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Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences — Social Sciences
Political Science

Librarian Subject Specialist

Marcia Meister
mlmeister@ucdavis.edu — (530) 752‑9784 — Humanities, Social Sciences, and Government Information Services (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/hss/)

On This Page

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  • [Restricted] Library Use or On-Campus Use Only
  • Click on VPN to access resource via Library VPN (requires Kerberos login)

Subject Specific Databases

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts [via Proquest] (http://search.proquest.com/wpsa/advanced) [Restricted] VPN
Covers international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration policy
Coverage: 1975-present
Related:
  • New Proquest platform user guide (http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/products/userguide_np.pdf)PDF
    Generic 12-page guide explaining the major ProQuest changes with the new August 2012 interface.
  • Fact Sheet (http://md1.csa.com/factsheets/polsci-set-c.php)
  • Help (http://www.csa.com/help/index.html)
PAIS International Database [via Proquest] (http://search.proquest.com/pais?accountid=14505) [Restricted] VPN
Indexes all types of materials in the area of public affairs and public policy - journal articles, books and book chapters, reports, government documents. Topics include agriculture, banking, demographics, education, environment, finance, government, health, law, legislation, political science, social sciences, and statistics. Note that PAIS was formerly a CSA database and transitioned to a new interface via Proquest in August, 2012.
Coverage: 1972-present
Related:
  • New Proquest Platform -- User Guide (http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/products/userguide_np.pdf)PDF
    Generic 12-page guide explaining the major ProQuest changes with the new August 2012 interface.
  • PAIS International [via CSA] (http://search.proquest.com/pais/advanced) [Restricted] VPN
    PAIS transitioned to the new Proquest interface during the first week in August, 2012.
  • Fact Sheet (http://md1.csa.com/factsheets/pais-set-c.php)
  • Help (http://www.csa.com/help/index.html)
PAIS Archive [via Proquest] (http://uclibs.org/PID/96725) [Restricted] VPN
Online version of the PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Annual Cumulated Bulletin, Volumes 1-62, published 1915-1976. This index provides historical perspective on many public policy, political, economic, and social issues worldwide. Included are references to monographs, periodical articles, government documents, reports, and pamphlets. Note that PAIS transitioned to a new interface in August, 2012; PAIS Archive and the more recent to current PAIS International are combined.
Coverage: 1915-1976
CQ Electronic Library (http://www.library.cqpress.com/) [Restricted] VPN

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Electronic Library includes many resources for the study of current and historical congressional and American government issues. The CQ Researcher is an invaluable source of background information on topical issues since 1991. The Global Researcher is similar to CQ Researcher but with an international orientation. CQ Weekly Report, available starting in 1983, reports in depth on congressional activities and political developments.

Search from the CQ Electronic Library home page, where you may register a user profile in order to save documents and search strategies, or search in each online edition separately. See similar entry "CQ Press Electronic Library" for individual titles as related listings.

Related:
Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS) (http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/ucdavis?db=DDRS) [Restricted] VPN
DDRS is a collection of over 75,000 primary source government documents. The documents cover the post-World War II period through the 1970's and later. Nearly every major foreign and domestic event of these years is included (such as the Cold War, Vietnam Conflict and civil rights movement). Some of the source agencies included are the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Department of Defense, plus the White House, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Justice. The documents are provided by the presidential libraries, that release them as researchers request them.
Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) (http://uclibs.org/PID/96899) [Restricted] VPN
The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available. The resource now includes 34 collections consisting of over 80,000 meticulously indexed documents, with more than 500,000 total pages. Each of these collections, compiled by top scholars and experts, exhaustively covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. Together, these collections offer unparalleled access to the defining international strategies of our time. Glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs are included.
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (http://db.eiu.com/publications.asp) [Restricted] VPN
EIU Country Profiles and Reports provide objective and timely analysis and forecasts of the political, economic and business environment in more than 180 countries. Annual profiles are updated by quarterly reports
Coverage: 1996-present
FDsys (GPO's Federal Digital System) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/)
Author: U.S. Government Printing Office

FDsys provides free online access to official U.S. Federal government documents and information. Through FDsys, search for government documents and publications, browse by title, collection, congressional committee, date, and download publications. FDsys replaces GPO Access which is now an archived site.

