A SELECTIVE GUIDE TO POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES RESOURCES
This selective guide contains a bibliography of titles and electronic resources that will assist the students in locating materials on political and social issues. It outlines a general approach to finding materials and resources housed in the F.D. Bluford Library and also electronic sources that may be on the Internet or on CD-Roms. This guide will help students organize their research and at the same time give them some tips on research strategy. Remember that researching any topic can seem overwhelming.
Using the INNOPAC
Establishing what resources the library owns on the subject you are researching should be your first priority. In order to find that information the student must use the online catalog called the INNOPAC in our library. The INNOPAC can be searched by AUTHOR, TITLE, KEYWORD, JOURNAL TITLE and by SUBJECT HEADING. If you are going to do a keyword search, you can enter a word that may appear in either the title or in the description of the work. If you are going to do a subject search, you should use the Library of Congress Subject Headings located next to the computer workstations to help you determine the correct heading to use. There are several other options on narrowing or limiting your search and on identifying similar titles. Please refer to the INNOPAC Handout at the Information Center for more detailed instruction or ask for assistance from a Reference Librarian.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias are also a good place to start, especially if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Articles in encyclopedias are often written by recognized authorities and tend to provide established facts and ideas about the topic, its history, basic theories, and important persons who have written related articles. Also, most encyclopedia articles close with a bibliography that may help you to establish your literature search.
Note: When using encyclopedias, first consult the index volume, usually the last volume of the set. This will tell you if your topic has an article devoted entirely to it or if it is discussed within an article on a related subject.
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions - A&T Ref JA61B56
Clements' Encyclopedia of World Governments - A&T Ref JF37.C53
Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy – A&T Ref JX1407 E53
Encyclopedia of Democracy - A&T Ref JC423.E53
Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Organizations - A&T Ref JK468.C7E5
Encyclopedia of Political Revolutions – A&T Ref JC491 E63
Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System -A&T Ref JF501.E53
Encyclopedia of the Republican & Democratic Party - A&T Ref JK2352.K87
Guide to American Law: Everyone's Legal Encyclopedia - A&T Ref KF156.G77
Political Parties and Elections in the United States:
An Encyclopedia – A&T Ref JK2261.P633 1991
Taylor's Encyclopedia of Governmental Officials - A&T Ref JK6.T36
Almanacs, Handbooks and Dictionaries
Almanacs are useful statistical and factual sources that have current information on a broad range of topics and subjects. Handbooks and dictionaries can help you throughout your research by providing quick, factual information that you may need to support your ideas. The coverage in handbooks is generally limited to a specific area of information (such as political parties, governmental institutions, or cities of the United States), giving brief overviews with statistical data. This information is usually more current than that in an encyclopedia. Dictionaries provide brief entries that are quick and helpful sources for the definition or identification of a term, movement, or person in political science.
Agency Voter Registration: A Reference Guide /North Carolina - A&T GSM Microforms H1 6:A26
Amendments to the Constitution of North Carolina, 1776-1989 – A&T LRC KFN7800.S27 1990
America At The Polls 2: A Handbook of American Presidential Election Statistics, 1968-1984 – A&T Ref JK524.S22 1988
American Almanac: Statistical Abstract of the United States - A&T Ref HA202.A54 (Current edition on Ready Reference)
American National Election studies Data Sourcebook, 1952-1986 – A&T Stacks JK1967.M54 1989
Congressional Districts in the 1990's - A&T Ref JK 1341.C64
Congressional Quarterly Almanacs - A&T Ref JK1.C66
Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Election – A&T Ref JK1967.C662 1985
Constitutions of the Countries of the World - A&T Ref K3157.A2B58 (Index Table next to Computer Workstations)
Dictionary of 20th-Century World Politics - A&T Ref JA61.S53
Directory of State & County Officials of North Carolina – A&T Ref JK4130 D474
Election Data Book: A Statistical Portrait of Voting in America – A&T Ref JK1967.E44 1992
Electoral Politics Dictionary – A&T Ref JK1971.R46 1989
Europa World Yearbook - A&T Ref JN1.E85 (Current edition in Ready Reference)
Gold-plated Politics: Running for Congress in the 1990s – A&T Stacks JK1991.F74 1992
Guide to the Presidency – A&T Ref JK516 C57
HarperCollins Dictionary of American Government and Politics - A&T Ref JK9.S43
Historic Documents on Presidential Elections – A&T Ref JK1965.H56 1991
Information Please Almanac - A&T Ref AY64I55 (Current edition in Ready Reference)
North Carolina Manual – A&T Ref JK4130 N6
North Carolina Voter Registration Statistics – A&T GSM Microforms H1 14:R33 1994
Oxford Companion to Politics of the World - A&T Ref JA61.O95
Political Handbook of the World - A&T Ref JF37P6
Presidential Elections since 1789 – A&T Ref JK524.C65 1979
Statesman's Year-Book - A&T Ref JA51.S7
Indexes and Abstracts (Printed)
To locate articles that are pertinent to your research, you need to use indexes and abstracts to journal and newspaper literature.
