PLS 201: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE METHODS

Beth Kaylor

Topics for the Sessions

Selecting the right information sources Selecting the right finding aids Accessing resources Creating better searches Locating full-text

Your Current Research Skills

How would you rate your current research skills? Strong? Satisfactory? Needs improvement? Poor?

What causes you the most anxiety/confusion/frustration?

Where to get Help!

Learning Commons Help Desk In person Telephone Email Chat Text

By appointment Contact me directly: kaylorj@uncw.edu

Where do you Search?

What are your favorite finding aids (search engines) for: Background information? News/Opinion data? Scholarly Analysis/Theory? Primary Source? Data?

My Favorites (for PLS)

Background Information CQ Electronic Library CQ Political Reference Suite World FactBook Library Catalog WorldCat

News/Opinion sources Lexis Nexis Academic Points of View Reference Center

My Favorites (for PLS)

Scholarly Analysis/Theory Academic Search Complete Jstor Public Affairs Information Service Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Google Scholar CIAO (International Affairs) Library Catalog Worldcat

My Favorites (for PLS)

Primary Sources Hein Online Lexis Nexis Congressional Library Catalog WorldCat FDSys

Data ICPSR Statistical Abstract of the United States Polling the Nations

Selecting the Right Finding Aids Database Scope

Bibliographic or Data? Publication Types and Numbers Subjects Time period (publication or subject)

Search Engine/Structure Abstract or Full-text search Special Limit features

Subject Pages

Each discipline has a subject page Place to start Suggestions for resources Not sure where to go

Provides ideas for the next steps Several ways to search Contact information for a librarian

Library Home Page Click on More eResources by subject Choose PIA

Finding Books

Library Catalog Local and UNCP/FSU

WorldCat 9,000 libraries / @1.3 billion items

Google Books (@12 million/ @ 7million full-text)

Project Gutenberg (@ 42,000 free books) Some databases lead to books

Cited Directly Book reviews

Searching the Catalog

What exactly does the catalog search? What we own What we have access to

What is not in the catalog? Articles

Let’s try a Search!

Where? Library Catalog Topic?

DREAM Act Development, Relief, and Education for Alien

Minors Key words? Synonyms?

Finding Articles

Integrated Search (home page article search) 10 databases out of @ 200

Databases A-Z Individual databases Details Page

Databases by subject Quick Search (integrated Search) Individual Databases (Best, More, All)

Citation Searching (Bibliographies)

Let’s try a Search!

Database Academic Search Complete

Research topic? DREAM Act Development, Relief, and Education for

Alien Minors

Making our Searches Better

Using AND, OR and NOT

AND Narrows

OR expands

NOT eliminates a word

Part 2

PLS 201

Improving a Search

AND - All terms are present. AND is the best way to narrow down your search by  limiting your results to only those resources (articles or books) which deal with your chosen words.

“political parties” AND polarization polarizati

on“political parties”

Improving a Search

OR - Any one of the terms are present (more than one term may be present).

republican OR democrat

republican democrat

Improving a Search

Truncation Typically use * Polari* = polarization, polarizing polarity Use judiciously

Does not always help: Part* = part, party, participation (Party OR Parties) is better in this situation

Phrase Searching Political Parties = political AND parties “Political Parties” = Political [next to] parties

Putting it all together…

Politic* OR Parties OR Party AND Congress AND polari* OR partisan*

One line strategy:

(Politic* OR Parties OR Party) AND (polari* OR partisan*) AND Congress

Choosing the Correct Database Library home page

More eResources/Databases by Name A-Z Subject Type More…

Details links

Saving/Sending

Ebsco Add to folder – don’t forget to save or send

results PDFs sent as email attachments

ProQuest Check box to mark for

emailing/printing/saving Jstor

Email citation Save PDF

Availability of Resources

PDF full text, linked full text, HTML full text

Get it From UNCW Looking for a journal, newspaper, or

magazine? Already have a citation? Library Catalog and WorldCat Interlibrary Loan

Do we have…?