Related:
GPO Access [via U. S. Government Printing Office] (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/)
This site has been replaced by the FDsys and is only an archived site which provides free access to federal legislative, executive, judicial, and regulatory full-text materials, and administrative decisions. See FDsys for current as well as restrospective U.S. government information.
Related:
Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) (http://www.hsdl.org) [Restricted] VPN
The HSDL is a service of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. The collection includes Over 92,600 documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management from a wide variety of sources including federal, state and local governments; international governments and institutions; nonprofit organizations and private entities.
Left Index [via EBSCO]
THIS DATABASE HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR BUDGETARY REASONS. AS AN ALTERNATIVE, PLEASE TRY "THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS INDEX" DATABASE WHICH COVERS SIMILAR TYPES OF MATERIAL. Citations in diverse literature of the left, with an emphasis on political, economic, social and culturally engaged scholarship inside and outside academia.
Coverage: 1982-present
Proquest Congressional (formerly LexisNexis Congressional) (http://uclibs.org/PID/6941) [Restricted] VPN
Provides detailed indexing from 1789 forwards for publications of Congress: documents, reports, hearings, unpublished hearings, transcripts, laws and regulations, plus legislative histories and information on members of Congress. Proquest Congressional has digital U.S. Congressional hearings collection from 1824-1979. Full text for congressional committee documents and reports is included from 1990 to current. Selected hearing testimony and transcripts are available from 1988. For full text historical serial set (committee documents & reports) see U.S. Congressional Serial Set by Readex. This database was known as LexisNexis Congressional.
Related:
National Journal Group's Policy Central (http://nationaljournal.com/) [Restricted] VPN
Comprehensive resource on politics and policy for the academic community. Includes: National Journal (non-partisan weekly journal on politics), Almanac of American Politics, The Hotline (tracks American politics and campaigns with coverage of each day's events), Ad spotlight (tracks televised political ads), CongressDaily (twice-daily insight on developments and key players in Congress), Markup reports (committee meetings on key bills), Technology Daily, Poll Track (database of over 5,000 public opinion surveys), Earlybird (the morning's top news stories and editorials), and Daybook (schedules of House, Senate and other events).
Coverage: National journal 1977-; other coverage varies by section.
Sociological Abstracts [via Proquest] (http://search.proquest.com/socabs/advanced) [Restricted] VPN
Sociological Abstracts Database is a primary resource for accessing the latest research sponsored in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database draws information from an international selection of over 2,600 journals and other serials publications, plus conference papers, books, and dissertations. Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and nonevaluative abstracts of journal articles.
Coverage: 1963-present
Related:
Thomas: Legislative Information from the Library of Congress (http://thomas.loc.gov)
Thomas, from the Library of Congress, is a legislative information database. Search bill text by word/phrase or bill number for for current congress and previous congresses from 1989 through current. Find bill summary and status from 1973 through current congress. Congressional Record 1989 to present. Roll Call Votes 1989 to present. Public Laws 1974 to present.
AccessUN [CD-ROM]
Indexes United Nations documents including Official Records, masthead documents, draft resolutions, meeting records, UN Sales Publications, and the UN Treaty Series citations. Includes full-text of several thousand UN documents. Published by NewsBank.
Coverage: 1998-2004
Related:
  • See Index to United Nations Documents on CD-ROM for index covering 1990-2003.
  • Contact Humanities, Social Sciences and Government Information Services to use this index, or contact International Government Information Specialist, Juri Stratford, jtstratford@ucdavis.edu
United Nations ODS (Official Document System) (http://documents.un.org/)
The United Nations Official Document System comprises the full text of all United Nations parliamentary documents, including resolutions and decisions issued at United Nations Headquarters in New York and the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1993 (with selected earlier coverage), and at the United Nations Office at Vienna since 1997, as well as documents from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific beginning in 1997. In addition to parliamentary documentation, all currently valid United Nations administrative issuances (ST/AI/-, ST/IC/- and ST/SGB/-) are included in the database.
Coverage: 1993-present.
World Bank Open Data (http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog)
The World Bank's Open Data initiative is intended to provide all users with access to World Bank data. The data catalog is a listing of available World Bank data sources. This listing will continue to be updated as additional data resources are added. These resources include databases, pre-formatted tables and reports. Each of the listings includes a description of the data source and a direct link to that source. Where possible, the databases are linked directly to a selection screen to allow users to select the countries, indicators, and years they would like to search. Those search results can be exported in different formats. Users can also choose to download the entire database directly from the catalog.
Related:
CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online
THIS DATABASE HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR BUDGETARY REASONS. Comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs, including working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences. Some full text books and articles about foreign relations and policy are included.
Coverage: 1991-present
International Relations and Security Network (ISN) (http://www.isn.ethz.ch/)
The ISN is a free public service that provides grey literature of all types, daily briefings, a monthly summary, primary source material, books, and journals from institutes, universities, and agencies around the world as well as case studies and hundreds of e-learning courses. The ISN works to promote a better understanding of strategic challenges in a global security environment. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), the ISN was launched in 1994 and is jointly funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).
Social Sciences Research Network / Economic Research Network (SSRN/ERN) (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/DisplayAbstractSearch.cfm)