CIS Annual: Legislative History of U.S. Public Laws - Indexes A&T Ref KF49.C62
PAIS International In Print - Indexes A&T Ref HB1.A1P9
Social Sciences Index - Indexes A&T Ref AI3.S62
What They Said In 1975 to the present: The Yearbook of World Opinion - Indexes A&T RefD410.W46
Journal List
The following list of journals identifies publications of opinion on national policies and issues. Journals are located on the lower level of the library and current issues are located next to the service desk in alphabetical order. Bound issues are arranged by call number. Some titles are on microform. Be sure to use the INNOPAC to determine the exact location and format of a particular title.
Christian Century
Christianity Today
Commentary
Commonweal
Economist
Foreign Affairs
Humanist
Journal of Social Issues
National Review
New Republic
Newsweek
Partisan Review
Progressive
Review of Black Political Economy
Social Forces
Social Problems
Time
Western Journal of Black Studies
Government Documents
Government Documents cover a broad range of topics including criminal justice; laws and regulations; congressional hearings; Supreme Court opinions; and economic, demographic and agricultural statistics. You can access our Government Documents Collection several ways: through the INNOPAC Catalog; using GPO Access; the printed Monthly Catalog housed in the Index Area; GPO on NC-LIVE; and using the Internet. These items are classified by the Superintendent of Documents Classification scheme and must be retrieved using that call number. The library's Government Documents Department is located on the lower level of the library. On the first floor of the library is a workstation dedicated solely to accessing government documents using CD-ROMs. Governmental agencies may be accessed through the Internet.
Statistical Sources
Statistics provide a factual basis for your ideas. Most of the handbooks and electronic resources listed will give some general statistics. The following resources can provide information on very specific topics, either giving the actual data or listing citations to books, articles, or reports that will have the needed information.
American Statistics Index - Index Ref Z7554.U5A46
Statistical Abstract of the United States - A&T Ref HA202.A384 (Current edition on Ready Reference)
Statistical Abstract of the World - A&T Ref HA154.S68 (Current edition on Ready Reference)
Statistical Handbook on Adolescents in America - A&T Ref HQ796.S8237
Statistical Handbook on Aging Americans - A&T Ref HQ1064.U5S738
Statistical Handbook on the American Family - A&T RefHQ536.S727
Statistical Handbook on Violence in America - A&T Ref HN90.V5S833
Statistical Handbook on Women in America - A&T Ref HQ1420.T34
Statistical Record of Women Worldwide - A&T Ref HQ 1150.S73
Statistical Reference Index - Indexes A&T Ref Z7554.U5S79
Statistical Universe – Electronic Resources
Vital Statistics on American Politics - A&T Ref JK274.S74
Electronic Resources (CD-ROMS & Internet Subscription Databases)
Academic Search Full-Text Elite via EBSCOhost – WEB – provides abstracts and indexing for over 1,320 scholarly journals covering a wide variety of subject areas from 1984 to present. Academic Search can be accessed through the library's homepage, under Electronic Resources.
Academic Universe ( LEXIS-NEXIS ) – WEB – provides access to a wide range of news,
business, legal, and reference information. It couples the convenience of the
Internet with the power of LEXIS-NEXIS® services so you can quickly and easily
retrieve documents that meet your specific research needs. Academic
Universe can be accessed through the library's homepage, under Electronic
Resources.
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts – WEB – assembles a library of multidisciplinary scientific and technical bibliographic databases in a single resource. Databases available from Cambridge in the political and social sciences are: ERIC and Sociological Abstracts. Cambridge, ERIC, or Sociological Abstracts can be accessed through the library’s homepage, under Electronic Resources.
Census of Population and Housing CD-ROM or WEB – Population items include age, race, sex, marital status, Spanish origin, household type, and household relationship. Population items are cross‑tabulated by age, race, Spanish origin, or sex. Housing items includes occupancy/vacancy status, tenure, units in structure, contract rent, meals included in rent, value, and number of rooms in housing unit.
Congressional Universe– WEB – provides access to U.S.
legislative information from Congressional Information Service, Inc. With
Congressional Universe, you can: search an index of congressional publications
from 1970 to the present; retrieve CIS Legislative Histories for public laws
going back to 1970; find testimony from congressional hearings; track bills as
they move through the House and Senate; search the Congressional Record and
Federal Register; locate information about members and committees; search the
National Journal. Congressional
Universe can be accessed through the library's homepage, under Electronic
Resources.
County and City Data Book CD-ROM presents a variety of information on States, counties, cities, and places in the United States. These statistics represent useful summary measures that are generally available in comparable form for the geographic areas covered.
Current Issues Source File CD-ROM contains full text of thousands of reports, papers, statements, and articles on current policy issues. (Located at the Reference Desk)