US Government and Political Science
Books - Ebooks - Journals - Articles - Websites
The library's books on government and political Science can be found by searching the catalog. For more information on how to search the library's catalog, view our tutorial.
One can find Ebooks either by searching NetLibrary or by using the library's catalog. To retrieve only ebooks from a catalog search, use the advanced search option and choose "Ebooks only" under limits. To view books in the Net Library from home, you will first need to set up an account from a computer on campus. To learn more about searching NetLibrary, view our tutorial.
Articles can be searched online using the databases in the Alabama Virtual Library. Some available databases associated with articles on government and political science are listed below. (Descriptions are from the AVL databases description page.) For more information about using the Alabama Virtual Library view our tutorial.
Academic OneFile - Academic OneFile is the premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. With extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, Academic OneFile is both authoritative and comprehensive. With millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions, researchers are able to find accurate information quickly. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995. Updated daily.
SIRS Knowledge Source - Articles professionally selected from magazines, journals, and newspapers to provide general research information on topics exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, and political issues. In addition to the general reference database, Researcher, the site includes SIRS Government Reporter for information by and about the U.S. government, and SIRS Renaissance for information in the arts and humanities.
Military & Government Collection - Military & Government Collection provides full text from over 330 military and general interest publications. Designed to bring current news to all branches of the military. This database also offers indexing and abstracts for over 370 magazines. Some titles included are Military Review, Parameters, Army Times, and Defense. This database is updated weekly on EBSCOhost.
History Reference Center - History Reference Center features cover-to-cover full text for more than 650 historical encyclopedias and other non-fiction books. The database also includes full text for nearly 60 leading history periodicals; 58,000 historical documents; 43,000 biographies of historical figures; more than 12,000 historical photos and maps; and 87 hours of historical film and video.
World Data Analyst - This powerful yet easy-to-use online tool lets students analyze countries at a glance. World Data Analyst offers detailed statistical comparisons of countries around the world, using both the most recent statistics and historical figures. Plus, students can create tables, charts, and even export the information to a spreadsheet for printing and data crunching. Students can also link to country articles from the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. It all leads to better understanding of our ever-changing world.
The Directory of Open-Access Journals has also created a list of free, open-access, peer-reviewed political science journals which you can search for articles.
The Shelton State Library holds copies of many government and political science periodicals. To find out whether the library holds print copies of specific journals, use the advance search option to search the Library Catalog using the limit "Periodicals Only." To find out which journals are available electronically through the AVL, search SerialsSolutions. You may also want to browse the Directory of Open-Access Journals' list of open-access, peer-reviewed political science journals.
Search only government-published websites:
FirstGov.gov ( http://firstgov.gov/)
This site is "the World Wide Web information portal for the United States Federal
government." It serves as the "first resource to find any government information on the
Internet, with topics ranging from business and economy to money and benefits to science
and technology." Users can search for information using the search engine or browse by
the branch of the government; by Interesting Topics; or by Featured Subjects which highlight
interesting and timely information. There are links to state and local government information.
There are also links to providing online or offline feedback to the government by topics or
by agencies.
Center for American Woman and Politics (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cawp/)
Located at Rutgers University, CAWP is a research, education and public service center
which compiles infomation about women in American government and politics. Facts sheets
about current women officeholders and candidates as well as the historical summaries are
particularly helpful.
The Charters of Freedom (http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/charters.html)
Another excellent National Archives site, which contains transcripts and digitized images of
the founding documents of the American Republic including the Declaration of Independance
The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta of 1215. Of special note is the
Founding Fathers page, which provides brief biographies of the 55 delegates to the
Constitutional Converntion.
Google Search: Unclesam - http://www.google.com/unclesam
A Google "Topic-Specific" search tool which looks for matches only on United States federal, state, and
local government maintained Web pages. Use "unclesam " as a keyword search.
Guide to the law online (http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/index.html)
Produced by the Law Library of Congress and the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN). Of the four main
areas, the US (the most highly developed), users can access full-text court opinions, public laws, US Code, Code of
Federal Regulations, House and Senate documents and prints, administrative hearings, online law reviews, and more.
The other three main areas are Nations, International and Multinational.
Politics 1 (http://www.politics1.com/)
A current "resource of comprehensive links to all Presidential, Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate
and Congressional candidates amd political parties". Links are given to interest groups in the
U. S. which represent opposing viewpoints on taxes, guns, abortion, gay rights, affirmative
action, the environment, free speech, and immigration.
Supreme Court Decisions - U. S. (http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/)
The site to begin researching U. S. Supreme Court information. Decisions are posted the
day of decision. Also all decisions back to 1990 (by topic and searchable); court calender,
biographical information on current justices (pictures and links to recent decisions); most
significant 600 historic decisions and more.
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet (http://thomas.loc.gov/)
Access the full text of bills from the current Congress through the 101st. Search the daily
Congressional Record for terms, then read the full text of relevant proceedings and proposed
legislation. Or enter the name of a particular legislator and access his or her voting record.
Bills and Public Laws are searchable by bill/law number or topic.
Vote Smart (http://www.vote-smart.org/)
Chosen as the "Best Political Web Site" by the American Political Science Association. Tracks
the performance of 13,000 political leaders. Resources include voting records, issues
information, biographies of all the current Congress members, organizations, educational
reference materials, political humor, and other directories of political information. Use your zip
code to find out about both your state and federal representatives.
The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov)
If you have a complaint about regulation, deregulation, legislation, etc. and want to take it to
the top, then go to the White House website. You can e-mail the President or Vice President.
If you are looking for government information and aren't sure where to find it, try the
"Gateway to Government". It includes links to Federal agencies and commissions, the
legislative branch, and various subject areas, such as health and safety.
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