Politics & Government

Senior Seminar

Winter 2005

Background factual information (online)

The following databases will be great for beginning your research – overview of issue, background, history, policy issues, etc.)

Go to the library website (http://www.northpark.edu/library), click on Databases/Articles.

CQ Researcher Online (also available in print: Ref. H 35 .E352)

Facts on File Issues and Controversies (click on Issues & Controversies box)

Background information in Reference (1st floor collection)

Below are a few specialized encyclopedias. Browse the shelves for more.

International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration (Ref. H 97 .I574)

Excellent introduction to a variety of issues and how they relate to public policy in the U.S. and other countries. Use list of articles at the beginning of vol.1 or index in vol.4.

Encyclopedia of Democracy (Ref. JC 423 .E53)

Excellent articles on all aspects of democratic thought and institutions. Use index at the end of Volume 4.

Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy (3 vols) 2002. (Ref. E 183.7 .E52)

Excellent resource for the conceptual framework for your topic. Use index at the end of vol. 3.

Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations (4 vols.) 1997. (Ref. E 183.7 .E53)

While this is a bit dated, it would provide good historical and background information. Use the index at end of volume 4.

Encyclopedia of American Immigration (4 vols.) 2001 (Ref. JV 6465 .E53)

You may also want to look at Facts about American Immigration sitting next to this on the shelf.

Finding books in the North Park Library (and other libraries)

Go to the library website at http://www.northpark.edu/library

Click on Catalog/Books and then on North Park University Library

· Search by title, author, or any word anywhere

· When searching “any word anywhere” make sure to read the hints at the bottom of the search screen

· You can search other libraries in the system and request a book on the computer. Click “Request” and enter your North Park ID which begins with the digits 27012 followed by your ID number.

Finding Journal Literature

Go to the library website: http://www.northpark.edu/library

Click on Databases/Articles and then on Databases A-Z

· Academic Search Premier For Academic Search help sheet

Interdisciplinary, includes scholarly and popular sources.

· JSTOR For JSTOR help sheet

Complete full-text runs of scholarly journals that include 25 core titles in history and political science. Current 3-5 years are not available. Can also look up reviews of scholarly books.

· Lexis-Nexis For Lexis-Nexis help sheet

Includes full-text of New York Times and many other national newspapers, as well as magazines and journals.

· Serials Solutions

Check to see if a journal or newspaper is available full-text.

· Magazines for Libraries (Ref. PN 4832 .M33)

Most news and opinion magazines, such as National Review and New Republic, have definite editorial biases. Use this reference book for a brief description of the magazine; it will help you evaluate your sources of information.

Good (reliable) websites for public policy issues:

The federal government’s sites will provide much information:

http://www.thomas.loc.gov THOMAS: legislative information on the Internet; contains full text of bills, laws, Congressional Record, most committee reports, provides links to congressional committees, etc.

http://www.ed.gov (Department of Education)

http://www.ssa.gov (Department of Social Security Administration)

http://www.uscis.gov (U.S. Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration Services, a department of the Bureau of Homeland Security (http://www.dhs.gov)

http://www.state.gov (U.S. Department of State)

http://www.usdoj.gov (Department of Justice)

http://www.atftreas.gov (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), a bureau of the Dept. of Justice

Think Tanks Lots of people earn their living thinking and writing about current problems and policies for think tanks. A few of the more well known ones are:

Brookings Institute http://www.brookings.org

Cato Institute http://www.cato.org

Heritage Foundation http://www.heritage.org

Rand Institute http://www.rand.org

Urban Institute http://www.urban.org

For a longer list of think tanks (with annotations), check out: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psthink.html (Univ. of Michigan)

Evaluating your sources

Periodical literature (newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals):

Many news and opinion magazines, such as National Review and New Republic, have definite editorial biases. Use this reference book for a brief description of the magazine; it will help you evaluate your sources of information. Magazines for Libraries (Ref. PN 4832 .M33)

Book reviews:

Book reviews not only help you evaluate the quality of the book, but often talk about the book in relation to other books on the topic. Use Academic Search Premier or Lexis Nexis to search for these. For older books you can use Book Review Index (Ref Z1035.A1 B6)

JSTOR also has a section for book reviews.

Websites:

Who is the sponsoring agency or institution?

How complete is the information I’m reading?

How current is the information? (when was the site updated)

Does this agency have a vested interest in the topic? (Check their mission statement if it’s available, or their “about us” page; think tanks often have clearly articulated philosophies, such as limited government!)

What am I looking at? Is it a journal article? (then make sure you know something about the journal or magazine); is it Johnny Smith’s 8^th grade paper? Is it Susie Jones’ college paper?

Recommendations:

Use bibliographies that you find in articles from reference books. These articles are usually written by experts in the subject area.

Look at works cited at the end of journal articles that look interesting.

Ask your professor.