There are many types of background materials: encyclopedias (both general and subject specific), handbooks, and bibliographies. Why use a background source? It can save you time by helping you with the groundwork.
WorldCat@SU is the library's catalog. You can search for books, articles, videos, and other items at Smith Library Center and libraries worldwide.
When Does Gender Matter?: Women Candidates and Gender Stereotypes in American Elections by Kathleen Dolan by 
China's new Red Guards : the return of radicalism and the rebirth of Mao Zedong by 
Disrespectful Democracy : the psychology of political incivility by 
The Soul of America by
To find scholarly articles in a library database:
To search the content within these journals, you have two choices:
Major Journals in Political Science |
Major Journals in American Politics |
| American Journal of Political Science | American Politics Research |
| American Political Science Review | Journal of Women, Politics and Policy |
| Journal of Politics |
Legislative Studies Quarterly |
| Comparative Political Studies | Political Research Quarterly |
| Perspectives on Politics |
PS, Political Science and Politics |
| Political Science Quarterly |
Presidential Studies Quarterly |
| British Journal of Political Science | Politics and Gender |
|
Political Studies |
Women & Politics |
Major Journals in Comparative Politics |
Major Journals in International Relations |
|
| African Affairs | Current History | |
| Asian Survey | Foreign Affairs | |
| Comparative Political Studies | Foreign Policy | |
| Comparative Politics | Human Rights Quarterly | |
| Journal of Democracy | International Studies Quarterly | |
| Latin American Politics and Society | Journal of Conflict Resolution | |
| Middle Eastern Studies | Orbis |
Research articles, empirical, research primary research, are based on original research. If you need to limit your sources to research articles, you must be able to tell the difference. Most research articles will contain the following:
Abstract
A summary of the article. (Note: Abstracts appear in reviews or secondary articles as well.)
Methods
Sometimes called "methodology" or "materials and methods," this section describes the author's research methods and tools: experiment, survey, data sources, etc.
Results
Also called "findings," this is the section of the article in which raw data are presented.
Discussion
Sometimes called "analysis," this is the section in which the author analyzes the data.
Conclusion
The author's conclusions based on the analysis.
References
List of references to works cited in the article.
These standard parts of a research article may not always be labeled, and sometimes they are combined (for example, "Data and Methods"). Still, every research article indicates what methods and tools were used to conduct the research, what the results were, and how the author interprets those results.
Not every article in a scholarly journal contains research or analysis. Scholarly journals may also include:
These are not original or primary research articles.
