Search.Libraries
Visit Search.Libraries to find books, journal articles, scores, audio, video, and more—all from a single integrated starting point.
Background Sources
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Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) BackgroundersAuthoritative, accessible, and regularly updated primers on hundreds of foreign policy topics, from the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan, independent national membership organization, think tank, educator, and publisher (including of the magazine Foreign Affairs).
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Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new window
Designed to be an authoritative resource of reference content in a wide array of academic fields, including the humanities, social sciences, and science.
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Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowHandbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias in a wide range of subject areas, including Arts, Biography, Business, Education, Environment, History, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Nation and World, Religion, Science, and Social Sciences.
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Sage Knowledge This link opens in a new windowDictionaries, encyclopedias, guides and handbooks from a range of social science fields.
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The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies
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ISBN: 9780199653010Publication Date: 2014-08-26"The 33 chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies, written by 47 of the most distinguished legislative scholars, provide a comprehensive and up-to-date description and assessment of the state of the art in legislative studies. Key themes explored include theoretical paradigms and methodological approaches to the study of legislatures, representation and legislative careers, internal organization, the role of parties within legislatures and the role of legislatures in policy making and accountability. The Handbook also explores the emergence of parliaments in historical and contemporary contexts, including new democracies and trans-national institutions."" -
The Oxford Handbook of Political Science
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ISBN: 9780199604456Publication Date: 2011-09-02Coverage of "the main branches of contemporary political science: political theory; political institutions; political behavior; comparative politics; international relations; political economy; law and politics; public policy; contextual political analysis; and political methodology". Authors are "[s]ixty-seven of the top political scientists worldwide". Audience is "political scientists and […] those following their work". -
Routledge Handbook of Critical International Relations
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ISBN: 9780367783891Publication Date: 2021-03-31Coverage of contemporary scholarship in critical international relations and "the existing state of critical international politics". Contributors are "[a]n international group of expert scholars". Topics include "critique and the discipline; relations beyond humanity; art and narrative; war, religion and security; otherness and diplomacy; spaces and times; resistance; and embodiment and intimacy". Indicates "emerging areas" for further research. Audience is "all students and scholars of international relations." -
Routledge Handbook of Interpretive Political Science
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ISBN: 1317533615Publication Date: 2015-07-03Coverage of "the implications of interpretive theory for the study of politics". Contributors are "leading scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds". Organized in thirty-two chapters across five parts: "the contrast between interpretive theory and mainstream political science; the main forms of interpretive theory and the theoretical concepts associated with interpretive political science; the methods used by interpretive political scientists; the insights provided by interpretive political science on empirical topics; the implications of interpretive political science for professional practices such as policy analysis, planning, accountancy, and public health". Audience is "students, scholars, and practitioners in the areas of international relations, comparative politics, political sociology, political psychology, and public administration".
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Methods in Analytical Political Theory
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ISBN: 9781107098794Publication Date: 2017-05-18Coverage of "key methods in analytical political theory [… including] contractualism, reflective equilibrium, positive political theory, thought experiments and ideological analysis", considering not only "'what is' and 'why do'", but also "'how to'". Chapters "[explain] what kinds of problems in political theory might require researchers to use a particular method, the basic principles behind the method being proposed, and an analysis of how to apply it, including concrete principles of good practice". The work is "accessible to students". -
The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology
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ISBN: 9780199286546Publication Date: 2008-10-15"The Handbook provides comprehensive overviews of diverse methodological approaches, with an emphasis on three major themes. First, specific methodological tools should be at the service of improved conceptualization, comprehension of meaning, measurement, and data collection. They should increase analysts' leverage in reasoning about causal relationships and evaluating them empirically by contributing to powerful research designs. Second, the authors explore the many different ways of addressing these tasks: through case-studies and large-n designs, with both quantitative and qualitative data, and via techniques ranging from statistical modelling to process tracing. Finally, techniques can cut across traditional methodological boundaries and can be useful for many different kinds of researchers. Many of the authors thus explore how their methods can inform, and be used by, scholars engaged in diverse branches of methodology." -
Research Interviews: A Practical Guide to Qualitative Data Collection with Experts in Political Science
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ISBN: 9783658453329Publication Date: 2024-08-31"The textbook is primarily aimed at students and younger researchers and offers a concise but systematic practical guide to planning and conducting qualitative expert interviews in political science. It provides a methodologically sound and application- or problem-oriented approach to this form of independent qualitative data collection. The English translation of this book, originally in German, was facilitated by artificial intelligence. The content was later revised by the author for accuracy and adapted to an international readership." -
Rethinking Comparison: Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political Inquiry
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ISBN: 9781108832793Publication Date: 2021-10-07Coverage of "non-controlled comparative research [methods]". Contributors are "leading methods scholars from across the discipline of political science, including positivist and interpretivist scholars, qualitative methodologists, mixed-methods researchers, ethnographers, historians, and statisticians". Chapters "[offer] readers clear suggestions for what kinds of comparisons might be possible, why they are useful, and how to execute them", and "create new possibilities to advance what we know about politics".
