cheat Sheets" -- very handy guides showing examples of the different types of citations formatted according to APA 6th, from Purdue and Harvard.
The fulltext of APA 6th is not available online, but we do have print copies in the reference collection of the Social Welfare and EdPsych Libraries at BF76.7 P83 2010, and it's available at other libraries on campus as well.
APA Style & Format from Capella Writing Center, is designed to help you quickly understand the fundamentals you need to write a course paper that meets the APA guidelines. It also has a very helpful guide to how to handle those confusing DOIs.
Basics of APA Style -- tutorial from APA on how to how to structure and format your work, reduce bias in language, avoid charges of plagiarism, cite references in text and it provides selected reference examples. The APA Style Blog -- is searchable by topic and contains weekly posts by APA experts .
"Plagiarism means using another's work without giving credit. You must put others' words in quotation marks and cite your source(s). Citation must also be given when using others' ideas, even when those ideas are paraphrased into your own words."
Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic and student conduct rules and is punishable with a failing grade and possibly more severe action. For more information, consult the following UC Berkeley websites:
Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics.
Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)
This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.
Ask a Librarian 24/7
How Do I Make an Appointment?
Thesis research and writing can very specific and a single library session may not provide you with all the information you need. You are more than welcome to contact the Political Science Librarian, Susan Edwards, via email or phone (email is preferred) to ask a question, set up an appointment, or get more help with anything related to the Library and research. Contact info is below:
button to see if Berkeley has it online, and if not, it will check for a print version. And if we don't have it at all, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.
