LITERATURE REVIEW AND SOURCES FOR RESEARCH
LITERATURE REVIEW a form of background research reading others' reports of similar research can help narrow the topic ensures that one doesn't duplicate another's research REASONS FOR CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW (1) To see what has and has not been investigated; (2) to develop general explanations for observed variations in a behavior or phenomenon - answer an 'old' question in a new way. (3) to identify potential relationships between concepts and to identify researchable hypotheses -find reports of similar observations from others to support one's own hypothesis (4) to learn how others have defined and measured key concepts; (5) to identify data sources that other researchers have used; (6) to develop alternative research designs; (7) to discover how a research project is related to the work of others. from: "Conducting a Literature Review" in Janet Buttolph Johnson et al, Political Science Research Methods (4th ed.), CQ Press, 2001. A thorough literature search includes anything published on your topic in professional journals, magazines, books, newspapers, government publications and documents, and conference proceedings.   see: Research Guideline for more information on finding a topic, collecting information, etc.	IDENTIFYING KEY SUBJECT WORDS: learn to use search terms effectively note the subject terms used by library data bases think creatively with search terms to get the best results: be sensitive to the variety of synonyms possible. sometimes there are terms you need to eliminate to narrow your results WFU LIBRARY HOMEPAGE SOME USEFUL DATA BASES Academic Index Congressional Quartery Current Law Index Environment Abstracts Annual Facts on File First Search International Political Science Abstracts Jstor Lexis Public Affairs Information Service biweekly index of policy-oriented literature: periodicals, books, government documents Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature Social Sciences Index publications in and related to sociology: 300 frequently used journals. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts	PRIMARY SOURCES "direct material unfiltered through the mind of another." (67, roskin et al) speeches statistical data documents (treaties, constitutions, legislation, etc.) interviews survey research newspaper reports (not editorials or analysis pieces) etc..etc...etc. SOME ONLINE SITES WITH PRIMARY DATA: (see ) CIA World Fact Book World Development Report Human Development Report Political Science Research Methods (CQ Press): Data Sources Open Secrets GovSpot FirstGov Political Parties Resources NEWSPAPER INDEXES: National Newspaper Index New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post SECONDARY SOURCES "another's synthesis, ideas, or opinions." (67, roskin et al) newspaper, magazine, or journal articles books (see books / popular and political journals / scholarly journals below)
SOME WEB SOURCES Google and Yahoo searches: can alert you to a variety of both internet and non-internet sources. Ultimate Political Science Links Page P S Ruckman, Jr., Rock Valley College Political Science Research Methods website: Libraries Political Science Research Guide Indiana University, Bloomington Political Science: A New Station University of British Columbia Documents in the News: Current Events Research University of Michigan
BOOKS General information: find a good textbook on the subject; read appropriate sections; check out sources cited in the notes. find a thorough source on the subject and use it to help you to begin to categorize your ideas use book reviews to help you get a sense of specific books BOOK REVIEW INDEXES: Book Review Digest Book Review Index Current Book Review Citations Perspective Political Science Reviewer look at footnotes and bibliographies of books that you find: you will notice patterns -- some works will be cited very frequently. hint: Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com contain much information about most books published, including reviews by customers, tables of content, and sometimes sample pages.	POPULAR AND POLITICAL JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES American Prospect American Spectator The Economist National Review The Nation The New Republic The New York Review of Books The New Yorker see: Following Current Events for more information on newspapers, academic journals, and other sites   see: Alternative Media for smaller publications (usually with explicit 'left' or 'right' bias)	SOME SCHOLARLY JOURNALS: POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS wfu journals online American Journal of Political Science American Political Science Review American Politics Review British Journal of Political Science Comparative Politics Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy International Organization International Security Journal of Politics Policy Studies Journal Presidential Studies Quarterly Public Policy World Politics
HOW TO CITE WORKS: -WFU Library Guidelines (be consistent with whatever style you choose; I use Chicago style)