LibGuides: Political Science: Articles

Political science databases serve as invaluable repositories of primary sources, scholarly research, and archival materials, providing researchers, students, and enthusiasts unprecedented access to political events, ideologies, and systems of governance. These databases aggregate various political documents, including government records, policy papers, legislative proceedings, political speeches, and diplomatic correspondence, spanning multiple regions, periods, and thematic areas.

Researchers leverage political science databases to uncover hidden narratives, contextualize political developments, and analyze societal transformations across different political contexts. By delving into digitized primary sources, users gain direct insight into political contexts, perspectives, and policy decisions, enabling nuanced interpretations and critical analysis of political phenomena.

Moreover, political science databases facilitate interdisciplinary research, allowing scholars to explore connections between politics and other fields, such as sociology, economics, international relations, and public policy. Through cross-referencing and data mining capabilities, researchers can identify patterns, trends, and correlations within vast datasets, shedding light on complex political dynamics and phenomena.

Educators use political science databases to enrich classroom instruction, providing students with opportunities to engage with primary sources and develop critical thinking skills directly related to political analysis. By incorporating primary political documents into lesson plans, instructors foster political literacy and empower students to construct their interpretations of political events and processes.

Overall, political science databases play a pivotal role in democratizing access to political knowledge, fostering scholarly inquiry, and preserving the political heritage of humanity for future generations.

Here's a curated list of databases tailored to political science, serving as an excellent starting point for your exploration:

Political Science and Government Databases: A - G

Black Freedom Struggle This link opens in a new window A ProQuest website featuring select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. Focuses on historic and contemporary experiences and perspectives of African Americans, including the Black Lives Matter movement.
CQ Almanac This link opens in a new window Analysis on the major legislation and actions of congress since 1945. Data on the voting patterns of Congress members provides insight into the legislative process and history of the institution. Users can follow the history of a policy issue with the Policy Tracker tool which links reports on the same issue for almost 70 years.
CQ Press Historic Documents This link opens in a new window In CQ Historic Documents Series Online Edition, you can find the entire collection of the acclaimed Historic Documents print editions. Each volume includes approximately one hundred documents covering the most significant events of the year. These documents range from presidential speeches, international agreements, and Supreme Court decisions to U.S. governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.
DemographicsNow (Gale Business) This link opens in a new window Library Edition A comprehensive tool that provides highly sought after demographic data including income, housing, race, age, education, consumer expenditures, and more.
Environmental Impact Statements: Digests This link opens in a new window This database provides detailed abstracts and indexing of the hundreds of environmental impact statements issued each year by the federal government. EIS extracts the key issues from complex government-released environmental impact statements, converting massive documents into concise, readable abstracts.
Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s This link opens in a new window Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s is a full-text database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's previously classified files on prominent radicals and radical organizations from 1956 to 1971. It sheds light on internal organization, personnel, and activities of some of the most prominent American radical groups and their movements to change American government and society.

