USM Libraries: Research: Course Guides: POS 205-Introduction to Comparative Politics

For further research assistance, please contact Barb Mann (bmann@usm.maine.edu; 780-4672), Political Science Liaison, USM Libraries, University of Southern Maine.

In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject). To find materials located elsewhere in Maine, check Maine Info Net.

To find materials pertaining to a particular country, perform a SUBJECT search using the phrase [name of the country] description and travel; [name of the country] politics and government.

To obtain materials not located at your USM campus, but located using URSUS, click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, always beginning with 25022....). Your barcode will first need to be activated at the Circulation Desk.

To find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials not available through the University of Maine System or MaineInfoNet, please check WorldCat, which includes bibliographic records for more than 36 million items held at OCLC member libraries throughout the world and is updated daily.

Reference sources are useful tools to obtain background information and to develop a vocabulary of possible search terms. The following items are print resources available within the University of Southern Maine system.

Europa World Year Book
POR Reference JN1 .E85 2005
GOR Reference JN1 .E85 2004
LEW Reference JN1 .E85 2003
Previous editions available in the POR stacks with call number JN1 .E85.

Guide to Country Information in International Governmental Organization Publications
POR Reference HN25 .A12 G85 1996
This annotated bibliography, although dates, still contains useful information regarding publications of world regions and individual countries.

International Government Information and Country Information: A Subject Guide
POR and LEW Reference ZA5050 .M67 2004
Arranged by subjects, this publication provides a wealth of information pertaining to the United Nations and individual countries.

Political Handbook of the World
POR Reference JF37 .P6 2000-02
Previous editions available in the POR stacks with call number JF37 .P6.

The Statesman's Yearbook: The Politics, Culture and Economics of the World
POR and GOR Reference JA51 .S7 2005
Previous editions in POR and GOR stacks with call number JA51 .S7.

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties
POR Reference JF2011 .W67 1999
Comparative information by individual country.

Yearbook of the United Nations
POR Reference JX1977 .A37Y4 2003
Previous editions available in the POR stacks under call number JX1977 .A37Y4 .

Because of the lengthy publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more information on how to find articles.

To find scholarly articles it is necessary to consult a discipline-specific electronic or print index/database. The following are electronic indexing sources available to the University of Southern Maine community.

Contemporary Women's Issues
Contemporary Women's Issues (CWI) is a multidisciplinary, full-text database that brings together relevant content from mainstream periodicals, gray literature, and the alternative press -- with a focus on the critical issues and events that influence women's lives in more than 190 countries. Contemporary Women's Issues includes English-language titles from East and West Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. Updated weekly.

Directory of Open Access Journals
Provides full-text articles from over 1145 free peer-reviewed journals covering all scholarly and scientific subjects. Over 310 journals can be searched by article title. Most articles are in English. Law and Political Science are a major grouping.

EconLit
Date coverage: 1969-present
Subject indexing and abstracts of journals, books, dissertations, and working papers.

HeinOnline
Date coverage: dates vary be resource
Full text online access to legal journals.

Historical Abstracts
Date coverage: 1969-present
Index to articles, dissertations, and books on the history of the world, except the United States and Canada, from 1450 to the present. Works on U.S. and Canadian history are covered in America: History and Life.

IngentaConnect
Date coverage: 1988-present
Indexes 17,000 English-language periodicals. Updated daily.

New York Times Article Archive
Date coverage: 1851-present
Provides indexing for the New York Times from 1851 to the present. Related resources: online full text and indexing of the New York Times is available through the database ProQuest Newspapers for 1999 to present; The New York Times Index (POR Reference AI21.N44) covers 1851 to 1988.

PAIS International
Date coverage: 1972-present
Citations for articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, and book chapters. The print index is available in the POR Reference collection at call number POR Reference Z7163 .P9 (1915-1990).

Proquest Newspapers
Date coverage: Varies according to source
Full text of more than 500 U.S. and international news sources. Includes the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and the Times of London, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Date coverage: 1975-present
This database supplies citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law and public administration/policy.

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

Adminet World
Arranged by world region with links to individual country information included for countries of that region.

Background Notes (U. S. State Department)
Arranged alphabetically by country, these reports contain information pertaining to that country's history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations. Dates of reports vary by country.

Country Studies/Area Handbooks (Library of Congress)
This series, which includes 101 countries or regions, "presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. " Publications are dated from 1988-1998 and may not be up-to-date. However, these are useful for historical information. Check the "research completed date."

Social Science Information Gateway: Politics
From this main heading access sis available to various relevant subheadings including international relations, which then leads to international governmental information.

This category contains information on how to properly cite your sources. In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in this process.

USM has a site license for EndNote, a personal reference database program. The main functions this program include maintenance of a database of reference, downloading reference from other databases, using the database to link to references in word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the EndNote Help for further information.

The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources, 3rd edition
POR Reference J9.5 .G37 2002