POLS 331: Introduction to Political Inquiry

A Guide to Conducting Effective Library Research
Fall 2005

Sources of background information on your topic

A source of high quality, scholarly background information for all social sciences fields is:

International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioral Sciences (H41 I58 2001, Reference)
Summarizes the major research on social science topics. Provides the notable authors and theories in the field.

Use reference books to find more background information about your topic. Each field has a specific call number area in the Reference Collection (2nd floor):

• Political Science -- J - JZ
• Criminal Justice -- HV
• Law & Legal Studies -- KF or KFC (in the Law Reference Collection)

Use background information to brainstorm search terms
Think of several ways to express the concepts of your topic (including broader and narrower terms). Different sources use different vocabulary for the same thing. Be creative and persistent. Try many searches, using many different terms, to find the right material. Understanding your topic helps you to define and explain your topic well, which helps when generating search terms.

Review Past Literature in Scholarly, Academic Journals
You need to use online databases and search by your subject to retrieve references to recommended journal articles. Some databases include full-text articles.

Be sure to determine whether your journal articles come from peer-reviewed (scholarly) journals. Need help with this step? Refer to the handout you received in class, or visit this website: http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/scholchart.pdf

General searching tips for all databases:

• AND
  Combine concepts with the word "and." Narrows results by finding only articles with all terms. Use to narrow results. For example, type: education and technology and learning.
• Replace word endings with *
  Example: change education to educat* Finds: education, educate, educated...
• Remove search words
  Broadens your results. Use when you get no results.
• Add search words
  Narrows your results. Use when you have too many results. Don't forget to use "and"!
• Change search words
  Use terms from Step 1. Use to find additional material or when you have no results.

Database choices and their subject specialties.Your search should be DIVERSIFIED. All are available from the ReSEARCH Station / Articles & Databases page.

• Political Science (general): International Political Science Abstracts, JSTOR, SocINDEX
• Criminal Justice: SocINDEX, JSTOR
• Interdisciplinary: Academic Search, JSTOR, Kluwer Journals, GenderWatch, Project Muse, Lexis-Nexis Academic's Law Reviews
• Public Administration and Business: ABI/Inform
• Education: ERIC
• Psychology: PsycINFO
• Law: Lexis-Nexis Academic's Law Reviews
• History: America: History & Life (U.S.), Historical Abstracts (elsewhere)

  Click on the button for articles you like. It will link to you to the full text article in another database, if available. It will also link to the library catalog and provide call numbers for journals owned by the Meriam Library.

Review Past Literature in Books
Library catalogs list resources owned by and held in specific libraries. This includes a range of materials including books, videos, and government documents. Use each of the following catalogs to identify books on your topic.

• The Meriam Library Catalog (from the "Books" link on the ReSEARCH Station): items owned by our library.
• UC Libraries Melvyl (from the ReSEARCH Station / Library Catalogs): items owned by all of the University of California libraries.

  Request books not owned by Chico through Interlibrary Loan.

Order books and articles not available in our library through Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan, an office in the library, can borrow materials from other libraries for your use. Request an article or a book through their online request form (http://www.csuchico.edu/library/ill/). It usually takes between one and two weeks for materials to arrive, and it is normally free!

Ask for help when you need it

Ask any reference librarian at the reference desk, over Ask A Librarian email or chat service.