Research Help for Political Science Students

Avoid Plagiarism
“Avoiding Plagiarism”

Take the Virtual Library Tour or last link on library instruction homepage: to learn about library etiquette, services offered by the library, and the location and function of essential areas in the library.

Look at the library catalog tutorial [TBA] how to find books and check them out.

Learn how to choose a topic and identify the key concepts of your topic from “Choosing a Topic”

Reference Materials for Political Science

• CQ publishes many excellent reference sources on specific topics, e.g. Separation of Powers, Native Americans, as well as wider issues, e.g. World at risk: a global issues sourcebook, Atlas of American politics, 1960-2000, Global connections: America's role in the 21st century, CQ’s Guide to US Elections.
• Other excellent reference works cover specific issues, e.g. Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics , Encyclopedia of Cold War Politics, and Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics.

Suggested databases for political science research

• EbscoHost Academic Search Premier for articles on everything
• CQ Researcher for articles on current issues
• CQ Public Affairs for primary and analysis of current affairs
• Latin American Intelligence Service for politics & economics in Latin America
• Lexis Nexis for newspaper articles

Where & How to Find Government Documents Online

• Start with the U.S. Government’s Portal to online documents, FirstGov Click on “Advanced Search” under the search box in the upper right hand corner to limit to Federal, All States and/or a specific state. Click on “ Reference Center” in the left hand tool bar for statistics, laws & regulations and more.
• Use CQ Public Affairs database or the Thomas website http://thomas.loc.gov/ for legislative information.
• Start with the University of Michigan’s “Political Science Resources on the Web” for resources in 18 areas including links to NGO's and country information.
• Enter your topic key words into Google and add +gov to the search to limit it to government documents.

Resources on citing, quoting & paraphrasing

• “Using MLA” http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
• “Using APA” http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
• “APSA Documentation” http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPSA.html
  the American political science documentation guide
• “The American Political Science Documentation Guide” http://dept.lamar.edu/polisci/DRURY/drury.html Abridged and revised for the Lamar University Political Science Department

Evaluating what you find

• If you professor wants to you to find a “scholarly article” see “Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Magazines” http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/bi/levelthree/pop_vs_scholar.htm
• If you are allowed to use free web sites in your project, “Evaluating Web Sites” will help you make good choices http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/bi/levelthree/eval_web.htm

Interpreting Citations

• “How to Interpret Search Results” http://library.humboldt.edu/infoservices/HTInterpret.htm Humboldt State University Library; includes: book, essay or chapter in a book, journal article, magazine article, government document & Internet document citations.

Resources on citing, quoting & paraphrasing

• “Using MLA” http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
• “Using APA”
• “APSA Documentation”
  the American political science documentation guide explained by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Writing Center
• “The American Political Science Documentation Guide” Abridged and revised for the Lamar University Political Science Department

For More Information

• See the University of Mississippi Libraries Political Science Subject Guide
• Contact the Political Science Subject Bibliographer