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a world wide collaborative of leading scholars that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research. It is composed of a number of specialized research networks in each of the social sciences. Each of SSRN's networks encourages the early distribution of research results by reviewing and publishing submitted abstracts and by soliciting abstracts of top quality research papers around the world. The Networks encourage readers to communicate directly with other subscribers concerning their own and other's research. The SSRN eLibrary contains information about working and accepted papers in the fields of financial economics, accounting research, legal scholarship, economic research and management research. The Economics Research Network publishes quality research in economics currently covering 44 subject areas.

General Databases

Academic Search Complete [via EBSCO] (http://uclibs.org/PID/126936) [Restricted] VPN
The multi-disciplinary database Academic Search Complete (ASC) provides full-text access to more than 5,500 periodicals, including over 4,600 peer-reviewed journals, and indexing and abstracts for an additional 9,500 journals and 10,000 publications, including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. This scholarly collection offers coverage of information in many areas of academic study including, but not limited to: animal science, anthropology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, materials science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion & theology, veterinary science, women's studies, zoology and many other fields. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.
Coverage: 1887-present
Related:
Access World News [via NewsBank] (http://uclibs.org/PID/23120) [Restricted] VPN
Access World News from NewsBank provides full-text information and perspectives from over 600 U.S. and over 700 international sources, each with its own distinctive focus offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Access World News also includes a selection of Spanish language newspapers from the United States and other countries. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper.
Related:
LexisNexis Academic (http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic) [Restricted] VPN
One of the largest web-based full-text databases for current news, business and legal information, supporting a broad range of interdisciplinary research, LexisNexis Academic provides full-text access to nearly 6,000 individual titles. Includes a wide range of U.S. and foreign newspapers, plus transcripts of television and radio news programs. Business resources include business articles, accounting literature, company financial information. Legal resources include state and federal laws and regulations, a full range of case law, and law review articles.
Newspaper Source [via Ebscohost] (http://uclibs.org/PID/129816) [Restricted] VPN
Provides cover-to-cover full text for 25 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. Also contains full text from more than 335 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio transcripts are provided.

