Intro to Political Science Research

Library Hours

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:00:51 -0700

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Campus Library Map

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:05:19 -0700

Click on the image below to see a larger interactive version of the campus library map.

You can also view/download a PDF map of library locations. For library contact information and building addresses, visit our directory.

Political Science at UCB

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:56:20 -0700

The Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley offers the full range of expertise within nine subfields of contemporary political science:

The UC Berkeley Library maintains a research-level collection in all subfields of political science to support not only the department's research and teaching programs, but many other disciplines, interdisciplinary programs, and professional schools.

The majority of the Political Science Collection is housed in the underground Gardner (Main) Stacks, which connects the Doe and Moffitt Libraries. The Moffitt Library also maintains a smaller collection of core, high-use English language materials of particular relevance to the undergraduate curriculum. Reference materials in the social sciences, including government documents, are located in the Reference Center and North Reading Room on the 2nd floor of Doe.

Connecting from Off Campus?

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:00:20 -0700

You can access UCB Library resources from off campus or via your laptop or other mobile device using one of two simple methods:

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 or Library PIN when you click on the link to a licensed resource. See the setup instructions, FAQ, and Troubleshooting pages to configure your browser.

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.

UC-eLinks

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:32:42 -0800

Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database isa bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:

For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.

Related Databases

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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.

Political Science Databases

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:06:04 -0700

Core article databases for political science research are below.

Find Dissertations

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:51:39 -0700

Find Dissertations by searching Digital Dissertations, which indexes over 1.5 million dissertations completed in North America (including UC) and European universities from 1861 to the present. Listings after 1980 include abstracts, and some feature 24-page excerpts.

Full-text Access: Online full-text of UC dissertations (from 1996) can be found by searching Digital Dissertations and also appear in Library catalog search results. UC Berkeley dissertations in print prior to 1996 may be found by searching the Library catalogs. Dissertations done at other UC campuses prior to 1996 or ouside the UC system must be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or using the "Request" option in Melvyl.

You may also limit a search in OskiCat to dissertations by changing the drop down from "Entire Collection" to "Dissertations/Theses":

Find eBooks

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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...

Google Books

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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, Journal Titles, and More

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:09:04 -0700

Use OskiCat or Melvyl to Find books or Journal Titles (not articles) to see if UCB or UC has the journal. If UCB does not have it, you can request the book/article though the request feature in Melvyl. Allow 1 week+ for the item not at UCB to be available for pickup.

News Resources

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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)

Government Information

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:41:23 -0700

These resources will provide a wealth of information by and about the US and foreign governmernts, as well as NGOs. Further resources are available here.

Data and Statistics

jsilva@library.berkeley.edu (Jesse Silva) — 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.

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