Beckman, M. N. & Mcgann, A. J. 2008. “Navigating the Legislative Divide: Polarization, Presidents and Policymaking in the United States.” Journal of Theoretical Politics, 20: 201-220.

Where to search? How?

Do we have…?

Theriault, Sean M. 2008. Party Polarization in Congress. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Where to search? How?

Do we have…?

Karol, David. 2010. “Party Polarization in Congress.” Perspectives on Politics, 8: 1242-1243.

Where to search? How?

Do we have…?

Sinclair. Barbara. 2006. Party Wars: Polarization and the Politics of National Policy Making. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Where to search? How?

Do we have…?

Forgette, Richard and Marvin King. 2009. “Electoral Cycles in Racial Polarization and the 2006 Senate Elections.” In Beyond the Boundaries: A New Structure of Ambition in African American Politics, ed. Georgia A. Pearsons. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 111-122.

Where to search? How?

Government Documents

Widely varied collection By law have to be made available Agencies, subagencies Subscription Databases

Proquest Congressional Hein Online Catalog of Government Publications

Government Documents

Much of the data we use comes from government sources. Primary sources for political science research

FDSys Code of Federal Regulations Compilation of Presidential Documents Congressional Bills Congressional Documents Congressional Hearings Congressional Record Congressional Reports Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretat

ion Economic Indicators Federal Register Public and Private Laws United States Code United States Courts Opinions

Interlibrary Loan

Randall Library can borrow materials from other libraries for you. Articles – a few days Books – week to two weeks

Brief tutorial on how to use ILLiad

Specialized Resources

Specialized Resources for:

Statistics Data Congressional Votes Congressional Documents Country Profiles/International Relations Polling Data Statutes See the Research Guide

Statistics

Statistical Abstract of the United States The Statistical Abstract of the United States,

published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

FedStats.gov FedStats provides access to the full range of

official statistical information produced by the Federal Government without having to know in advance which Federal agency produces which particular statistic.

Data

ICPSR Inter University Consortium for Political and Social

Research An international consortium of about 700 academic

institutions and research organizations, ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for the social science research community.

ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction.

maintains a data archive of more than 500,000 files of research in the social sciences. It hosts 16 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.

Currently only available on campus

Congressional Votes

CQ Almanac Online Navigate with ease through 60 years of congressional

coverage Access tables, graphs, and charts that help explain

the issues Browse by subject, decade, or by a particular year's

table of contents Use Policy Tracker to explore a specific policy topic

and see how it has changed over the years Save useful documents or frequent searches for

future consultation Automatically generate citations in four styles with

CQ Press's CiteNow! Feature Date Coverage: 1945 - 2010

Congressional Documents

Hearings Lexis Nexis Congressional Library Catalog – print and online

Debate on the Floor Hein Online FDSys – Congressional Record

Country Profiles/International Relations

World Fact Book Statesman’s Yearbook CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online) PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Randall Library

Find Research Guides Country Information

Country Studies – Profiles Country Studies – Statistics

Polling Data

Polling the Nations a unique compilation of questions and responses from

more than 12,000 national, state, local and special surveys, conducted by 700 polling organizations in the United States and 70 other countries from 1986 through the present.

covers over 4,000 subjects, from social and political concerns to economic issues. Information is gathered from professional polling organizations, television networks, universities, newspapers, businesses and associations.

PollingReport.com An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in

American public opinion.

Statutes

Lexis Nexis Academic Use the US Legal search box Federal Statutes, Codes and Regulations Searchable by keyword

FDsys.gov Randall Library

General Statutes Statutes at Large

Evaluating Information

Evaluating Information

One of the most important components of research

Better information = better product Not all information is timely, accurate or

appropriate

Be a CRITIC

C – claim of the author

R – role of the claimant

I – information backing the claim

T – test the claim

I – intent/intended audience

C – your conclusion about the item

Questions?

Need help? Library home page – get help Email me! kaylorj@uncw.edu Drop by! RL 1043

Thank you!