Research Guides: Political Science Resources at the UTM Library: Political Science Resources

Political Science Course Resources

Below are course specific guides designed to support your research assignments.

POL115 Evidence & Argument in the Study of Politics (Winter 2024)

POL214 Canadian Government and Politics (Winter 2020)

POL244 Research Methods for Political Science II (Winter 2025)

POL362 Borders, Migrants, and Refugees (Winter 2025)

POL401 Senior Major Research Paper (Fall 2022)

POL402 Politics and Humour (Fall 2022)

Finding Articles: Key Databases

WorldWide Political Science Abstracts
A major index to journals in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration.
PAIS Index
PAIS Index offers access to the international literature in public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations. It is an important index for its coverage of government documents, publications of international agencies, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, microfiche, and Internet material, as well as journal articles, books and articles in books from more than 120 countries worldwide.
Columbia International Affairs Online
This resource indexes documents and articles in international politics and related fields, including security studies, global finance, diplomatic practice, humanitarian law, global governance, development studies, and environmental studies. In includes full-text articles from government research organizations, independent think tanks, university analysis centers, and scholarly journals, as well as working papers, policy briefs, and current analysis and commentary, as well as scholarly journal articles, e-books, and videos.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
A major index for social science and interdisciplinary scholarly research. The main focus is on the four core social science subjects of anthropology, economics, politics and sociology.
America: History and Life
The major source for United States and Canadian history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. A source for research in the fields of American history, Canadian history, popular culture, American studies, women's studies/gender studies, multicultural studies, politics and other fields of study.
Historical Abstracts
The major database for world history from 1450 to the present. Historical Abstracts excludes Canada and the United States, which are covered by “America: History and Life”. Historical Abstracts covers the world’s scholarly literature in History including articles from over 2,000 journals as well as citations to books, articles in books, and dissertations.

button not working in the database? Check out our video for instructions on how to search for an article using the citation.

Finding Newspaper & Magazine Articles: Key Databases

Canadian Newsstream
Access to Canadian news sources from Canada's leading newspaper publishers. Content includes articles, columns, editorials, and features. Some backfiles date as far back as the late 1970s and 1980s. Major newspapers include Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and The National Post.
US Newsstream
Access to the full text of over 1300 newspapers, news websites, and blogs from leading publishers throughout the world. ProQuest Newsstand includes backfiles for most newspapers, providing access to articles, columns, editorials, obituaries, and features published in each paper. Major newspapers include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, The Guardian, and many other national and regional titles. ProQuest Newsstand provides local, regional and national news.
International Newsstream
English language publications only. International Newsstream provides the most recent news content from outside of the U.S. and Canada with archives that stretch back decades. The comprehensive collection features newspapers, newswires, transcripts, and digital-only news sites in full-text format. Over 800 of the world's top news sources such as The Times (London), The Bangkok Post, El Norte, Financial Times, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post, The Daily Telegraph, Asian Wall Street Journal, and the BBC Monitoring series of publications are included in the collection.
Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPI.Q)
It includes more than 1,300 Canadian periodicals (more than 700 full text), a bilingual interface (English/French), indexing from 1980 forward, full-text articles from 1983 forward. Includes The Globe and Mail, Maclean's weekly magazine, and even travel handbooks from Fodor's for Canadian destinations.
CBCA Complete
Provides in-depth access to a wide diversity of Canadian periodicals, ranging from academic titles to special interest publications to general magazines. The academic titles include the most prominent journals from the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. Other magazines focus on opinion, public policy, children/youth, lifestyles, arts and culture, health, and regional concerns.
Factiva
A global news and business information service. Factiva contains a collection of resources from news media, web media, social media, and multimedia. News media resources include newspapers, trade press, magazines, newswires, and press releases. A limited number of users can access Factiva at one time. If you encounter an error message, or a message indicating the maximum number of users has been reached, try again later. Ensure you logout of Factiva when finished by closing your browser.

Reference Sources

Oxford Bibliographies Online
"Developed cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide, Oxford Bibliographies offers exclusive, authoritative research guides. Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource guides researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects." - Description from publisher.
Oxford Reference
"Online reference product, spanning 25 different subject areas, bringing together digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias." - Description from publisher.
Oxford Handbooks Online
"Oxford Handbook offers an authoritative survey of current thinking and research. Specially commissioned essays from leading international figures in the discipline give critical examination of the progress and direction of debates, providing scholars and graduate students with compelling new perspectives." - Description from publisher.
International Encyclopedia of Political Science
"The eight volumes cover every field of politics, from political theory and methodology to political sociology, comparative politics, public policies, and international relations." - Description from publisher.
Europa World Plus
"Europa World is a meticulously researched global resource including political, economic and statistical information about more than 250 countries and territories, as well as international and regional organizations." - Description from publisher.
OECD Factbook
Available 2005-2015. OECD Factbook is a comprehensive statistical publication from the OECD. Close to 100 indicators cover a wide range of areas: economy, education, energy, transportation, environment, development, health, industry, information and communications, population, employment and labour, trade and investment, taxation, public expenditure
The World Factbook
Produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities."
SAGE Books
Provides access to thousands of titles, including reference sources and handbooks, in the social sciences.
SAGE Videos
A collection of educational videos that supports diverse research and learning needs across key social science disciplines. All videos are fully citable with searchable transcripts, custom clip creation and embedding.
SAGE Research Methods
SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process.
Elgaronline (Edward Elgar Books)
Provides access to ebooks, journals, encyclopedia, handbooks, and other reference sources in the social sciences.

Streaming Video

The University of Toronto Libraries provides digital access to a variety streaming video collections. Below is just a selection. For a more comprehensive list, visit UTL Streaming Video page.

Docuseek
"Docuseek streams essential independent, social-issue and environmental films, providing exclusive access to content from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution. To log in, enter your UTORid when prompted, and then select 'University of Toronto' under the 'Select your institution' dropdown menu."
Criterion on Demand
"Video streaming service featuring thousands of films, including recent Hollywood blockbusters. Note, some films are labeled as ‘Restricted’ and can only be viewed while on campus and connected to the U of T network."
Alexander Street - Academic Video Online
Provides access to thousands of streaming videos, including 60 minutes, Meet the Press, The Docuseek2 Complete Collection, Social Theory (Second Edition), Security Issues Online, Revolution and Protest Online, Food Studies Online, Current Affairs in Video, and select content from PBS.

Chicago-Style Citation

For information and resources about other citations styles, visit the UTM Library's Reference Help Page.

Reference & Research Help

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