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POLS 5700/ POLS 5720

What Researchers Do

TOPIC – Define the research question/statement

SOURCES – Identify the information need. Do you need background info? A research article? A literature review article? etc. What databases would include this type of information on your topic?

KEYWORDS – Select the words you will be using to find information effectively and efficiently (Use a variety of words to describe your topic/concepts. Find subject headings that relate to your topic/concept).

EVALUATION – Evaluate information critically. Is the info relevant, reliable, current, appropriate?

USE--Organize, synthesize and communicate information to make your point/argument.

CITE--Ethically and legally access and use info by avoiding plagiarism and citing all your sources.

Finding Articles

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PAIS International (ProQuest)The PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) database covers publications from over 120 countries and contains references to more than 553,300 journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, conference reports and gray literature, with a subject focus on public administration, including social conditions and public policy.

JSTOR - Offers interdisciplinary content including approximately 2,600 academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials.

Business Source Premier - Includes the public sector (government management). Business Source Premier provides index and full text for more than 3,000 scholarly business journals, including full text for nearly 1000 peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for more than 300 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. Updated on a daily basis via EBSCOhost.

ABI/INFORM Collection -  ABI/INFORM Complete includes all content found in ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Dateline, and ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. It also includes ABI/INFORM Archive, which offers a deep backfile of many of the most important business journals of the last century.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest) - Supplies up-to-date bibliographic information and research in political science and related fields such as international relations, law, sociology, economics, and public administration policy.

Web of Science - Provides access to Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Science Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. It covers over 10000 journals. Tools include Times Cited and Cited References. Coverage 1986-present

CQ Researcher - Offers original articles on current events and public affairs. Your complete sources on the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and cons and bibliographies and more. 

ERIC - Resources in Education which indexes a variety of documents.

 new windowProQuest Congressional Publications (1789 to the present) - Provides access to historical and current Congressional information and publications on all aspects of legislation. The database includes Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection, which comprises the Congressional Record and its three predecessors: the Congressional Record (1873-2005), the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The database provides full-text for Congressional Committee Prints, House and Senate Documents and Reports (Congressional Serial Set), Hearings, and Legislative Histories.

John F. Kennedy Memorial Library
California State University, Los Angeles
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