Political Science and Government Databases: H-Z

HarpWeek This link opens in a new window This resource provides electronic access to Harper's Weekly: 1857-1912.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window HeinOnline is an online research platform that provides multidisciplinary periodicals, government documents, international resources, case law, and more. With HeinOnline, users can access more than 3,200 scholarly journals, all dating back to the first issue published. In addition, there is coverage of U.S. government publications, and the archive of case law consists of federal, state, and overseas cases; international resources address many countries, regions, and international organizations.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window The standard source for the quantitative facts of American history. This resource provides access to data on social, behavioral, humanistic, and natural sciences including history, economics, government, finance, sociology, demography, education, law, natural resources, climate, religion, international migration, and trade .
Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) This link opens in a new window Open Access HSDL is the nations premier collection of homeland security policy, strategy and organizational documents. This resource includes thousands of key, selected HS documents; full-text advanced search; hundreds of subject categories; direct links to important U.S. policy documents; online databases and journals; cutting edge NPS thesis and research reports; breaking news stories and newly released reports.
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 This link opens in a new window This resource offers a broad range of subject coverage in the humanities and social sciences with high-quality indexing of more than 1,300,000 articles in nearly 1,100 periodicals, dating as far back as 1907, as well as citations of over 240,000 book reviews.
Human Rights Studies Online This link opens in a new window Human Rights Studies Online provides comparative documentation, analysis, and interpretation of major human rights violations and atrocity crimes worldwide from 1900 to 2010. The collection includes primary and secondary materials across multiple media formats and content types for each selected event, including Armenia, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Darfur, and more than thirty additional subjects.
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window Downloading and viewing of data files may require proprietary software. An archive of computer-based research and instructional data for the social sciences administered by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West's Response to Jewish Emigration This link opens in a new window The Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR) was organized in London in August 1938 as a result of the Evian Conference of July 1938, which had been called by President Roosevelt to consider the problem of racial, religious, and political refugees from central Europe.
International Historical Statistics This link opens in a new window International Historical Statistics is collection of statistical data from around the world. It covers a wide range of socio-economic topics and provides key economic and social indicators for the last 260 years.
Military and Intelligence (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window Composed of content from over 400 journals, this resource covers all aspects of the past and current state of military affairs. Key subjects covered include: socioeconomic effects of war, governmental policies, the structure of armed forces, and many more.
NAACP Papers (History Vault) This link opens in a new window The NAACP Papers collection consists of 6 modules containing internal memos, legal briefings, and direct action summaries from national, legal, and branch offices throughout the country. These documents chart the NAACP's work, with a timeline that runs from 1909 to 1972; this covers the realities of segregation in the early 20th century to the triumphs of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and beyond.
Political Risk Yearbook Online To access to this resource, choose "Country Reports" in Business Source Premier and select "prs group, inc." under "Publisher" tab.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window Provides the tools for searching the Congressional Record, finding members of Congress, tracking proposed legislation by keyword and sponsor, and searching Congressional hearings, the Federal Register, the U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection, Congressional committee schedules, Committee Prints and Miscellaneous Publications, and Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports.
ProQuest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports This link opens in a new window Includes the full text of reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) which was established within the Library of Congress to provide members, committees, and congressional staff with nonpartisan and objective research and analysis on all public policy issues.
ProQuest U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection This link opens in a new window This resource is a growing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of the Congress, dating from 1789. It contains comprehensive and often detailed information on an extremely wide range of subjects, and includes Congressional reports and documents as well as executive agency and departmental reports ordered to be printed by Congress.
Roper iPoll This link opens in a new window Paid for by the Department of Political Science. Provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University, Roper iPoll is the largest collection of poll data - from 1935 to present. Contains data from U.S. and international polling firms with broad topical coverage of opinions and behavior on social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, and more. Questions, charts, demographic crosstabs, and dataset downloads are immediately available.
Shoah (Visual History Archive) This link opens in a new window USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive is a streaming collection of primary source video testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to genocide. Users can search through and view more than 55,000 video testimonies. Initially a repository of Holocaust (1939-1945) testimony, the Archive includes the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda; Anti-Rohingya Mass Violence (August-October 2017); Armenian Genocide (1915-23); and others. Patrons can click on “Register” and create a unique username and password, as official login is required for use of “My Projects/Bookmarked Projects/Shared Projects” features.
SIRS Knowledge Source This link opens in a new window A reference source which includes access to SIRS Issues Researcher, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance, and SIRS WebSelect.
Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window This collection provides access to databases covering the international literature in the social sciences, including politics, sociology, social services, anthropology, criminology, and education. Funded by statewide allocation.
Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (Proquest) This link opens in a new window Parliamentary Papers are the most detailed primary source for 19th-century Britain, its colonies and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic and foreign policy. They influenced public opinion and social and political philosophy, and provided a forum for the ideas of hundreds of thinkers, among them Jenner, Arnold, Trollope, Mill, Faraday, Babbage, Telford and Brunel.
War and Terrorism (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window A definitive periodical collection of hand selected titles for analysts, risk management professionals and students of military science, history and social science.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window This database provides abstracts and indexing of the international literature of political science and international relations, along with complementary fields, including international law and public administration/policy.

Newspaper Databases A - G

Access World News (Newsbank) This link opens in a new window Research diverse perspectives, topics and trends that align with curricular areas such as Political Science, English, Sociology, Humanities, Business, International Studies, and more. Features reliable, credible information from a wide variety of international, national, and local news sources including the including the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, and others.
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window This resource enables users to search more than 270 African American newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries. Created in partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress, African American Newspapers chronicles a century and a half of the African American experience.
America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1900 This link opens in a new window Early American newspapers including titles from all 50 present states. Includes: Early American Newspapers, Series I (1690-1876) and Series II (1758-1900).
Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876 This link opens in a new window Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876 enables users to search more than 66 newspaper titles from 22 islands, including Bermuda, published in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Chicago Tribune This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded.
Christian Science Monitor This link opens in a new window Full-text coverage of the Christian Science Monitor. Funded by statewide allocation.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers This link opens in a new window Open Access This site allows you to search and read newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
CQ Researcher Plus Archive This link opens in a new window The CQ Researcher explores a single "hot" issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science, and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year, including four expanded reports. Funded by statewide allocation.
Current Affairs in Video This link opens in a new window Current Affairs in Video features award-winning films and documentaries emphasizing detailed analysis and discussion of the critical issues of the day.
Education Week This link opens in a new window Independent, non-profit newspaper covering K-12 education. Published 37 times a year, including three issues of annual reports.
Ethnic NewsWatch and Ethnic NewsWatch: A History This link opens in a new window Ethnic NewsWatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW full-text titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream
Florida Digital Newspaper Library This link opens in a new window Open Access The Florida Digital Newspaper Library exists to provide access to the news and history of Florida.
Florida Newspaper Database This link opens in a new window Indexing to news resources from around the state. Includes some full text.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1974-1996 This link opens in a new window FBIS Daily Reports consists of translated broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals and government statements from nations around the globe.

