Using Reference Sources
What is a Reference Source?
The video below gives a quick overview of what references sources are and why they might be useful for research.
Reference Resources
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryFull text multi-disciplinary database of reference books, encyclopedias, and handbooks.
- Oxford Reference Online Premium CollectionMulti-disciplinary compilation of reference sources and includes full text articles, definitions, and quotations. Limited to five simultaneous users.
- Sage KnowledgeIncludes ebooks and video covering all aspects of the social sciences such as education, media, communication, cultural studies, counseling, psychotherapy, business, management, politics, international relations, psychology, sociology, criminology, and criminal justice.
The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States by ISBN: 9780195176612Publication Date: 2005-05-19
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government by
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government is the ultimate resource for authoritative information on the U.S. Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court. Compiled by three top scholars, its pages brim with the key figures, events, and structures that have animated U.S. government for morethan 200 years.In addition to coverage of the 2000 Presidential race and election, this Guide features biographies of all the Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices, as well as notable members of Congress, including current leadership; historical commentary on past elections, majorPresidential decisions, international and domestic programs, and the key advisors and agencies of the executive branch; in-depth analysis of Congressional leadership and committees, agencies and staff, and historic legislation; and detailed discussions of 100 landmark Supreme Court cases and themajor issues facing the Court today. In addition to entries that define legal terms and phrases and others that elaborate on the wide array of government traditions, this invaluable book includes extensive back matter, including tables of Presidential election results; lists of Presidents, VicePresidents, Congresses, and Supreme Court Justices with dates of service; lists of Presidential museums, libraries, and historic sites; relevant websites; and information on visiting the White House, the Capitol, and Supreme Court buildings.A one-stop, comprehensive guide that will assist students, educators, and anyone curious about the inner workings of government, The Oxford Guide to the United States Government will be a valued addition to any home library.
ISBN: 9780195142730Publication Date: 2001-07-04
The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions by ISBN: 9780195379396Publication Date: 2009-03-11
The Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis by ISBN: 9780199270439Publication Date: 2006-06-01
World Maps
This title now includes over 775 maps, with locator, physical and political maps for each country, over 120 island maps, state maps for North America, Canada, and Mexico, and more than 100 city maps.
ISBN: 9780199652921
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History by
This authoritative dictionary provides in-depth coverage of major recent historical events, from 1900 to the present day. It includes country entries for every country in the world, with maps and historical summaries. Additionally, the dictionary includes biographical entries on majorhistorical and cultural figures, political and military leaders, and the thinkers who influenced events. Subject entries cover international organizations, treaties, religious and political movements, as well as key incidents, places, and battles.The new edition has been fully revised and updated, and boasts a wealth of new material including entry-level web links updated via a companion website to ensure that they remain contemporary, extended coverage of historical context in the country entries, and new and expanded biographical entrieson figures such as Angela Merkel and President 'Lula' of Brazil.With over 2,600 entries, all written by an authority in the field, this is a comprehensive reference work that will prove invaluable to a range of readers from students of history, politics, and international relations, to anyone with an interest in the modern world.
