Barnard College Library Research Guide
BC3761: Senior Seminar in American Politics
Professor Heather Foust-Cummings

*PRINT RESOURCES

Reference Books

Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books can provide useful background information and bibliographies that can lead you to relevant books and articles.  The reference books in this list are available in the Barnard Library reference area on the second floor. A reference librarian can help you in locating additional reference books.

*CLIO

CLIO (Columbia Libraries Information Online) is the on-line catalog for materials added to the Columbia University Libraries since 1981.  

• You can enter CLIO from the Barnard Library home page or from the Columbia University LibraryWeb
• Help with searching (called "search tips") is available on the bottom of the opening search screen

Some Sample Searches

       title:         encyclopedia of government and politics
     author:      pious richard
     author:      american civil liberties union
     subject:    women united states economic conditions
     subject:    gun control    OR   subject: fire arms
     keyword:   "asian americans" and politic?
     keyword:   (latino or hispanic) and politics

Other Library Catalogs

Please note that Teachers’ College and the Law Library’s holdings are not listed in CLIO and that they have their own online library catalogs.  CATNYP is the online catalog of the NYPL research library.  There are links to these in the Catalogs list on CU LibraryWeb, as well as from the Databases (Reference Works & Indexes) list. The holdings of the Health Sciences Library are listed in CLIO.

*ONLINE INDEXES AND DATABASES

On the Databases (reference works & indexes) list, which you can access from the Barnard Library home page as well as the CULWeb, there are links for many indexes which give citations, abstracts and some full text for articles in political science as well as many other disciplines. Many databases may have an e-Link which will search to see if the full-text of a particular item is available. If you cannot find an item using e-Link try searching CLIO directly for the title of the journal.

The following indexes and databases will probably be the most relevant to your research.

America: History and Life 
Major periodical index to scholarly journals containing articles on all aspects of American history. This index is useful for finding articles about topics and it can also lead to primary material. Check the Documentation Field (available by viewing the full citation) to see if the article has footnotes, is based on primary material. e-Link enabled

ArticleFirst
Citations and abstracts for articles in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, humanities and popular culture. 1999 to present. e-Link enabled

ATLA Religion Database + ATLAS 
Major religious studies database providing citations to articles in religion and theology and including social science aspects of religious studies

HAPI, Hispanic American Periodical Index Online
Index to articles about Hispanics in the United States and Latin America, 1970 to present.

Humanities Full Text
General humanities. Includes history as well as archaeology, art classics, film, folklore, journalism, linguistics, music, performing arts and religion, 1984 to present. e-Link enabled

International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
Covers social sciences and related materials from over 100 countries in more than 90 languages, with focus on anthropology, economics, political science and sociology, 1951 to the present.

International Political Science Abstracts
Abstracts for articles in the field of political science, including public administration, political theory and international relations, published in journals and yearbooks worldwide, 1989 to the present.

PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service database)
Citations and abstracts for articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs, 1972 to the present. e-Link enabled

Social Sciences Full Text
Abstracts for journal articles on anthropology, business, community health, economics, foreign affairs, geography, international relations, law and criminology, medical care, political science, politics, psychiatry, psychology, public welfare, social work, and sociology, 1983 to the present. e-Link enabled

Women's Studies International
Citations for articles on women's studies, gender studies, employment, family planning, feminism, feminist studies, feminist theory & history, gender, gender studies, international feminism, political/social activism, racial/ethnic studies, reproductive rights, sex discrimination, women’s studies, 1972 to the present. e-Link enabled

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Abstracts of books and articles from professional journals and major news magazines, devoted to North American and international politics, 1976 to the present. e-Link enabled

*E-JOURNALS

Many scholarly journals are available full-text on the Columbia University LibraryWeb. In some cases, the library has a subscription to the print version, and then access to the on-line version is free to members of the university community.  In other cases, the library pays for the on-line subscription separately.  Sometimes the journal is included in a searchable collection of journals supplied as a package by the publisher or by another vendor. 

Searchable Journal Collections

Ingenta
Offers a single point of access to over 900,000 full-text articles published in the last 5 years, mainly by UK publishers.  Political science journals include the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Electoral Studies, Peace & Change, Political Geography, Political Psychology, and Political Science Quarterly.

