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Databases Best for Political Science
- America: History and Life This link opens in a new window America: History and Life provides citations and abstracts to research on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present, with coverage dating back to 1954. This database covers all key English-language historical journals, selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals, and a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window Provides indexing and abstracts to the published scholarly research on the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada).
- Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new window Contains over 1,200 full-text journals (including over 700 not in Academic Search Complete) on all aspects of the humanities related to literary, scholarly and creative thought.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window Full-text, complete journal collection with over 1,300 titles covering a multitude of subjects, including history, economics, religion, philosophy, classics, language, music, art, sociology, political science, conservation, plant science, cell biology, and zoology
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window This resource provides full-text coverage for nearly 400 journals in areas such as comparative politics, political theory, and international relations.
- Public Affairs Index This link opens in a new window Covers all aspects of public policy issues, ranging from health, the environment, human rights, international conflicts, energy, etc.
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Background Databases
- American State Papers, 1789-1838 This link opens in a new window The American State Papers contains primary source from the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789-1838. They also cover speeches and messages from Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison, as well as all legislative and executive documents from the first 14 Congresses, with additional coverage extending through the 25th Congress.
- Congress and the Nation This link opens in a new window Provides in-depth coverage on policies and issues during the first term of the Obama administration. It contains documents of the most fiercely debated issues during this period, including: stimulus spending in the wake of financial crisis, the controversial reform of the U.S. healthcare system, and showdowns over raising the national debt ceiling.
- Congress A to Z This link opens in a new window Congress A to Z provides ready-reference insight into the national legislature, its organization, processes, personalities, major legislation, and history. It covers the dramatic congressional events of recent years, including social media usage by members of Congress, the politics of recent debt ceiling and deficit spending showdowns with the executive branch, new floor leaders in both chambers, and campaign finance patterns.
- Elections A to Z This link opens in a new window Elections A to Z explains how campaigns and elections, the hallmark of any democracy, are conducted in the United States. Entries cover the vital current elections topics that readers want to know about. They range from short definitions of terms like o in-depth essays exploring vital aspects of campaigns and elections, such as the right to vote, turnout trends, and the history, evolution, and current state of House, Senate, presidential, and some state-level elections.
- Encyclopedia of Political Science This link opens in a new window Contains over 1,500 signed articles by contributors from over 30 countries. This resource will be useful for students in comparative politics, international relations, public administration, and other political science areas
- Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court This link opens in a new window This resource covers all aspects of the U.S. Supreme Court, including biographies of the justices, major court decisions, and how the Court functions.
- History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-2008 This link opens in a new window Covering all U.S. Presidential elections from 1789-2008, this resource provides historical analyses of the campaigns, conventions, and candidates for each election.
- Statesman's Yearbook (1 user limit) This link opens in a new window Contains up-to-date, brief articles on all countries in the world and information on international organizations.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window This is the most current and authoritative summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States.
- Supreme Court A to Z This link opens in a new window Provides concise, historical entries on the structure, dynamics, and significant cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- U.S. Constitution A to Z This link opens in a new window This resource offers clear, concise explanations on all aspects of the U.S. Constitution.