Scholarly Articles
The following are our top databases for finding scholarly & peer-reviewed articles related to Politics.
For a full list of databases at Oberlin, check out our Databases A-Z; you can filter the list by subject for Politics – American or Politics – World, and by types for Scholarly & Peer-Review.
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Annual Reviews This link opens in a new windowCritically reviews the most significant research literature in over 40 focused disciplines within the fields of biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences. These reviews both summarize recent scholarly advances and prompt new research activity. Excellent database of in-depth, secondary sources.
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PAIS Index (Public Affairs Information Service) This link opens in a new windowCovers all aspects of U.S. public policy and international affairs. Includes references to journal articles, books, government documents, grey literature, research reports and documents by NGOs, conference papers, and statistical reports. Dates of Coverage: 1915 to date
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Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and conference proceedings in all fields of political science, including international relations, international law, and public administration and policy. Dates of Coverage: 1975--
Books and Ebooks
Library of Congress Classification (LCC) assigns call numbers beginning with J to political science resources; subclasses and ranges are outlined below.
- J1-981 General legislative and executive papers
- JA1-92 Political Science (General)
- JC11-605 Political theory
- JF20-2112 Political institutions and public administration
- JJ1000-1019 Political institutions and public administration (North America)
- JK1-9993 Political institutions and public administration (United States)
- JL1-3899 Political institutions and public administration (Canada, Latin America, etc.)
- JN1-9689 Political institutions and public administration (Europe)
- JQ21-6651 Political institutions and public administration (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.)
- JS39-8500 Local government. Municipal government
- JV1-9480 Colonies and colonization. Emigration and imigration. International migration
- JX(1)-(6650) (obsolete) International law, see JZ and KZ
- JZ5-6530 International relations
For more information, see the Library of Congress Classification Outline for J – Political Science.
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for politics include:
- International relations
- Local government
- Politics and culture
- Political participation
- Political science
- World politics
- [GROUP] -- Government relations (e.g., Seneca Indians -- Government relations)
- [GROUP] -- Government policy -- [PLACE] (e.g., Transgender military personnel -- Government policy -- United States)
- [TOPIC] -- Political aspects (e.g., Motion pictures -- Political aspects)
- [GROUP] -- Political participation (e.g., Teenagers -- Political activity)
- [PLACE] -- Politics and Government (e.g., Palestine -- Politics and government)
Subject headings or terms might be viewed as problematic for a variety of reasons. They may be outdated, hurtful or offensive, inappropriate, incorrect, or unclear to the point of misunderstanding. To learn more, read about our Subject Term Flagging initiative.
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Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
Authoritative guide to reliable peer-reviewed resources and scholarship in African Studies, Buddhism, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Political Science, and Renaissance and Reformation. Bibliographies are selectively curated and annotated by expert academics and offer high-level overviews that provide non-experts with a point of entry into unfamiliar areas of study.
Magazines and Newspapers
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America's Historical Newspapers (1690-1876) This link opens in a new windowCover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of historic newspapers, providing more than one million pages as full text searchable scanned page images.
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Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
A collection of freely accessible historical American newspapers from all regions of the United States, developed by the Library of Congress. Dates of coverage: 1836-1963
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New York Times (1851 - 2021) This link opens in a new window
Search by keywords or browse images of full pages by date.
