POLI SCI 190: Political Science Honors Seminar

Related Databases

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:56:59 -0700

The Berkeley Library provides access to hundreds of databases, below are some that might be particularly helpful.

UC eLinks and Citation Linker

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 11:59:04 -0700

Sometimes the database you search doesn't link to the fulltext -- it only gives the citation. Click the button to see if Berkeley has it online, and if not, it will check for a print version. And if we don't have it at all, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.

What if there isn't a button??? Sometimes you find an article in a bibliography, a book or a footnote -- and you want to see if we have it. The Citation Linker searches through our online databases to see if it's available fulltext. If not, it sets up a search for the paper journal in Melvyl. And if we don't have it at Berkeley, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.

Off-campus Access to Library Resources

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 12:04:52 -0700

Before you can access UCB Library resources from off campus or via your laptop or other mobile devices, make sure you have configured your machine using one of two simple methods (Proxy Server is the quickest and easiest):

Proxy Server
After you make a one-time change in your web browser settings, the proxy server will ask you to log in with a CalNet ID when you click on the link to a licensed resource. See the setup instructions, FAQ, and Troubleshooting pages to configure your browser. Make sure you check the proxy configuration before you start researching.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
After you install and run the VPN "client" software on your computer, you can log in with a CalNet ID to establish a secure connection with the campus network. NOTE: VPN is necessary if using EndNote.

Political Science Databases

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:06:04 -0700

Core article databases for political science research are below.

Forward Citations

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:01:16 -0800

If an article is a few years old, but relevant to your topic, it can be very helpful to see who has cited it. There are several different ways to do this, and the results will overlap -- no single method is comprehensive.

ISI Web of Science contains the Social Science Citation Index which allows you to do a "Cited Reference" search. This shows other articles (from a prestigious list of peer reviewed journals) which have cited the target article, and it also shows the references for the the original article... both forward and backward citation.

Google Scholar also provides forward citations for some articles. It has a broader range of documents included (not just peer reviewed journals, but reports, pre-prints, etc.) and doesn't eliminate self citation or de-duplicate the results.

Cited Reference links are sometimes provided for articles indexed indatabases such as Social Services Abstracts, ERIC, EconLit, PsycInfo, etc.

Find eBooks

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:29:08 -0700

The Library offers over 100 e-book and e-text collections in specific subject areas. E-books in collections marked * are also available through OskiCat and Melvyl. You can limit your search in OskiCat to "Available online," and in Melvyl to "Online resources."

Oxford Scholarship Online (political science, religion, philosophy, physics)
Springer Electronic Book Package * (Melvyl only; sciences and social sciences)
Ebrary broad coverage of many disciplines, including political science.
Complete list...

Find Dissertations

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:28:09 -0700

Find Dissertations by searching Dissertations and Theses (Dissertation Abstracts) Full Text, which indexes graduate dissertations from over 1,000 North American, and selected European, graduate schools and universities from 1861 to the present. Dissertations published since 1980 include brief abstracts written by the authors and some feature 24-page excerpts. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and some full text coverage for older graduate works.Also see Find Dissertations and Theses for other specialized sources.

Dissertations completed at UC Berkeley can be found in OskiCat, using the feature allowing you to limit to dissertations/theses.Older dissertations not available full text may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or using the "Request" option in Melvyl.

Google Books

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 11:52:50 -0700

Why use Google Books? Library catalogs (like OskiCat) don't search inside books; using a library catalog, you can search only information about the book (title, author, Library of Congress subject headings, etc.). Google Books will let you search inside books, which can be very useful for hard-to-find information. You can then use Google Books' Find in a Library link to locate the book in a UC Berkeley library, or search OskiCat to see if UC Berkeley owns the book.Try it now:

Find Books

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:04:38 -0800

UCB: Use OskiCat to find books related to your topic at UC Berkeley. Oskicat will show you where it's located, and will also show you the Library of Congress Subject Heading -- which can help you find material other relevant books.

UC: Not enough books at Berkeley? Use Melvyl to find more books at other campuses in the UC system. Click on the REQUEST button to get through Interlibrary Loan.

World: Still want more? You can search thousands of libraries through WorldCat on FirstSearch and then request the material through UC e-links or directly via Interlibrary Loan.

Google Books: Library catalogs don't search inside of books. Google Books can help you identify the book you need, then click on "Find in a Library" to see if we have it.

News Resources

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:54:02 -0800

Here are some general news and newsmedia databases. For a full listing of the Library's news resources, check this list.

Data and Statistics

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:59:37 -0700

These links will guide you to various sources for statistics and data. If you are interested in manipulating a dataset on your own, please visit the Doe Library's Data Lab in 189 Doe.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:59:40 -0700

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) can provide you a wealth of information from foreign news sources. The U.S. State Department ran the FBIS to translate foreign language newspapers, wires, and broadcasts into English. FBIS only translated information relating to U.S. interests, and only distributed to the public a select amount of what was translated.

