The Trexler Library: Muhlenberg College

Research Methods

Need help with your research? Contact:

Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
phone: x3552
email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu
IM: jjarson1 (AIM, Yahoo, add @hotmail.com for MSN)

Need help after hours?
IM the Library at TalkToTrexler (AIM, Yahoo, add @hotmail.com for MSN)
Online Sunday-Thursday 2pm-10pm.
See Ask a Librarian for more information.

Selected Reference Materials

The following is only a small selection of available reference materials. Search the library catalog for more reference sources, browse the reference collection on level A of the library, or ask for help.

Archer, J. Clark, ed. Atlas of American Politics, 1960-2000. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2002.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Collection 320.973 A881o (Level A)

Geer, John G., ed. Public Opinion and Polling Around the World: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Collection 303.3803 G298p v.1-2 (Level A)

Krieger, Joel, ed. The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World (2nd ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Collection 320.03 O98c (Level A)

Mitchell, Susan. American Attitudes: Who Thinks What About the Issues that Shape Our Lives (2nd ed.). Ithaca, NY: New Strategist Publications, 1998.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Collection 303.38 M685a (Level A)

Robinson, John P., Phillip R. Shaver, Lawrence S. Wrightsman, eds. Measures of Political Attitudes. San Diego : Academic Press, 1999.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Collection 155.28 M484of (Level A)

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

See a list of all article databases via the Library Homepage -- Databases A-Z (in the Quick Links box).

Check the Subject Guides (linked from the Library Homepage in the Research box) for other recommended databases for this and other subject areas.

Use UlrichsWeb Periodicals Directory (linked from the Library Homepage -- Online Reference Shelf (in the Quick Links box)) to find out information about individual journals, including whether or not they are peer-reviewed.

Subject-Specific Databases: Political Science & International Relations

PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service)
Citations to scholarly journals, gray literature, government publications, and more from 120 countries on political, economic, social and public policy issues.

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
Full text of working papers, policy briefs, conference proceedings, journal articles and more in the area of international affairs theory and research.

PolicyArchive (Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis University Library and nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies)
https://www.policyarchive.org/
"PolicyArchive is ... digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It [...] collect[s] and disseminate[s] summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research."

Interdisciplinary Databases

Note: These databases may include both scholarly and popular sources.

Academic Search Premier
Full text access to scholarly and non-scholarly publications in a wide variety of disciplines and subject areas.

JSTOR
Full text of scholarly journals from most academic disciplines. Coverage is from the inception of the journal through three to five years ago.

LexisNexis Academic
Full text of thousands of newspapers, magazines, broadcast transcripts, business publications, legal materials, and more.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
A database with some full text articles covering various academic subjects including general sciences, humanities, social sciences, and business.

Sage Journals Online
Full-text access to over 500 journals published by Sage, providing wide coverage of scholarly publications in all disciplines, but particularly the social sciences.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

When searching for articles in library databases, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.

If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.

Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.

Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title or by ISSN . Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.

If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.

Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.

Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage -- Interlibrary Loan (in the Quick Links box) -- Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

GETTING THERE: Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in the Quick Links box) -- Trexler Library Catalog

OTHER LIBRARIES

WorldCat. To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.)

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in Quick Links box) -- Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

Finding Government Documents

U.S. Government

Muhlenberg College receives about 30% of all materials published by the U.S. Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas--from legal materials and the records of Congress to health and education information and in-depth research conducted by the Smithsonian. All of the government documents that we receive have records in the Trexler Library Catalog.

Documents Center (University of Michigan Library)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
"Reference and referral point for government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international."

Google U.S. Government Search
Google's search tool for state and federal webpages.

LexisNexis Congressional
Getting there: Library homepage -- Articles A-Z (in the Find box) -- LexisNexis Congressional
Information on the U.S. legislature, including full text of bills from 1989 on, public laws from 1988 on, committee reports from 1990 on, House and Senate documents from 1995 on, Congressional Record from 1985 on, Federal Register from 1980 on, and more government information.

Other Governments

Governments on the World Wide Web
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/

World Legal Information Institute: Countries
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html

Finding Data

The following is only a small selection of available data sources. Ask for help if you need assistance in locating sources.

Fedstats: The Gateway to Statistics from Over 100 U.S. Federal Agencies
http://www.fedstats.gov

Historical Statistics of the United States (online)
Search the library catalog by title or click here.

ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/

International Statistical Agencies (U.S. Census Bureau)
http://www.census.gov/main/www/stat_int.html

LexisNexis Statistical
Available via Trexler Library homepage -- Online Reference Shelf (in the Quick Links box).
Statistical information produced by U.S. federal agencies, states, and intergovernmental organizations.

OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web (University of Auckland)
http://www.offstats.auckland.ac.nz/

Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 1886- .
Online Location: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2878 (current edition) and http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS111301 (older editions, 1995- )
Print Location: Trexler Library Statistics Reference 317.3 U58 (current edition) and Trexler Library Government Documents C 3.134:886- (older editions)

U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/

Citing Your Sources

For help using Chicago Style, consult the following resources:

The Chicago manual of style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Desk Reserve 808.027 C632m (at Reference Desk)

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Location: Trexler Library Reference Desk Reserve 808 T929m 1996 (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using Chicago Style
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/chicago_example.pdf
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website. Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research box).

Writer's Handbook (Writing Center, University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocChicago.html

For help managing your citations, consider using Zotero.

"Zotero is an easy-to-use yet powerful research tool that helps you gather, organize, and analyze sources (citations, full texts, web pages, images, and other objects), and lets you share the results of your research in a variety of ways."

Download from (and more information via) the Zotero website: http://www.zotero.org/

Step-by-step instructions on getting started with Zotero
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/help/techguides/zotero.pdf