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Introduction
to American Government
Political Science 400
How to Find:
Books | Journal
Articles | Web
Sites | Citing Sources
ELECTRONIC RESERVES - PDF Documents
Enter Your Email User Name and Password when Prompted:
If your computer does not have the free Adobe Acrobat reader,
go to adobe.com
to download it. All computers in the labs and the library
should have Adobe Reader installed.
FINDING BOOKS
Using Catalogs to locate books:
1.) Ariadne
- Search by Keyword
- Find and Use Subject Headings
- Browse the shelves by Call
Number
3.)
WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog
See the Political Science
Research Guide on Finding Books.
See also: Library
of Congress Classification...
FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES
Scholarly journals and Popular Magazines/Newspapers
Scholarly Journals
- Authors are scholars or researchers in their fields.
- Authors cite their sources in footnotes, endnotes, and
bibliographies.
- Individual issues have little or no advertising.
- Articles must go through a peer-review process.
- Articles usually report original scholarly research.
- Most illustrations are charts, figures, or graphs.
- Authors use the specialized language or jargon of the
discipline.
Popular Magazines
- Authors are free lance writers or magazine staff members.
- Authors may mention sources, but rarely cite them in notes
or bibliographies.
- Individual issues contain many advertisements.
- There is no peer review process. Articles are reviewed
by editors or publishers.
- Illustrations are numerous and colorful.
- Articles are meant to inform and entertain an educated
audience.
- Language is written for the general adult audience (no
specialized jargon).
Scholarly or Not?
Use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (Ref. Desk Z6941
.U5)
Look for section called "Document Type"
Document Type MUST say "Academic/Scholarly Publication"
to be considered scholarly!
JOURNAL INDEXES
See the Political
Science Research Guide: Finding Articles.
See the Political
Science Research Guide: Using Indexes and Databases to
help select an Index.
What Journals does the Library Own?
- In paper - Check Ariadne - search on your discipline or subject area, and in Step 2, limit the location to "Periodicals"
- Online - Check Online Journals at K - to find out what online journals the Library subscribes to
Which index includes the journal I'm looking for?
Advanced Search
Help
Off-Campus Access to
Licensed Resources
PAIS
International <
about
>
PAIS - Public Affairs Information Service indexes journal
articles, books, book chapters, government documents, statistical
compilations, committee reports, conference proceedings, directories,
gray literature, research reports, publications and reports
of public, intergovernmental, private organizations, and international
agencies. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed.
Social
Sciences Abstracts <
about
>
Social Sciences Abstracts is a bibliographic database that
indexes and abstracts articles from English-language periodicals.
Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields
covered in a broad array of social sciences journals.
Readers
Guide Abstracts <
about
>
Readers' Guide Abstracts indexes and abstracts general
interest and popular periodicals published in the U.S. and
Canada. Its subject matter covers news and current events
in politics, business, science, education, religion, the arts,
foreign affairs, sports and hobbies, fashion, consumer affairs,
food and cooking, and health and nutrition. Feature articles
are indexed and abstracted, as are speeches, obituaries, and
reviews.
Do you have access to a journal?
1.) Ariadne
(print)
- Title search on Title of
the Journal to locate print journal
2.) Online Journals at K
- Title search on Title of
the Journal to locate article in a Full Text
Database
3.)
WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog
SEARCHING TECHNIQUES
Catalogs and Indexes:
1.) Begin Searching by Keyword.
2.) Look for Subject Headings relating to your topic and
write them down.
3.) Search by Keyword using words in the Subject Headings.
4.) OR - Search by exact Subject Heading.
NOTE: Don't forget to use bibliographies
in reference books, annotated bibliographies, circulating
books, and journal articles.
Full-Text Resources and Web Sites:
1.) Use Phrase Searching.
2.) Use Adjacency or Proximity Searching.
3.) Use Truncation.
4.) Include Source (title of journal) where appropriate.
FULL-TEXT RESOURCES
Online Journals at K
Proquest
< about
>
Proquest Research Library is a database providing access to
over 2,000 periodicals. Graphics are included with the fulltext
in many cases. Users may search the entire database or select
specific subject modules (examples include Health, Women's
Studies and Education). Users also may search peer-reviewed
journals only. Coverage: 1986-present.
General Reference Center Gold <
about
>
General Reference Center Gold provides access to an integrated
set of full-text general interest sources, including magazines,
newspaper articles, business and industry journals, children's
magazines, almanacs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference
books. Covered subjects include politics and current events.
Coverage: 1980 to the present.
OmniFile < about
>
Contains indexed and abstracted articles from periodicals,
all with ASCII full text online. The database is comprised
of records from the following databases: Readers'
Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts,
General Science Abstracts and Business Abstracts.
(Please note that each periodical can begin on a different
month and year.)
Dates Covered: 1994-Present.
WEB SITES
To find Web sites, use search engines and web indexes. See
Finding Web Sites and Web
Indexes and Directories.
See also Web Sites by Subject
and Finding Web Sites
on Political Science.
WorldCat
< about
>
WorldCat contains bibliographic citations for high-quality
Web sites on a variety of subjects. When you search WorldCat
for Web sites, remember to check the box for "Internet
Resources" in the section called "Limit type to".
Sites are selected according to a collection development policy
that emphasizes quality, authoritativeness, and durability.
General Information
Use these points to evaluate the credibility of Websites:
1. Accuracy
How reliable is the information? Are there editors and
fact checkers?
2. Authority
What are the author's qualifications? Is the publisher
reputable?
3. Objectivity
Is the author trying to sway opinion? Is the information
free from bias?
4. Currency
Is the publication date indicated? Is the source up
to date?
5. Coverage
Does the site cover the topic comprehensively, or are
there information gaps?
Sites that provide guidance on evaluating Websites:
CITING YOUR SOURCES
APSA
Style
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Chicago
Manual of Style
14th ed. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Reference, Z253 .U69 1993.
Chicago
Style
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
See the The
Chicago Manual of Style FAQ web site for citing electronic
resources in the Chicago Style.
See: How
to Cite Sources
See also Citing
Sources for help in citing print and electronic resources
in various bibliographic styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
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