Research Guides: Political Science Research Guide: Online Sources

Online Sources

Recommended sites about political science.

The American Presidency Project
"The American Presidency Project (APP), non-profit and non-partisan, is the leading source of presidential documents on the internet. Our archives contain 126,702 documents and are growing rapidly. The APP, hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been a collaboration between John T. Woolley (UCSB) and Gerhard Peters (Citrus College) since 1999."
C-SPAN Video Library
"C-SPAN is a public service created by the American Cable Television Industry" that provides access to government proceedings and information.
Center for American Women and Politics
"The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is nationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about American women’s political participation. Its mission is to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life."
CIA World Factbook
"The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map."
Commission on Presidential Debates
"The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. Its primary purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates."
Compilation of Presidential Documents
"The Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)."
Council of State Governments
"Founded in 1933, The Council of State Governments is our nation’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. This offers unparalleled regional, national and international opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships."
ElectionGuide
"ElectionGuide is provided by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an international nonprofit dedicated to strengthening electoral democracy. Launched in 1998 through a grant from USAID and currently funded by the same, ElectionGuide is the most comprehensive and timely source of verified election information available online."
Federal Election Commission
"The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency and the Vice Presidency."
Guide to the House and Senate Members
"This online Guide to the House and Senate Members of ... Congress is intended to be a single point of access for Member information from several different official sources."
Library of Congress: Country Studies
"Contains the electronic versions of 80 books previously published in hard copy as part of the Country Studies Series by the Federal Research Division. Intended for a general audience, books in the series present a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of select countries throughout the world." Note: Many of these studies are over 20 years old and provide more of an historical view than a current one.
Miller Center
"The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history and strives to apply the lessons of history and civil discourse to the nation's most pressing contemporary governance challenges."
Political Science: Terms and Concepts
Alphabetical list of links from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed., provided by Infoplease.
State & Local Government Internet Directory
"The State and Local Government Internet directory provides convenient one-stop access to the websites of thousands of state agencies and city and county governments."
U.S. Department of State
"The State Department's mission is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere. This mission is shared with the USAID, ensuring we have a common path forward in partnership as we invest in the shared security and prosperity that will ultimately better prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow."
U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions
List of links to U.S. embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions from the U.S. Department of State.
United Nations
"The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter."

Political science-related associations and organizations.

American Political Science Association
"Founded in 1903, the American Political Science Association is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 12,000 members in more than 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments, and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe to deepen our understanding of politics, democracy, and citizenship throughout the world."
Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs
"APSIA brings together the leading graduate schools around the world, which specialize in international affairs. We strengthen our members and affiliates by gathering information and sharing ideas. We connect prospective students and employers to our member schools, so that they can capitalize on the skills an APSIA education provides. We collaborate with other higher education institutions and the professional international affairs community in order to address common problems."
European Consortium for Political Research
"The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is an independent scholarly association, established in 1970. Its 350 institutional members across around 50 countries represent the leading universities, students and senior academics engaged in the research and teaching of political science worldwide."
International Association for Political Science Students
"The International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS) is a platform for political science students and students interested in political science issues. The association is international, politically independent, non-profit and student-run, and aims to have global impact in the political science sphere. IAPSS seeks to strengthen the academic profile and skills of all members by offering various opportunities for development."
International Political Science Association
"The special mandate of IPSA, expressed in its Constitution, is to support the development of political science in all parts of the world, building academic networks linking East and West, North and South. Its aim is to create an inclusive and global political science community in which all can participate. It seeks to promote collaboration between scholars in emerging and established democracies and to support the academic freedoms needed for the social sciences to flourish."
Political Studies Association
"The Political Studies Association exists to develop and promote the study of politics. Founded in 1950, we are the leading Association in our field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership including academics in political science and current affairs, theorists and practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and students in higher education."
Southern Political Science Association
"The Southern Political Science Association is one of the oldest and largest political science organizations in the United States. Founded in 1929, its primary purposes are to publish a professional journal, to improve teaching, to promote interest and research in theoretical and practical political problems, to encourage communication and to develop standards of competence and respect between persons engaged in the professional study and practice of government and politics."

Alternative search engines. Useful for locating specific types of sources.

Congress.gov
"Presented by the Library of Congress, Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information."
FDsys (Federal Digital System)
"GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government."
Google Images
Image search from Google - either text-based or reverse image.
Google News
A news aggregator
Science.gov
"Science.gov searches over 60 databases and over 2,200 scientific websites to provide users with access to more than 200 million pages of authoritative federal science information including research and development results."
TinEye Reverse Image Search
Reverse image search - upload an image or provide a URL to an image's online location.
USA.gov
"USA.gov is an interagency product administered by USAGov (formerly the Federal Citizen Information Center), a division of the U.S. General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Service. Our mission is to create and organize timely, needed government information and services and make them accessible anytime, anywhere, via your channel of choice."
WolframAlpha
"Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers—not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods."
Want to have fun? Look what the response is to the question "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"