Full-Text Resources

Annual Review of Political Science (http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/loi/polisci)
Political Science review articles.
Coverage: 1998- present
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports (http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/CRSR/browse/)
Author: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service - from UNT
The Congressional Research Service, a branch of the Library of Congress, provides fact-rich, unbiased, nontechnical reports to members of Congress regarding a variety of issues. The Reports are not available in any one place, and are not freely distributed. However, several different sites collect and maintain the CRS reports. Additional sites for CRS reports listed below.
Location: CRS Reports at UNT
Related:
GAO Reports (http://www.gao.gov/)
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO prepares policy and investigative reports and testimony on a variety of subjects, often at the request of members of congress. Reports are uploaded daily.
Coverage: 1971 to present
JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive (http://uclibs.org/PID/1980) [Restricted] VPN
JSTOR provides Full-Text access to back files of hundreds important scholarly journals in nearly 50 disciplines spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences and the sciences. Current issues are now included for selected titles. Holdings vary by journal. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization established with the assistance of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Related:
  • About J Stor (http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/)
    Visit this page to learn about the holdings of JSTOR journals. See Harvest Library Catalog for UC Davis access to recent and current materials.
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) (http://www.lapopsurveys.org/)
The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), hosted at Vanderbilt University, links to over 60 academic studies based on survey research conducted mainly in Latin America. The LAPOP surveys analyze citizen views on topics that range from system support and political tolerance, to citizen participation, local government, corruption, and views on authoritarianism. To date surveys have been conducted and are now being archived for: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela as well as for Madagascar, Israel and Albania.
Political Science: A SAGE Full-Text Collection (http://online.sagepub.com/collection.dtl?coll=POLI) [Restricted] VPN
Full-text political science journals available from Sage. Titles go back to 1890. Browse a list of journals or search all full text.
Presidential Speeches (http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/diglibrary/prezspeeches/index.html)
This site offers a growing selection of transcripts or recordings of speeches by American Presidents. It currently includes speeches by 11 presidents from Abraham Lincoln to William J. Clinton.
Theses Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/thesescanada/index-e.html)

Theses and dissertations in the Library and Archives of Canada. Full-text theses in PDF format available for some documents. The mission of Theses Canada is to acquire and preserve a comprehensive collection of Canadian theses at the Library and Archives of Canada and provide access to this valuable research within Canada and throughout the world.

As of 2008 there are approximately 300,000 theses and dissertations on microform in Library and Archives Canada's collection. Of these approximately 50,000 are also available electronically.

Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy (Yale) (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp)
Author: Yale Law School
CQ Press Electronic Library (http://library.cqpress.com/index.php) [Restricted] VPN
Author: Congressional Quarterly Press
Online versions of popular CQ publications for congressional and government research. Our subscription includes the resources listed below and more titles recently added.
Related:
Oxford Handbooks Online (http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/oso/public/index_oho.html) [Restricted] VPN
Online access to all of Oxford University Press reference handbooks in Business and Management, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion. Each Handbook has in-depth essays by the world's leading scholars. Search contents through one interface, individually or by modules. Titles are also individually cataloged in the Harvest Catalog.
Date: Dates vary for individual titles.
Related:

Guides to Electronic, Print, and Other Resources

Internet Resources in Political Science [ UC Davis Library ] (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/hss/poli-sci/poli-sci-internet.php)
This page gathers links to important resources available on the Internet for the study of Political Science.
Print Resources for Political Science [ via UC Davis Library ] (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/hss/poli-sci/poli-sci-print.php)
This page highlights important print resources in Shields Library for the study of Political Science.
Demography Resource Guide [UCD Library] (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/research/subjects/?heading=119)
This Demography Resource Guide contains lists and links to statistical sources, research centers, databases and journals in demography and poulation studies. Includes a list of imporatant print references sources for the field and a link to important internet resources.
Global Research: Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) (http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=advSearch)

The Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), based in Montreal, is an independent research and media group which publishes news articles, commentary, background research and analysis on a broad range of globalization and anti-globalization issues, focussing on social, economic, strategic and environmental processes by writers, scholars, journalists and activists. Their data bank includes a classification by author, and by country for articles published after 2004. Previously published material is also searchable by keyword. Also of interest is an archive of audio-video material. Contains English and French material, as well as Spanish and Portuguese translations.