At UC Berkeley, we have 2 databases for locating FBIS documents:

World News Connection (covers 1996-present, and is full-text)

FBIS Electronic Index (covers 1975-1996 and is only citations--use the instructions below for finding the documents)

Gov Info

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:15:50 -0700

These resouces can help you discover and locate information from the government. More resources can be located in the Library's Government Information pages.

Plagerism

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:54:43 -0700

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, violating the Berkeley Campus Code of Student Conduct. The campus issues a guide to understanding plagiarism, which states:

"Plagiarism means using another's work without giving credit. You must put others' words in quotation marks and cite your source(s). Citation must also be given when using others' ideas, even when those ideas are paraphrased into your own words."

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic and student conduct rules and is punishable with a failing grade and possibly more severe action. For more information, consult the following UC Berkeley websites:

Berkeley Campus Code of Student Conduct: http://students.berkeley.edu/uga/conduct.pdf
Faculty Help Desk - Student Conduct (see section on plagiarism). University of California Berkeley: College of Letters & Sciences.

Citation Management Tools

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:26:42 -0700

Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand! The Library offers workshops on Endnote, Zotero, and Refworks! Or contact your librarian for individual help.

Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up.
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central for about $80.

It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.

Using APA 6th

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:51:22 -0700

"Cheat Sheets" -- very handy guides showing examples of the different types of citations formatted according to APA 6th, from Purdue and Harvard.

The fulltext of APA 6th is not available online, but we do have print copies in the reference collection of the Social Welfare and EdPsych Libraries at BF76.7 P83 2010, and it's available at other libraries on campus as well.

APA Style & Format from Capella Writing Center, is designed to help you quickly understand the fundamentals you need to write a course paper that meets the APA guidelines. It also has a very helpful guide to how to handle those confusing DOIs.

Basics of APA Style -- tutorial from APA on how to how to structure and format your work, reduce bias in language, avoid charges of plagiarism, cite references in text and it provides selected reference examples. The APA Style Blog -- is searchable by topic and contains weekly posts by APA experts .

RefWorks with Oskicat

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:52:42 -0700

Search OskiCat. Once you have records you want to export, if you are:

A. Viewing a list of results, check the box to the left of each record you wish to add to RefWorks, then click Save Selected Records, or

B. Viewing an individual record, click the Save Records button near the top of the window and then:

Click the View Saved button near the top of the window
Click Export Saved
Select EndNote/RefWorks under Format of List
Select Screen under Send List To
Click Submit
Use your browser’s Select All function, then Copy
Open another browser window and access your RefWorks Account.
Click References from the drop-down menu and select Import
In the drop-down menu next to Import Filter/Data Source, choose Innovative Interfaces (EndNote/RefWorks Format)
For Database, choose University of California, Berkeley
In Import References into Folder, choose the desired folder, if you have already created a folder into which you want these references to import. If not, make no selection here
Click Import
Select the radio button next to Import Data from the following Text.
Put your cursor in the box below Import Data from the following Text and select Edit > Paste in your browser.
By default, all newly imported references appear in the Last Imported folder. Under View / Folders, select your folder to see the citations you just imported. Note the UC-eLinks icon next to each reference.

Thanks to the Public Health Library for creating this guide!

Why Cite?

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 11:33:35 -0700

"Ethics, copyright laws, and courtesy to readers require authors to identify the sources of direct quotations and of any facts or opinions not generally known or easily checked."--

Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (Chicago: Chicago Univ. Press), p. 594

Why cite sources?
Whenever you quote or base your ideas on another person's work, you must document the source you used. Even when you do not quote directly from another work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must give the authors proper credit.

Citations allow readers to locate and further explore the sources you consulted, show the depth and scope of your research, and give credit to authors for their ideas. Citations provide evidence for your arguments and add credibility to your work by demonstrating that you have sought out and considered a variety of resources. In written academic work, citing sources is standard practice and shows that you are responding to this person, agreeing with that person, and adding something of your own. Think of documenting your sources as providing a trail for your reader to follow to see the research you performed and discover what led you to your original contribution.

Ask a Librarian 24/7

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:08:50 -0700

How Do I Make an Appointment?

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:22:54 -0700

Thesis research and writing can very specific and a single library session may not provide you with all the information you need. You are more than welcome to contact the Political Science Librarian, Susan Edwards, via email or phone (email is preferred) to ask a question, set up an appointment, or get more help with anything related to the Library and research. Contact info is below:

Email: sedwards@library.berkeley.edu
Phone: 510-643-6224

Research Advisory Service

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:43:38 -0700

Research Advisory Service for Cal Undergraduates

Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics.

Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)

This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.