Political Science

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Political science is the study of human behavior as it relates to political situations. It involves the examination of institutions, processes, people, ideas and policies. The study of political science develops cultural literacy, critical thinking and other useful skills-- Description from Political Science department website, accessed 07/15/13.

Before you start searching, you must identify relevant key terms for your topic. Below are a few examples of key terms to try for political science:

Here a few examples of politics-related search terms that you can use to find items in the library catalog. Note that adding the word "AND" will combine the key terms to give a narrower set of results:

• politic* AND part* AND United States (the asterisk, *, lets you search for politics, politic, political; and party and parties, Or politic* AND part* AND America*
• government AND California

Tips and tricks:

• In general, search using one or two nouns, combined by AND or OR.
• Do more than one search, using different words that cover the same concept.
• If you find too much information, add a word. If you don't find enough, take one out or use a broader term.
• Use an asterisk (*) to search for variations on a word. For example, searching for student* will bring up records on student and students.

Need some help with figuring out a research topic or the research process in general? We have guides for those too!

• For help with your research topic, see our Develop a topic guide
• For more information about how to do research, see our Research Step-by-Step guide

• OneSearch
• SDCCD Books+
• Course Reserves
• EBSCO Articles

Search Tips:

*OneSearch doesn't show you everything! Some databases, like those from EBSCO, are not included so you will need to search them separately.

• To find Books, e-books and reference materials --> Use SDCCD Books+, A-Z Databases, or OneSearch
• To find Textbooks for your class--> Use Course Reserves
• To find Articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers --> Use A-Z Databases, EBSCO Articles, or OneSearch
• To find Periodicals by title --> Use Journal Finder or OneSearch
• To find Videos and media --> Use Videos link, A-Z Databases (choose Films on Demand, Swank, or Kanopy), or OneSearch