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PSCI 4490: Public Policymaking

This class page is based on the Research Paper required for Dr. Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha's Political Science 4490 course; however, it has basic research steps that are useful for any research you do. For your research project, you will need to address a major debate in American Public Policy. This is a 6-8 page paper using at least 5 scholarly or peer reviewed sources. Your paper MUST include at least one journal article from American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Social Science Quarterly, or Policy Studies Journal. If you find you need more help, use the Ask Us services. Library reference staff members can be reached in person and through phone and email. You may also contact the library liaison for the Political Science Department, Julie Leuzinger.

Basic Steps in Researching for a Paper

First Step: How to find books: Search the UNT Libraries Catalog

• Click on this link for UNT Library Catalog
• Select  Subject from the tabs across the top.
  
• Search by subject to find journals and books about your topic. For other searches, keyword is the better choice. Once you get to the subject page you will see a list of subjects within the library's catalog that refer to your topic, select one of these subjects.

Second Step: How to find a specific journal title through the library catalog

•  Click on this link for UNT Library Catalog
• Select Journal Title from the tabs across the top (circled in red below).
• In the search box below, type in the title of the journal, for example: American Journal of Political Science (highlighted in yellow below).
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• After you click Submit, you will be directed to links to the library's print and online holding.
  
• If you are researching at home, you may select American Journal of Political Science Online to view the databases that carry this journal title full text (highlighted in yellow below).
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• Pay special attention to the dates of coverage listed next to the database title, for example the listing shows the library has Full text available from JSTOR Arts and Sciences I Archive Collection: 02/01/1973 to 10/31/09 (highlighted in yellow below). If you need older articles that show the progression of your debate topic throughout history, you may select this link to go to JSTOR. In JSTOR, use the search this title box at the top right to search for your debate topic.
  
• If you are looking for the most current articles on your debate topic you may want to select instead the link, Full text available from Wiley-Blackwell Full Collection: 2003-present (highlighted in yellow below). In Wiley, use the search in this journal text box on the right hand side to search for your debate topic.
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• Each journal title is available full-text in different databases and you will need to go through the same selection process to determine which link to use; however, the basic steps to get to the journal title are the same.
  

Third Step: How to find articles through Academic Search Complete

• Click on this link for Academic Search Complete (if you are working off campus you will need to enter your EUID and Password)
• Click on Academic Search Complete because it has full text journal, magazine, and newspaper articles and book reviews in the social sciences, humanities, general science, multicultural studies, education, and others
• Enter the topic you are searching in the find section and click Search.
• From the results page you can use the limiters on the left hand side to limit to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Sources.
  

Third Step: How to find information on PolicyFile

• Why use PolicyFile? PolicyFile includes over 106,000 U.S. public policy records from 1995 to the present on U.S. foreign and domestic policy papers and gray literature, and includes documents from various government agencies, think tanks, and research institutes.
• Click on the PolicyFile link above and follow the example below by searching the term clean energy (highlighted in yellow), then click Go! (circled in blue).
  
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• From the results list you can Sort Results Chronologically by publication date (highlighted in yellow below) with the drop down menu then click Sort (circled in blue).
• Another feature of note is: See results by organization type on the left side of the page (circled in blue)
• Note: Only the items with the document icon will have the full text available, you must click on the document icon to view the full text file (document icon is circled in blue below).
• Note: You can create a Marked List for select downloading and exporting options (i.e. email, citation software).
  
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What is a Peer Reviewed Source?

Peer reviewed sources are articles reviewed by a panel of experts in the field before being published.

(For more information, see the What is a Peer-Reviewed Journal Article? page)

How to evaluate websites

S = Source, Somebody created this site? Who?
N = Nature, Why does this site exist? Purpose?
A = Appearance/Accessibility, Does this site function efficiently?
P = Page Content, Is the information accurate and reliable?

(For more information, see the Evaluating Websites page)

Political Science Resources

Use the Political Science Subject Guide for subject specific resources.

Additional Public Policy Resource

PolicyArchive includes over 20,000 documents  of global, non-partisan public policy research includes summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research.

APSA Style examples online:

You are required to use the American Political Science Association Style citations for your research paper.

WRITING HELP:

For Writing assistance please contact the writing lab.

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