JSTOR
An archive of full-text articles from more than 300 scholarly journals on anthropology, economics, education, finance, history, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, statistics, etc., from each journal’s first issue up to 2 to 6 years ago.  Contains 10 political science journals, including American Journal of Political Science (1973-1998), American Political Science Review (1906-1996), Philosophy and Public Affairs (1971-1994), Political Science Quarterly (1886-1995), and World Politics (1948-1995). 

Project Muse
Full-text articles from more than 100 scholarly journals published by Johns Hopkins University Press in the humanities and social sciences.  Political science journals include Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Democracy, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Washington Quarterly, World Politics, and more.

ProQuest Direct
Full-text articles and abstracts from newspapers and periodicals in many disciplines, including international affairs, law, psychology, public affairs, sociology, women's studies, from 1988 to the present. Choose "advanced search" and to search for scholarly journals choose "Interdisciplinary-Research Library" from the drop down menu.

Lists of E-Journals Available at Columbia

List of e-journals available on Columbia LibraryWeb
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/ejournals/

List of e-journals available at Columbia Law Library 
http://www.law.columbia.edu/library/electronic/ejournals

*OTHER FULL TEXT RESOURCES ON-LINE

There is a multitude of other kinds of full text resources available on-line, other than journal articles.  For example, government bills, reports, newspapers, newsletters, statistics, and hearing transcripts.  Here are some of the databases available through the Columbia Library system which provide access to these resources.  They are all on the list of Databases on the Barnard Library home page.

Contemporary Women's Issues
A selected full-text resource (some material is abstract only) for information about women in over 190 countries. Particularly useful for material relating to current topics in the social sciences disciplines, such as political science, psychology, reproductive rights, as well as contemporary cultural studies. 

CQ.com on Congress
A legislative tracking and news service for the U.S. Congress. Includes full-text access to CQ Weekly, Congressional Record, the Federal Register as well as bills, committee reports, and more. 1990 to the present.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Full-text database of articles from the ethnic and minority press in the United States, 1991 to the present.

FactSearch
Facts and statistics about current social, economic, environmental, and political issues, 1984 to the present. e-Link enabled

LexisNexis Academic
Full-text coverage of general news, medical, legal, business, governmental and reference topics.  Coverage varies by source; generally begins in mid-1980s. Major database for finding newspapers.

LexisNexis Congressional 
U.S. Congressional materials: bills, laws, documents, hearing transcripts, committee prints, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Code, Statutes at Large.

National Journal Group Policy
Includes the National Journal, CongressDaily, Technology Policy, Poll Track and the Almanac of American Politics.

 
*USING THE WORLD WIDE WEB FOR RESEARCH

Both the Barnard and Columbia Library home pages have lists of recommended Web pages on various topics.  These make a  good place to start with finding information on the World Wide Web.

Political Science Subject Guide from Barnard Library

Click here for the entire list of Subject Guides & Resources from Columbia University LibraryWeb. It includes numerous subject guides including African American Studies, Environmental Policy Studies, Human Rights, Women's Studies and many more. These guides include print as well as online resources.  Click here for the link to Political Science: Information Resources.

Columbia's U.S. Government Documents Subject Guides and Internet Guides
These guides are an EXCELLENT starting place for any research about the federal government. They will point you to print resources actually available at Columbia, as well as internet resources. Topics include: The Budget Process, Campaigns and Elections, and Intelligence Community and others.

Click here for a Quick Guide to Web Searching and Evaluating Information from the Web, which describes the best search engines and how to use them effectively.

*OTHER LIBRARY SERVICES

Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan will borrow books or obtain photocopies of items that are not available at the Barnard or Columbia Libraries with no charge to the patron. Click here to make an Interlibrary Loan request or click on "Interlibrary Loan on the BC Library home". You may also make a request in person at the Interlibrary Loan office in 307 Butler. Information about "Borrow Direct" is also available on this page.

Demonstrations of Library Resources and Research Skills
Barnard Library offers classes on CLIO, the World Wide Web, and on-line databases and indexes throughout the academic year by prior arrangement.  For more information, or to schedule a session, please contact the Barnard Library Reference Desk at 212-854-3953 or refdesk@barnard.edu or come to the Reference Desk on the second floor. 

Consultation with a Reference Librarian
Click here to complete a form you can e-mail to the library requesting a consultation on your research, or come to the Reference Desk on the second floor.  We'll be happy to help you find additional information.
Contact a reference librarian: e-mail refdesk@barnard.edu or call 212-854-3953.

updated 9/12/03
Karen Dobrusky
Reference Librarian
Barnard College Library