Coverage: 2001-present
Related:
United States Foreign Policy and Relations; Selected Government Information Resources [UC Davis Library] (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/govinfo/federal/foreignrelations.php)
Guide to online and printed resources about United States foreign relations published by the Federal government and other resources. Guide includes free resources as well as licensed databases. Links are included to relevant foreign policy and political science materials, many of them published by the U.S. Department of State.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History (http://library.cqpress.com/usph/) [Restricted] VPN
Browse by era or topic, or search the online encyclopedia for information on events, issues, people that have shaped American political life.
Guide to U.S. Elections, 2010 (http://library.cqpress.com/electionsguide/) [Restricted] VPN
Congressional Quarterly's Guide to election information - political parties, elections, election results,
Date: 6th edition, 2010
International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences
This 26 volume encyclopedia for the social and behavioral sciences contains lengthy articles on a wide array of social and behavioral science topics including, economics, sociology, & psychology. It contains biographical information, bibliographies, and a comprehensive subject index. It is available in print.
Date: 2001
Location: Shields Library, Hum/SS Ref. H41 I58 2001
Related:
Encyclopedia of Political Theory
Author: Mark Bevir, Editor
Date: 2010
Location: Shields Library, Humanities & Social Science Reference JA61 E515 2010
Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court (http://library.cqpress.com/supremecourtguide/) [Restricted] VPN
Author: CQ Press
Reference guide to the Court, the justices, the Federal system and major decisions of the Supreme Court.
Date: 5th edition, 2010
Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History
Date: 2010
Location: Shields Library, Humanities & Social Sciences Reference E183 P85 2010

Other Resources

Voting America - United States Politics, 1840-2008 (http://americanpast.richmond.edu/voting/index.html)
A project of the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond. Datasets for election results were used to map voting in presidential elections.
International Relations and Security Network (ISN) (http://www.isn.ethz.ch/)
The ISN is a free public service that provides grey literature of all types, daily briefings, a monthly summary, primary source material, books, and journals from institutes, universities, and agencies around the world as well as case studies and hundreds of e-learning courses. The ISN works to promote a better understanding of strategic challenges in a global security environment. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), the ISN was launched in 1994 and is jointly funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).
United States Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov/)
This U.S. Census Bureau site is the entry point to the 2000 Census data as well as more current American Community survey data, economic statistics, and geographic and map products. It includes links to the "American FactFinder and to "Quick Facts" summary profiles for places, counties, and states.
Coverage: Links to the Decennial Supplementary Surveys, the 1990 census, and selected historical data from 1790-1990.
Related:
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/) [Restricted] VPN

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is one of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion.

Producer: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research Access: Search Roper's Remote iPoll Databank, Search Roper's Remote Online Catalog of Studies

The data collections provided by the IGA Library & Data Archive are licensed for campus access. In some cases, access is restricted to UC Davis faculty, staff, and students with valid university computing accounts (UC Davis user id / Kerberos password). In other cases, access is restricted to the campus network. Data are made available with the understanding that they are to be used for not-for-profit academic research only and are not to be copied or otherwise made available to any third party. All data used for research should be given an appropriate citation in any resulting published work.

Polls and Surveys Subject Guide [UC Davis] (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/research/subjects/index.php?heading=140)
The Polls and Surveys Subject Guide provides links to databases indexing public opinion polls.

Professional Societies

American Political Science Association (http://www.apsanet.org/)
Related:
Law & Politics Book Review (http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/index.htm)

Related Guides

Elections & Voting (http://ucdavis.libguides.com/elections)
UC Davis Libguide.
Government Information - Subject Guide (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/research/subjects/index.php?id=105)
Government Information - United States - Subject Guide (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/research/subjects/index.php?id=148)
Law - Subject Guide (http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/research/subjects/index.php?id=19)