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Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers (OhioLINK Access) This link opens in a new window
Full text searchable articles representing most US states. Includes searchable page scans of the originals. Part of Gale Primary Sources. Dates of Coverage: 1800-1899
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British Library Newspapers (OhioLINK Access) This link opens in a new window
National and regional English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh. Stengths include coverage include political and social movements such as Reform, Chartism, and Home Rule, and penny papers aimed at the working and clerical classes. Dates of Coverage: 1800s. Part of Gale Primary Sources.
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Caribbean Newspapers, Series 1: 1718-1876 This link opens in a new window
Historical Caribbean newspapers most published in the English language; some also in Spanish, French, and Danish.
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Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832 - 1953) This link opens in a new window
Collection of 12 English-language newspapers from China covering 1832-1953, and representing a wide range of regions and cities including Canton, Peking and Shanghai.
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East African Newspapers This link opens in a new windowKey East African newspapers from the 1940s to the early 2000s. This growing collection currently includes over 475,000 pages total from three titles: Daily Nation (Kenya), The Ethiopian Herald, and The Monitor (Uganda).
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Southeast Asian Newspapers This link opens in a new window19th and 20th century newspapers from Myanmar (formerly Burma), Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and featuring multiple languages such as Dutch, English, French, Javanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
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Factiva This link opens in a new window
Full-text global news sources, including newspapers, newswires, television and radio transcripts, numerous regional and industry publications, and images from Reuters, along with financial data including business ratios. Content comes from ~160 countries in 22 languages. Only 3 Oberlin users at one time.
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
A wide range of news, political, legal, and business information from thousands of sources, mostly full text. Includes newspapers, magazines, wire services, federal and state court opinions, federal and state statutes, federal regulations, and SEC filings. News information is updated daily and wire services several times daily.
Explore the research guide below to gain access to current issues of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more.
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The Economist Historical Archive (OhioLINK Access) This link opens in a new window
Research global political and economic news and analysis with the source used by top leaders and thinkers. Part of Gale Primary Sources.
Polls and Statistics
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iPoll Search (1935 to date) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive source for US nationwide public opinion as measured by academic, media and commercial survey organizations. Data is available at the question-level. Dates of coverage: 1935 -
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Topic Search This link opens in a new windowA current events database including the full text of teacher- and librarian-selected newspaper and magazine articles, pamphlets, biographies, book reviews, opinion polls, and government information on popular classroom topics
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Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Standard source for quantitative facts of American history. Users can view and download data, and create customized tables and spreadsheets.
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Data.gov This link opens in a new windowProvides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. Great place to find population, housing, economic and geographic data, climate, education, energy, health, and science as well as maps, fact sheets, tools and other resources.
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State & County Quickfacts This link opens in a new windowProvides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.
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Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowProvides access to current and historical U.S. census and other demographic data. Users can create maps and reports. (Note: Users must register for an account (free for current students, faculty, and staff) to access a full range of features).
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International Database This link opens in a new windowFor over 60 years, the Census Bureau has performed international analytical work and assisted in the collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and use of statistics with counterpart governments in over 100 countries. Use this database to find demographic indicators, population pyramids, and source information for countries and areas of the world with a population of 5,000 or more
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IMF eLibrary Data This link opens in a new window
Provides comprehensive access to International Financial Statistics (IFS), Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS), Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), and Government Finance Statistics (GFS) databases. Uses can view and download predefined data reports or create custom reports of IMF data.
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Sage Data This link opens in a new windowLarge repository of harmonized datasets from a variety of sources, with global and time series coverage. Datasets allow complete access to datasets using customizable tables, graphs and maps, with numerous output formats available (Excel, PDF, delimited text, SAS, SPSS, XML, Shapefile GIS).
Organizations
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Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)An international consortium of 800+ academic and research bodies, providing leadership and training in data access, curation, and analytical methods for social science—and access to more than 400,000 files of research in the social and behavioral sciences, and more than 25 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, and other fields.
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International Organizations (via Europa World)Coverage of 2,000+ international organizations, commissions and specialized bodies, available through Europa World, the online version of the renowned Europa World Year Book and the nine Europa Regional Surveys of the World .
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United Nations Integrated Civil Society Organizations System (iCSO)Developed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the iCSO provides online registration of general profiles for civil society organizations, including address, contacts, activities and meeting participation. Use the simple or advanced search to find out more about civil society organizations in this large database of over 24,000 entries.