ISBN: 9780199295678Publication Date: 2008-03-16
Dictionary of the Social Sciences by
The Dictionary of the Social Sciences is a comprehensive reference work with over 1700 entries ranging from fifty to five hundred words covering topics such as anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, cultural studies, human and cultural geography, and Marxism.The Dictionary is aimed at students and scholars who need ready access to defined terms in a social science outside of their immediate area of expertise, for example an economist needing information regarding a political science term.The question 'What are the social sciences?' is one to which no final answer can be given, since - like other groupings of scientific and academic fields - the social sciences differ in their scope from one generation to another. There are also within-generation differences: witness the continuingcontroversies over whether history should be considered as one of the social sciences or as a humanistic discipline; whether geography is an independent social science or a synthetic discipline that draws upon both the social sciences and the earth sciences; whether law is a social science or a bodyof professional and philosophical knowledge; whether psychology belongs with the social or the natural sciences; and whether psychiatry is a social science or a branch of medicine. While the proposed dictionary will reflect the contemporary concerns of the editors, entries will certainly representsocial anthropology, economics, political sciences, sociology, and statistical methodologies. The Dictinary will necessary avoid a thorough overview of these disciplines - the criteria for inclusion will limit entries to those topics in each area that will be of interest to trans-disciplinary users.A thematically organized bibliography will also be included.'Craig Calhoun is a superb choice as editor in chief. He is a fine scholar, with exceptionally wide-ranging interests in all the social sciences. What's more, he is tied into various "invisible colleges" and cognitive networks that transcend his own primary interest in sociology. I believe that youhave hit upon a prime prospect.'- Robert Merton, University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University'I do not know Craig Calhoun personally, but his career suggests he is certainly competent and well-connected. Yes, I do recommend publication.'- David L. Sills
ISBN: 9780195123715Publication Date: 2002-05-02
A Dictionary of Political Biography
Compiled by an expert team of contributors, this dictionary covers all the major figures in world politics of the twentieth century. Authoritative and wide-ranging, it describes and assesses the lives of more than 1,000 men and women who have shaped political events across the world.
ISBN: 9780199569137
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics by
This best-selling dictionary contains over 1,700 entries on all aspects of politics. Written by a leading team of political scientists, it embraces the whole multi-disciplinary specturm of political theory including political thinkers, history, institutions, and concepts, as well as notablecurrent affairs that have shaped attitudes to politics. An appendix contains timelines listing the principal office-holders of a range of countries including the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and China.Fully revised and updated for the 3rd edition, the dictionary includes a wealth of new material in areas such as international relations, political science, political economy, and methodologies, as well as a chronology of key political theorists. It also boasts entry-level Internet links that don'tgo out of date. These can be accessed via a regularly checked and updated companion website, ensuring that the links remain relevent, and any dead links are replaced or removed.The dictionary has international coverage and will prove invaluable to students and academics studying politics and related disciplines, as well as politicians, journalists, and the general reader seeking clarification of political terms.
ISBN: 9780199207800Publication Date: 2009-03-19
Encyclopedia of Power by
Power is a central concept in many disciplines in the social sciences, including political science, sociology, social-psychology, organization studies, urban politics and planning. Where the term is less often used, such as in economics, it has been reduced to other concepts. Despite, or perhaps because of, its ubiquity, it has been analyzed in numerous and diverse ways in different discourse communities. This encyclopedia provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the use of power in those different discourses, enabling the different language communities to learn from each other. It provides a compendium of the concepts that build the ways in which power is conceptualized and provides analyses of related concepts. It also provides a sourcebook for those interested in studying power and cross references the many insights that have been provided by theorists over the years. There are various levels at which power has been used in the social sciences. Formal models of power use power indices, cooperative game theory, and non-cooperative game theory. Some of these definitions are very technical but here are explained clearly and simply. Other more diffuse accounts of power are defined, discussed, and analyzed and their implications for social research drawn out. The nature of power has been debated conceptually, methodologically, and empirically at the personal, organizational, social, urban, national, and international levels. Those debates are discussed and appraised. Particular applications of power studies to, for example, the role of parties in coalition governments, the nature of prime ministerial versus presidential power, power in organizations, and within personal relations will all be covered. There are entries on individual theorists of power and their influence on the discipline. The encyclopedia will give a comprehensive coverage of the use of power in the social sciences. The encyclopedia will provide a one-stop point of reference for the diverse and complex ways in which power has been used, as well as providing a reference for debates central to the issues of power in different contexts. It will also provide a point of reference for related topics and show how these are related to power.
