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Political Science Subject Guide
Subject guides are designed to help students begin the research process,
find reputable sources, and save time.
Searching the Library Catalog for Books & Other Materials
To locate books and other materials in CCSF Libraries, select the
Library
Catalog from the Library's Homepage. You will notice
many ways to search, such as Title, Author, Subject, Subject Keyword,
etc.
Examples of Subject searches include: Lincoln, Abraham; democracy;
liberty; comparative government; international relations; socialism; nationalism; and revolutions.
Reserve Materials
Reserve Materials include books, sample tests, class notes, and other items that instructors
put at the library for class use. The check out time is shorter
than regular circulating books.
To search for a book on reserve in the Library
Catalog, select either Reserves
by Course or Reserves by Instructor.
When you have located the materials, write down the Call Number and Title and
present this to a staff person at the Circulation Desk.
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Browsing the Library Collection
Materials in the Library are shelved by call number according to the Library
of Congress classification system. Books are arranged on
the shelves by subject.
Relevant areas in the collection to find materials on political science include:
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SUBJECT HEADING
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CALL NUMBER RANGE
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Political Science (general)
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JA 1-92
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Political Theory
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JC 11-607
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Law of Nations
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KZ 1-6785
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International Relations
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JZ 2-6530
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Local Government
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JS 3-8500
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Socialism, Communism, Anarchism
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HX 1-970
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Using Key Reference Sources
Reference books provide background information and overviews on a given topic. Some
relevant reference books in political science include:
Encyclopedia of Political Thought
Sheldon, Garrett Ward. New York: Facts on File, 2001.
JA 61 E52 2001 Rosenberg Reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics
McLean, Jain, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
JA 61 C665 1996 Rosenberg Reference
Encyclopedia of the American Left
Buhle, Mari Jo, ed., et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992, Illini Books edition.
HX 86 E58 1992 Rosenberg Reference
Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Lawson, Edward. Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Francis, 1996, 2nd edition.
JC 571 E67 1996 Rosenberg Reference
The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Political Thinkers
Benewick, Robert & Philip Green, eds. London: Routledge, 1998, 2nd edition.
JA 83 R725 1998 Rosenberg Reference
The Almanac of American Politics 2002
Barone, Michael. Washington, D.C.: National Journal, 2001.
JK 271 B343 2002 Rosenberg Reference
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Searching for Articles in Periodical Databases
Periodical databases group together journal, magazine, and newspaper articles
by subject. They also usually provide abstracts (brief summaries)
and the full text of the articles. Do you need help identifying
the differences between scholarly
journal v. popular magazine articles?
Note: Most periodical
databases are part of the private, passworded Web, so you
will need to have a current CCSF ID card with a barcode to access
those that CCSF subscribes to. You get the free barcode from the
Library either in person or online.
More information about obtaining a library bar code.
Infotrac Web
Infotrac is a brand name for several databases with coverage from
1980 to the present. Most useful for political science topics are
Academic ASAP and OneFile. These databases let you limit your
results to articles only from scholarly
journals by checking the box "Refereed titles."
Proquest Newspapers
Provides full text indexing of the Christian Science Monitor,
Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street journal, and
Washington Post -- Time periods vary.
Ethnic Newswatch
Comprised of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority
and native press in America, this unique body of materials covers
a wide range of current topics and countless other social, political
and educational subjects. More than 200 publications covering 1995
to the present are represented, and searchable in both English and
Spanish.
Literature Resource Center
Find author biographies, critical analysis of literary works. Full text.
Good for "political thinkers," "political works."
CQ Researcher
CQ provides lengthy research reports written by the editorial
staff of the Congressional Quarterly Co. Excellent overview of current
issues and topics.
SFPL - Find Articles and More
San Francisco Public Library subscribes to many periodical and reference
databases. You must have a San Francisco Public
Library card number to access them. Once you have entered
your barcode number, check one or more categories to search and
enter your search words.
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Finding Web Resources
Below are some examples of academic/scholarly web sites for political science.
If you use a search engine, such as Google,
remember to evaluate
the quality of the results.
Political Science Resources
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk
Political Science Resources contains links to a large number of sources that are useful
in teaching and research.
Truthout
http://www.truth.com
Truthout.com is maintained by Marc Ash and is a great source for a more independent and
less mainstream view of politics and issues.
Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
http://cweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/
The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting
and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of
countries throught the world. At present, 102 countries and regions are covered.
Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org
Dedicated to the understanding of U.S. Foreign policy and international affairs through
the free and civil exchange of ideas.
Federal Web Locator
http://www.infoctr.edu/fwl/
The Federal Web Locator is a service provided by the Center for Information Law and Policy
and is intended to be the one stop shopping point for federal government information on the
World Wide Web.
Galaxy Political Science Links
http://www3.galaxy.com/galaxy/Social-Sciences/Political-Science.html
Galaxy employs the best technology (Logika) with human expertise to organize in-depth
information and web sites on political science that is edited, relevant and useful.
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Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Webpages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask
A UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops
Critically
Analyzing Information Sources
Developed by Olin-Kroch-Uris Libraries at Cornell University.
Evaluating and Citing Source
A quick and easy check list to use when determining the quality
of web documents. Prepared by Librarians at CCSF.
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Need More Assistance?
For additional
help you may contact the Reference Desk by phone at (415)
452-5543 or stop by the East and West reference desks at the Rosenberg
Library.
eRef
Electronic Reference Service to CCSF students, faculty, staff and
registered community users. Use this service when you are NOT in
a CCSF library.
Library and Web Research Workshops
Fifty minute workshops are given throughout the semester on effective
methods in searching for books, articles and information on the
Internet.
Evaluating and Citing Information Sources
Several useful sources for evaluating the quality of web pages, how
to prepare citations for a "Bibliography" or "Works Cited" list, and
how to avoid plagiarism.
Purdue's Online Writing Lab
One of the most thorough and easy to navigate writing labs available!
A+ Research and Writing
Hosted by the Internet Public Library.
Writing Process @ CSU
Colorado State University developed these guides which "focus on a
range of composing processes as well as issues related to the situations
in which writers find themselves."
Send comments or suggestions to:
Mark Fan
Subject Selector
(415) 452-5438
mfan@ccsf.edu
CCSF
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Copyright Library & Learning Resource Center, City College of San
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Last updated February 26, 2003
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