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Political Science *

Below are links to databases and scholarly web sites that support the study of political science and its related sub-disciplines.

Economic Policy Research Resources

Below are links to databases and electronic resources that support the study of economic policy and related areas of research. For additional resources, GO HERE.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Databases that offer multidisciplinary coverage of economic policy literature from scholarly and non-scholarly sources.

  • CQ Researcher -- in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Reports are published weekly 44 times a year.
  • Google Scholar -- the scholarly part of the Google empire. To set up Google Scholar with access to full-text journals and databases, go here.
  • JSTOR -- a multidisciplinary archive of scholarly journal articles covering most major disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Useful for identifying historical research on a topic.
  • Policy Commons -- platform for objective, fact-based research from the world’s leading policy experts, nonpartisan think tanks, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The database provides advanced searching across millions of pages of books, articles, working papers, reports, policy briefs, data sets, tables, charts, media, case studies, and statistical publications, including archived reports from more than 200 defunct think tanks.
  • ProQuest -- comprehensive, multidisciplinary database of newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles updated daily. Content is more focused and manageable than Google Scholar.

SPECIALIZED RESEARCH RESOURCES

Key Databases

  • EconLit -- includes comprehensive coverage of research on economics, economic, policy, and econometrics derived from peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers from leading universities, doctoral dissertations, books, collective volume articles, conference proceedings, and book reviews. There is up-to-date coverage with nearly 1.3 million records and coverage as far back as 1886. Nearly 65,000 entries are added each year.
  • IDEAS: Economics and Finance Research -- a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics created by the US Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The database is open-access and most of its contents can be downloaded in full text.

Related Research Resources

  • ABI/Inform -- database features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, country-and industry-focused reports, and downloadable data related to all aspects of business.
  • America: History and Life -- database that covers the history of the United States and Canada. It includes key English-language historic journals, selected historic journals from major countries, state and local history journals, and selected relevant journals in the social sciences and humanities.
  • Conference Board – a searchable database of full-text research reports from 1998 to the present on the latest issues in business management and U.S. and global economics. Research includes studies of Fortune 500 companies on business trends, leadership decisions, performance excellence, corporate governance, productivity, and more. Economics material includes U.S. and global economic indicators and analysis and forecasts of regional, national, and international economic conditions.
  • Economic Reports of the President -- digital archive of this publication available from the FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) database at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Their first copy dates from 1947, when this publication began.
  • Fed in Print -- a comprehensive index to articles, working papers, annual reports, proceedings, research reports as well as the text of speeches by Federal Reserve officials from across the U.S. Federal Reserve System covering regional economic conditions, monetary and fiscal matters, in addition to topics on more general business areas.
  • FRASER -- a searchable digital library of U.S. economic, financial, and banking history materials from the Federal Reserve System, other U.S. government agencies, particularly those that directly affect the banking system, state and local governments, economic and policy research institutions, and non-governmental banking and policy institutions. Subjects covered include economic and monetary policy, economic and banking data, and economic theory and research. There is a separate FRASER database for economic data.
  • FRED: Federal Reserve Economic Data -- an online database consisting of hundreds of thousands of economic data time series from 108 of national, international, public, and private sources related to growth, employment, inflation, labor, manufacturing, and other U.S. economic statistics.
  • NBER Working Papers -- provides access to National Bureau of Economic Research research papers including titles from the Working Papers, Technical Working Papers, and Development of the American Economy series, which are intended to make NBER research results available to other economists in preliminary form to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. The full text of working papers are available online from November 1994 to the present.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Databases that offer the opportunity to understand and contemplate the implications of policy decisions through the eyes of those who may be most impacted by those decisions.

  • AgeLine -- provides access to aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, and public policy. Sources include scholarly journals, books, book chapters, reports, dissertations, consumer guides, and educational videos from 1966-present.
  • Chicano Database -- bibliographic index focuses on the Mexican-American and Chicano experience, and the broader Latino experience of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans and Central American immigrants since 1992. Covers Chicano/a art, education, folklore, health. history, labor, language and literature, music, politics, public policy, religion, sociology, and women's studies.
  • Ethnic NewsWatch -- includes current and archival coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic and minority presses. Very important database for gaining a perspective and an understanding of civic engagement from underrepresented groups and minorities.
  • Family Studies Abstracts -- this database includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to family studies, including marriage, divorce, family therapy, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. May be useful in identifying research on the relationships between criminal justice and family dynamics.
  • GenderWatch -- a full-text database that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, NGO and special reports.
  • LGBT Life -- the premier resource to the world\'s literature regarding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues with coverage that includes traditional academic, lifestyle, and regional publications, as well as non-periodical content such as non-fiction books, bibliographies and dissertations.

DATA AND STATISTICS

  • Bureau of Economic Analysis -- produces economic accounts statistics that enable government and business decision-makers, researchers, and the public to follow and understand the performance of the nation's economy. BEA collects source data, conducts research and analysis, develops and implements estimation methodologies, and disseminates statistics to the public.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics – the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity and productivity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
  • Federal Budget – offers a wealth of information on the U.S. federal budget. Besides the budget itself (which is in considerable detail), one can also find a wealth of historical and some forecasted information (some of the data starts in 1901). Data is available in spreadsheet format from 1996 to the present.
  • USA Trade Online – this is a joint project of the Commerce Department's STAT-USA and the Census' Foreign Trade Division. It offers very detailed U.S. merchandise trade data. Specifically, it offers data on the export and import of more than 18,000 commodities.

Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.

Organizations

Below is a select list of national economic advocacy and professional organizations. To locate descriptions of additional organizations, special interest groups, and research centers, search the Gale Directory Library database.

NATIONAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

  • American Economic Association -- a non-profit, non-partisan, scholarly organization dedicated to the discussion and publication of economics research.
  • American Enterprise Institute -- a public policy think tank dedicated to promoting free enterprise, American global leadership, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.
  • Brookings Institution -- a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level. Research topics cover foreign policy, economics, development, governance, and metropolitan policy.
  • Cato Institute -- research organization dedicated to analysis of and advocacy for public policy issues that support principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
  • Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy -- independent, private economic research organization that provides information on the long-term economic and demographic trends in California to aid both the public and private sector in making long-term strategic plans regarding business decisions and public policy.
  • Center for Economic Policy Analysis – focuses on issues related to macroeconomic policy, inequality and poverty, and globalization. Among the available items are their newsletter, working papers, information on projects, data resources, and information on their staff.
  • Center for the History of Political Economy – promotes and supports research in, and the teaching of, the history of economics. A unique resource is the "Economists' Papers Project," a large collection of the academic papers of important economists of the past and present.
  • Economic Policy Institute -- a nonpartisan think tank conducts research and analysis for the purpose of advocating for the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions related to fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security. The organization proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers and assesses policies with respect to how they affect those workers.
  • Employee Benefit Research Institute -- nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to original public policy research and education on issues of economic security and employee benefits.
  • Milken Institute -- economic think-tank researches the convergence of finance, business, health, philanthropy and policy to advance four areas: the global economy, capital markets and financial institutions, the role of education and human capital, and regional economics and demographics.
  • National Bureau of Economic Research -- a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals. Key focus areas include developing new statistical measurements, estimating quantitative models of economic behavior, and analyzing the effects of public policies.
  • National Business and Economics Society -- a multi-disciplinary professional organization which brings together scholars and practitioners who focus on promoting interdisciplinary research of both a theoretical and practical nature related to economics and various fields of business and management.

Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.