ISBN: 9781412927482Publication Date: 2011-02-01
Encyclopedia of Political Theory by
In discussing a topic, political science lecturers and course textbooks often toss out the name of a theorist or make a sideways reference to a particular theory and move on, as if assuming their student audience possesses the necessary background to appreciate and integrate the reference. However, academic librarians can tell you this is usually far from the case. Students often approach them seeking a source to provide a quick overview of a particular theory or theorist with just the basics: the who, what, where, how, and why. And librarians often find it difficult to guide these students to a quick, one-stop source. SAGE Reference presents the three-volume Encyclopedia of Political Theory, available in both print and electronic formats. This work serves as a reference source for anyone interested in the roots of contemporary political theory. Drawing together a team of international scholars, it examines the global landscape of all the key theories and the theorists behind them, presenting them in the context needed to understand their strengths and weaknesses. In addition to interpretations of long-established theories, it also offers essays on cutting-edge research as one might find in a handbook. And, like an unabridged dictionary, it provides concise, to-the-point definitions of key concepts, ideas, schools, and figures. Coverage includes: -Ancient Theory -Medieval Theory -Early Modern Theory -Enlightenment -Modern Theory -Constitutionalism -Liberalism -Critical Theory -Continental Theory -Empirical Theory -Comparative Political Thought.
ISBN: 9781412958653Publication Date: 2010-03-18
The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism by
Recent years have seen the reemergence of libertarian thought as a significant force, both in the academy and in political life. As libertarian ideas have gained in prominence, so has the need for a standard reference work. Accordingly, this project has been initiated to serve as a useful introduction to and compendium of libertarian scholarship via a series of brief articles on the historical, sociological, and economic aspects of libertarianism within the broader context. As a continuation of the older tradition of classical liberalism, libertarian thinking draws on a rich body of thought and scholarship. Contemporary libertarian scholars are continuing that tradition by making substantial contributions to such fields as philosophy, jurisprudence, economics, evolutionary psychology, political theory, and history. Notably, a number of economists who profess classical liberal or libertarian views have received the Nobel Prize in recent years, such as Vernon Smith. Robert Nozick′s book Anarchy, State, & Utopia sparked a tremendous debate among philosophers and has influenced moral and political theory. Evolutionary psychology has emerged as a new forum for the study of human nature, and much of that work has been pioneered by libertarian-leaning thinkers. Ronald Coase, Richard Posner, Richard Epstein, and others have revitalized the study of jurisprudence by focusing attention on incentives and on such grown institutions as property and common-law rules. Libertarians also have been active in political life, especially since the collapse of the communist states, which focused attention on problems of the formation and evolution of rights and legal institutions. The works of libertarian thinkers such as F. A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, and Milton Friedman are now available in dozens of languages, much as the works of Marx and Lenin were decades ago. Within the entries contained in this encyclopedia, readers will find overviews of all this and more.
ISBN: 9781412965804Publication Date: 2008-08-15
21st Century Political Science: a Reference Handbook by
Via 100 entries or ′mini-chapters′, the SAGE 21st Century Reference Series volumes on political science highlight the most important topics, issues, questions and debates any student obtaining a degree in this field need to master for effectiveness in the 21st century. The set provides undergraduate students with an authoritative reference source that will serve their research needs with more detailed information than encyclopedia entries but not so much jargon, detail or density as a journal article or a research handbook chapter. Topics covered include: theory and methdology basic institutions of government political ideologies and cultures public opinion political parties and elections political communication political economy international relations and institutions.