Newspapers Databases H - Z

HarpWeek This link opens in a new window This resource provides electronic access to Harper's Weekly: 1857-1912.
Historical Atlanta Daily World This link opens in a new window This database offers full-page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage spans 1931- 2003.
Historical Chicago Defender This link opens in a new window Black Studies Center provides the full-text backfile, from 1910 to 1975, of the influential black newspaper The Chicago Defender.
Historical Los Angeles Sentinel This link opens in a new window This database offers full-page and article images with searchable full text, covering 1934 -2005. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
Historical Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window This database offers full-page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage spans 1881- 2000.
Historical New York Amsterdam News This link opens in a new window The Amsterdam News was founded as a six-page weekly covering local news by James Henry Anderson in 1909. Under the ownership of C. B. Powell and Philip M. H. Savory from 1938, it became the largest black community weekly in the United States. Contributors to the newspaper have included W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins and Malcolm X. Our coverage spans 1922-1993.
Historical New York Times This link opens in a new window This database offers full-page and article images from the New York Times from its first issue in 1851 to 2020. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.
Historical Pittsburgh Courier This link opens in a new window This database offers full-page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage spans 1911- 2002.

Historical U.S. Newspapers (Primary Source Guide) The United States Historical Newspaper Research Subject Guide provides the research with links to historical American Newspapers.

Historical Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window Each issue is indexed for easy searching; and this resource offers complete pages and images from the run dating back to the first 1889 issue through 2012.

Historical World Newspapers (Primary Source Guide) This resource is a Subject Research Guide that links historical newspapers worldwide.

Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new window The Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines website makes it possible for you to discover the lively news stories, illustrations, cartoons, editorials, biographies, literature, and even advertisements that shaped and reflected public opinion in this era.
Latin American Newspapers This link opens in a new window This collection provides more than 35 fully searchable key Latin American newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries, featuring titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and elsewhere.
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window Also see Historical Los Angeles Times. Major daily newspaper from Los Angeles. With the nation's largest editorial department, it offers extensive coverage of national, international, and local news.
Meet the Press This link opens in a new window Network television's longest running program (premiering in 1947), Meet the Press, is now searchable on a single platform, and includes thousands of interviews, panels, and debates. Many episodes have not been seen since their original broadcast.
Miami Herald Collection with Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including archive years of the Miami Herald from 1911 to 1982.
Miami Herald Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Archive years of the Miami Herald from 1911 to 1982, with full-text content of local and regional news.
Nation Archive This link opens in a new window This database contains indexing & abstracting and full text for the complete archive of The Nation beginning with its first issue in 1865 through to the present.
New York Times This link opens in a new window Also see Historical New York Times. Provides coverage of national and international news, plus coverage of important speeches and documents, Supreme Court decisions and presidential press conference transcripts.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window Accesses over a billion full-text news, magazine, legal, and business articles and reports, including newspapers, magazines, state and federal laws and regulations, case law, newsletters, and company and industry information. Funded by statewide allocation.
Palm Beach Post This link opens in a new window Complete full text of local and regional news.
Readex AllSearch This link opens in a new window Cross-search historical collections containing books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents, and ephemera. This resource provides access to America's Historical Imprints, including Early American Imprints Series I: Evans, Early American Imprints Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, American Civil War Collection, and American Slavery Collection; America's Historical Newspapers, including African American Newspapers and Caribbean Newspapers; Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports; and World Newspaper Archive: Latin American Newspapers.
Regional Business News This link opens in a new window Provides comprehensive full-text coverage for regional business publications, including business journals, newspapers, and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.
Sun Sentinel This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window Search with the Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive on Gale NewsVault. Researchers can search through the complete digital edition of The Times (London), using keyword searching and hit-term highlighting to retrieve full-facsimile images of either a specific article or a complete page. The entire newspaper is captured, with all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching.
Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Search with the Times Digital Archive on Gale NewsVault. Includes the complete run of The Times Literary Supplement from 1902 to 2008, including reviews, letters, poems, articles and literary criticism. The TLS has attracted the contributions of the worlds most influential writers and critics, from T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf in the 1920s and 30s to A.N. Wilson and Christopher Hitchens in the 1990s and 2000s.
USA Today This link opens in a new window With daily circulation exceeding 2 million in all 50 states, USA TODAY is the most widely read newspaper in the country.
Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window Also see Historical Wall Street Journal. The paper is considered the preeminent publication for business news and information on financial markets worldwide. Each issue of every newspaper is indexed thoroughly, so researchers can access not only top news stories but also detailed information from all the paper's sections. For each article cited in the database, an abstract of up to 75 words helps the researcher know if the complete text will meet his or her needs.
Washington Post This link opens in a new window Coverage of national, international, and local news. The Washington Post is renowned for its political reporting, editorials and columnists.
Westlaw This link opens in a new window Westlaw enables students and faculty to research law-related issues. This comprehensive collection of legal content includes expert's analysis from hundreds of law reviews and journals, encyclopedias, treatises and full-text legislation, regulations, and court decisions.