POSC Librarian
Looking for Articles
Start your search by experimenting with lots of different keywords about your topic. Then, narrow your search once you have learned the distinct, precise subject terms (or "descriptors") each database uses to organize articles.
Find the full text
How do you find the full text of the article if you only have the citation?
- Write down the full citation for the article or as much as you know (article title, journal title, date).
- Go to the library's Journals list.
- Search for the title of the journal.
- Determine if we have the journal in our collection and, if so, how to access it (in print or online).
- If online, follow the link and search for the issue you need.
- If in print, get the call number and locate the issue in the library stacks.
- If we don't have the journal, request the article via interlibrary loan.
Political Science and International Relations
The following are core databases for Political Science research.
- PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service This link opens in a new window
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Articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs. Selectively rather than comprehensively indexes some journals. - Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
This is the core disciplinary index to political science journal articles. Broad coverage of political science along with complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration & policy. Covers 1975 - present. - CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and abstracts)
Find scholarship on theory and research in international affairs, including working papers, conference papers, and government reports. 1991 - current.
Social Sciences
Depending on your topic, you may also find it helpful to search for articles in these databases.
- EconLit This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
Key index to economics journal articles, books, dissertations and working papers. Content includes both economic theory and application. Covers 1969 - current. - Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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International. Indexes many political science and international relations journals. - Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
Main index to research in sociology, anthropology, and related fields in the social and behavioral sciences. Covers 1963 - current.
Interdisciplinary
Search broad, interdisciplinary databases in order to find articles from areas in which you might not have thought to look.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
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Use Google's special academic search to locate scholarly articles from across disciplines. On campus, the preferences are set to indicate the Library's full-text access to what you find (links on the right). Use the "cited by" hyperlink to observe trends and uncover more scholarship relevant to your topic. - Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
Contains scholarly journals, trade publications, and magazines from across the disciplines and from popular culture. Much of the content is available in full text. An ELM Database. - ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and some full text)
A broad, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary search tool. Covers 1973 - current. - Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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Use SSCI to do *cited reference searching* -- to track the number of times an article or author has been cited or referenced in other works. SSCI indexes 2,700 journals across 50 social science disciplines. - Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
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Full text of over 400 humanities and social sciences titles. Limit by title or discipline. This index and archive is a good place to search across disciplines and for theory titles, as well.
- Bibliography of Data-Related Literature (ICPSR)Continuously updated bibliography of scholarly articles that use ICPSR data. If you are using one of their datasets, look here for literature you should know about.
Cited Reference Searching
How can you start your research paper with just one relevant article?
- Use the bibliography and locate some of those papers.
- Note the authors and journals mentioned in this paper. Look those up.
- Use "cited reference searching" to find other papers you might be interested in, based on this paper.
