Picking a Topic Suggested Reference Material: Finding Books Catalog: Use this link to find Books, government documents, reserve items, music, movies and journal titles (NOT JOURNAL ARTICLES) in our library. Finding online documents and books in our catalog Finding books at other NJ academic libaries Finding Articles Strategies for searching the databases: Using Interlibrary Loan Finding Specific Journals in the Library

 

Picking a Topic

 

• Selecting a topic for a research paper or project can be very challenging. You'll want to select a topic that is of interest to you. This will make the research, reading and writing less of a chore. (TIP: Start with a broad topic. It's easier to eliminate information as you write than it is to start with too little.) It's a good idea to wait to decide on a topic until you do some preliminary searching for books, articles, and web-based resources. If you can't find enough material, you will want the flexibility to select a new topic. A great way to begin your preliminary research is to browse the REFERENCE SECTION in the library (located on the 3rd floor).

 

Suggested Reference Material:

 

America at the Polls Volume 1: 1920-1956; Volume 2: 1960-2000	Ref JK524.M33 2001
America Votes Volume 21, 1994+	Ref JK1967.A8
Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Organizations	Ref JK468.C7 E5 2007
Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures: A Year by Year Summary, 1796-2006	Ref JK2488.D83 2007
Presidential Elections 1789-2000	Ref JK524.P6783 2002
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States	Print edition: Ref J80.A283 Herbert Hoover, 1929-19133 - George W. Bush, 2003 and 2004
Statistical Abstract of the United States--2008	Ready Reference: 2006 edition: HA202.U5 2006
The United States Government Manual	Print edition: Ready Reference JK421.A3 2007/2008
Vital Statistics on American Politics Volumes from 1988 through 2005/2006	Ref JK274.S74 2006
Dictionaries
Brewer's Politics: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary	Ref JA61.C663 1993
Dictionary of Political Thought	Ref JA 61.S37
Encyclopedias and Handbooks
Encyclopedia of Government and Politics	Ref JA61.C66 2004
Oxford Handbook of Political Theory	Ref JA71.O95 2006
Political Philosophy: Theories, Thinkers, Concepts	Ref JA71.P6226 2001
Additional Material
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International and Archive	Online access
Survey Research Methodology, 1990-1999: An Annotated Bibliography	Ref Z7164.S667 .W35 2003

 

TIP: Use the bibliographies at the end of articles, books, encyclopedias, and dictinaries to locate more material on your topic.

 

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Finding Books

 

Catalog: Use this link to find Books, government documents, reserve items, music, movies and journal titles (NOT JOURNAL ARTICLES) in our library.

Use the Basic Search to find material using Keywords

 

• For example: search for "political campaigns" or campaigns and funding to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
• When you find an appropriate title, click on the Subjects, etc. tab located at the top of a catalog record to see which Library of Congress subject headings are discussed in that particular book/DVD/periodical

 

 

OR

• Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress subject heading, for example:
  • Political statistics
  • Comparative government--Methodology
  • Public institutions
  • Local Elections--New Jersey
  • Election law
  • Elections--Corrupt practices

OR

• Go to Advanced Search

  • The Boolean search terms are built in for your use:
    • AND: you're directing the system to search for material on both terms you've entered
    • OR: you're directing the system to search for meaterial on either of the search terms you have entered
    • NOT: you're directing the system to search for material on the first term you have entered and to exclude any material on the second term you have entered
  • The catalog system will provide morre focused results

 

For Example: I'm writing a paper on campaigns and debates.

My FIRST search might be: campaigns and debates

DON'T STOP here! Revise your searches and use the results to find other material

Revised Search: I want to focus on television coupled with political campaigns.

My NEXT search: television in campaigns.

   TIPS 

1. Start with broad searches. It's much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
2. If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Subjects, etc. tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
3. You can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.
4. Give yourself time!