ISBN: 9781412969017Publication Date: 2010-10-22
The SAGE Handbook of Governance by
The study of governance has risen to prominence as a way of describing and explaining changes in our world. The SAGE Handbook of Governance presents an authoritative and innovative overview of this fascinating field, with particular emphasis on the significant new and emerging theoretical issues and policy innovations. The Handbook is divided into three parts. Part one explores the major theories influencing current thinking and shaping future research in the field of governance. Part two deals specifically with changing practices and policy innovations, including the changing role of the state, transnational and global governance, markets and networks, public management, and budgeting and finance. Part three explores the dilemmas of managing governance, including attempts to rethink democracy and citizenship as well as specific policy issues such as capacity building, regulation, and sustainable development. This volume is an excellent resource for advanced students and researchers in political science, economics, geography, sociology, and public administration. Mark Bevir is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
ISBN: 9781847875778Publication Date: 2011-01-19
The SAGE Handbook of Political Communication by
This authoritative and comprehensive survey of political communication draws together a team of the world′s leading scholars to provide a state-of-the-art review that sets the agenda for future study. It is divided into five sections: Part One: explores the macro-level influences on political communication such as the media industry, new media, technology, and political systems Part Two: takes a grassroots perspective of the influences of social networks - real and online - on political communication Part Three: discusses methodological advances in political communication research Part Four: focuses on power and how it is conceptualized in political communication Part Five: provides an international, regional, and comparative understanding of political communication in its various contexts The SAGE Handbook of Political Communication is an essential benchmark publication for advanced students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of politics, media and communication, sociology and research methods.
ISBN: 9781847874399Publication Date: 2012-07-15
International Encyclopedia of Political Science by
With entries from leading international scholars from around the world, the International Encyclopedia of Political Science provides a definitive, comprehensive picture of all aspects of political life, recognizing its theoretical foundations and including empirical findings from across the globe. The eight volumes examine all the main subdisciplines of political science and include coverage of comparative politics, epistemology, political economy, political sociology, and international relations. Entries are arranged in alphabetical order, and a list of entries by subject area appears in the front of each volume for ease of use. The Encyclopedia contains a detailed index as well as extensive bibliographical references. Approximately 80 entries on the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods in political science are provided. The process of democratization will remain a vital topic during the 21st century, and the encyclopedia contains extensive coverage of the evolution of democracy as well as other political systems. Readers will find theoretical and empirical background on other important issues such as global security, the relationship between religion and the state, and political issues related to gender and race/ethnicity. The International Encyclopedia of Political Science provides an essential, authoritative guide to the state of political science at the start of the 21st century and for decades to come, making it an invaluable resource for a global readership, including researchers, students, citizens, and policy makers.
ISBN: 9781412959636Publication Date: 2011-09-07
Encyclopedia of U. S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior by
The Encyclopedia of Campaigns, Elections and Electoral Analysis is a collection of approximately 450 articles in a two-volume set, presented in an A to Z alphabetical format, exploring all topics related to American political campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior, including some cross-cultural comparisons to help place campaigns, elections and electoral behavior in American in an international context. Coverage includes the history of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior patterns at the national, state, and local levels, dating back to the pre-constitutional period. The scope of the encyclopedia is broad, focusing on all aspects of campaigns from early times to the present, tracing the various developments in campaign strategies, management styles, technologies, political advertising, campaign financing, media coverage, convention politics, and other developments in campaign politics. This Encyclopedia of Campaigns, Elections and Electoral Analysis serves as a superb reference for students, academics, politicians, public officials, political journalists, and others interested in the history and developments in campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior in America.
ISBN: 9781412954891Publication Date: 2008-04-04
- Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) (ISSN 2161-0002) was founded in 1995 as a non-profit organization to provide open access to detailed, scholarly information on key topics and philosophers in all areas of philosophy. The Encyclopedia receives no funding, and operates through the volunteer work of the editors, authors, volunteers, and technical advisers. At present the IEP is visited over 950,000 times per month. The Encyclopedia is free of charge and available to all users of the Internet world-wide. The staff of 30 editors and approximately 300 authors hold doctorate degrees and are professors at colleges and universities around the world, most notably from English-speaking countries.
- Marxists Internet ArchiveIncludes biographies of Marxists both obscure and prominent. Many full text works by the thinkers are available.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy organizes scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines to create and maintain an up-to-date reference work.
- Utilitarian PhilosophersSite with detailed information and links about the major utlitarian philosophers.