How to Research Government & Politics
Find Books, Find Articles or Find Internet resources. A print version of this guide is available in COM Library, but this online version should always be more current. Still have questions after reading this guide?

Find Books
How to find books.

Subject Headings
When you want books, search the library catalog for the following subject headings. Try the Library of Congress Subject Headings books for more subject headings.

Government
Government and the Press--United States
Government Executives--United States
Political Corruption--United States
Political Ethics
Political Participation--Texas
Political Parties
Political Science
Political Science--History--United States
Political Science --United States
Texas--Politics and Government
United States--Economic Policy
United States--Officials and Employees
United States--Politics and Government
United States--Congress--Biography

Call Numbers
If you want to browse the shelves, try the following call numbers in reference and the main collection.

J - General Legislative and Executive Papers
JA - Collections and General Works
JC - Political Theory. Theory of the State
JF - General works. Comparative Works
JK - United States
JL - British America. Latin America
JN - Europe
JQ - Asia. Africa. Australia. Oceania
JS - Local Government
JV - Colonies and Colonization. Emigration and Immigration
JZ - International Relations

Reference Books
When you need factual information like statistics, definitions, and scientific values/tables, try reference books. Reference books are kept in a separate collection on the main floor of the library. The list below includes frequently used reference books with their call numbers. Check the library catalog for additional reference materials.

The Almanac of American Politics JK 1012 A44 Ref
Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on American Government JK 274 W449 1995 Ref
Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on the States JK 2408 W48 1999
Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress JK 1021 C565 2000 Ref
Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America JK 1010 C67 Ref
The Electoral Politics Dictionary JK 1971 R46 1989 Ref
Elections A-Z JK 1976 M57 1999 Ref
Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System JF 501 E53 1994 Ref
The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress JK 1067 E63 1995 Ref
Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court KF 8742 W567 1997 Ref
The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions KF 4548 097 1999 Ref
Politics in America JK 1010 P64 Ref
The Statesman's Yearbook JA 51 S7 Ref
Congressional Directory JK 1011 U5 Ref
World Encyclopedia of Political Systems & Parties JF 2011 W67 1987 Ref

eBooks
COM Library has access to eBooks, electronic versions of printed books. To access them, go to Find Books and click on eBooks. From this page you can access both free eBooks and eBooks only available to COM Library users. Through NetLibrary you can access thousands of full text books. Please note the special instructions on the eBooks page for accessing the NetLibrary collection. Access eBooks now.

Tip: Want more info on NetLibrary?
Try COM Library's Getting Started with NetLibrary.

Find Articles
< ">How to find articles.COM Library has print and online databases that can help you locate articles. If an article is unavailable from COM Library, we will be glad to request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). The length of time it takes to obtains an article through ILL can vary from next day to several weeks, depending on the lending library.

Online Databases
COM Library has access to many online databases that have full text articles.

Best Bet Databases
To access the COM Library databases that are your best bets, go to COM Library's Databases: Government & Law.

Periodicals
The list below reflects periodicals currently subscribed to by the COM Library:

Congressional Digest
CQ Weekly
Current History
The Economist
Foreign Affairs
National Review
New American
New Republic
Newsweek
The Progressive
Public Affairs Comment
Social Forces
Supreme Court Debates
Texas Observer
Texas Republic
Time
UN Chronicle
US News & World Report
World Press Review

Find Internet
How to find Internet sites.

The Internet can be an excellent resource for information. To search for Internet resources on your own, access some of the best search engines and directories on the Internet from COM Library's Search page. COM Library has also created it's own directory, Internet by Subject, that covers many topics. Web Sites has a specific page that covers your topic, with links to some of the best resources on the Internet:

COM Library pages
Government
Civic Participation, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Elections, Find Your Elected Officials, International, Political Documents, Political Parties, Public Policy & Issues, Political Theory, Texas, United States Government, US Executive Branch, US Judicial Branch, US Legislative Branch, US State Government

Best Bets on the Internet
allpolitics.com
The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History and Government
CIA: Publications and Handbooks
The Electronic Embassy
FirstGOV
Guide to Law Online
OYEZ Project
Roll Call
Thomas
United Nations
US Department of State
US House of Representatives
US Information Agency: An Outline of American Government
The United States Senate
The White House
The World Bank
Yahoo! Full Coverage Politics

Reserves
Material placed on reserve by your instructor should be requested at the circulation desk. Some library items are placed on permanent reserve and also must be requested at the circulation desk. You may check for reserves by clicking on the Course Reserves tab in the library catalog.

Questions?

If you still have questions after reading this guide, try some of COM Library's FAQs, or you may ask the Reference Librarian for assistance. The Reference Office is located on the ground floor of the library near the Online Library.

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How to Research Government & Politics Find Books, Find Articles or Find Internet resources. A print version of this guide is available in COM Library, but this online version should always be more current. Still have questions after reading this guide?

Find Books How to find books.

Subject Headings When you want books, search the library catalog for the following subject headings. Try the Library of Congress Subject Headings books for more subject headings.

Call Numbers If you want to browse the shelves, try the following call numbers in reference and the main collection.

Online Databases COM Library has access to many online databases that have full text articles.

Periodicals The list below reflects periodicals currently subscribed to by the COM Library:

Find Internet How to find Internet sites.

Reserves Material placed on reserve by your instructor should be requested at the circulation desk. Some library items are placed on permanent reserve and also must be requested at the circulation desk. You may check for reserves by clicking on the Course Reserves tab in the library catalog.

Questions? If you still have questions after reading this guide, try some of COM Library's FAQs, or you may ask the Reference Librarian for assistance. The Reference Office is located on the ground floor of the library near the Online Library.