 

 

• Finding online documents and books in our catalog

 

• Documents Without Shelves Collection: Online access to U.S. documents and books via the online catalog

  • To limit your search to this collection, go to More Limits (right-hand side of the screen) and scroll down the Location Bar to select Documents Without Shelves
  • This collection includes U.S. Government publications ranging from one-page reports to 300-page books
  • Books will be accessible by chapter or section
  • Tip Don't click on print until you're sure of what you're printing!

   

• To locate all online material, such as e-books, Documents Without Shelves titles, and databases, Scroll down the Quick limit menu (left-hand side of screen) to select Online material, and enter your search term.

 

 

 

• Finding books at other NJ academic libaries

 

• VALE Catalog: use this link to locate material at other NJ academic libraries. Use Interlibrary Loan to get the material you find or drive to local schools and pick up the book.

 

 

 

 

 

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Finding Articles

 

• The databases are for finding journal articles
• They're available to you 24/7 
• Off campus use requires login: Ramapo email username and password

 

• Some useful Databases for your projects:

 

JSTOR Complete	Entirely full-text, from scholarly journals.  Cannot email articles -- email yourself the stable URL. **Do not print from browser print button. Use the JSTOR print option.
Project MUSE	Full-text access to prestigious humanities and social sciences journals
Lexis Nexis Academic	Full-text coverage of newstopics
Gallup Brain OR http://gallup.com	Contains records of more than 70 years of public opinion polls
See also:
America: History & Life	Abstract database. Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the Check availability at Ramapo link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.
Wilson Omnifile Full Text Mega	A multi-disciplinary database containing both full-text articles and citations. Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the Check for full-text link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.
The Historical New York Times	Full-text and full-image articles for issues dating back to 1851
America's Newspapers	Provides full-text articles from the electronic editions of record for more than 300 U.S. newspapers

 

 

 

Strategies for searching the databases:

 

 

• Go back and revise your searches! Use different terms and synonyms.
• Switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
• Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) when running a search. For Example: Political debates and "presidential campaigns"
  • AND: narrows your search. e.g., political debates and presidential campaigns
  • OR: broadens your search. e.g., television or radio and political debates
  • NOT: eliminates the second term. e.g., Television not radio
• Always check your spelling if the catalog or database results are zero
• To look for full-text use the check availablity at Ramapo, primary catalog, or check availability links in the databases
• Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link in databases to find the best search (or descriptor) terms to use
• Limit or filter searches to scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic, or refereed articles. These articles are found in journals which have been reviewed by a board of experts: peer reviewed. The database generally has an option for specifying this limit. If it doesn't, you can check to see if an article is coming from a peer-reviewed publication by checking in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory. 

 

 

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Using Interlibrary Loan

 

• Use Interlibrary Loan if we don't have a book or article that you need
  • but keep in mind that books can take 2-3 weeks to get to Ramapo, and articles may take several days or longer to arrive

 

• Fill out the online form using your Ramapo email address--it won't be processed without it! 

 

 

 

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Finding Specific Journals in the Library

 

 

• Use the Journal Finder to see if you have access to the full-text of the article you need. Full-text can be either online or in print. 

• For example, you need an article from the 2002 issue of the Journal of Politics. Enter the title in the Journal Finder search window, and you'll get the following results:

 

available in Print Holdings	Library Catalog	Coverage:v.15- 1953- (v.1-38 1953-1976 MICROFILM) Location: Open Stacks
available from EBSCO Host in EBSCO Academic Search Premier	find periodical	Full Text: 1975-02-01 - 12 months ago
available from EBSCO Host in EBSCO Business Source Premier	find periodical	Full Text: 1975-02-01 - 12 months ago
available in JSTOR	find periodical	Full Text: 1939-02-01 - 2004-11-01

 

 We have print copies from 1953 until the present, and they're located in the Periodicals Area on the second floor. But you also have access to articles online via three databases: JSTOR, from 1939 through November 2004, and Academic Search Premier and Business Source Premier from February 1975 until 12 months ago.You can find your article in the print copy or you can access it through Academic Search Premier or through Business Source Premier.

 

 

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