Collins Memorial Library: Politics & Government: Getting Started

Recommended Starting Points: Subject Encyclopedias

Building context (and recognizing when you need more context) is an important element in the research process. Tertiary sources, especially subject encyclopedias, are often the best place to start when you are trying to establish some basic scientific, historical, social, or cultural context.

Articles in subject encyclopedias are written by scholars who have deep specialization in the topic and the articles themselves go through a stringent editing process. These resources can help you with:

Identifying a topic of interest
Understanding the scope of a topic
Suggesting ideas for narrowing a topic
Identifying key concepts, terms, dates and names
Listing subject areas related to a topic
Recommending sources for further exploration

In Collins Library, the print reference collection is located on the main floor. Use Primo to identify subject encyclopedias in either online or print format; or ask a librarian for recommendations.

Online Resources: General Politics

The Encyclopedia of Political Science by George Thomas Kurian
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2010
Offers an in-depth exploration of the central ideas, ideologies, and frameworks underlying the study of politics, and highlights the intersections of politics with philosophy, cultural studies, sociology, religion, psychology, history, and economics. Explores a wide range of concepts and frameworks, both Western and non-Western, national and international. Contributed essays are from scholars across the globe. Prepared with the assistance of the American Political Science Association.
The Oxford Companion to American Politics by David Coates
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2012
Provides in-depth coverage of all aspects of American Politics. Long entries form the core of the book, covering such topics as climate change, terrorism, welfare policies, nuclear proliferation, voting behavior, and think tanks. Each of these entries reflects high-level scrutiny of the literature, history, and future of the topic by top scholars.
The Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics by Joel Krieger (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2012
Comparative Politics, the discipline devoted to the politics of other countries or peoples, has been steadily gaining prominence as a field of study, allowing politics to be viewed from a wider foundation than a concentration on domestic affairs would permit. The Companion focuses on the major theories, concepts, and conclusions that define the field, analyzing the similarities and differences between political units.
The Oxford Companion to International Relations by Joel Krieger (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2014
International Relations has long been a core discipline within Political Science, one of vast importance for understanding social, cultural, economic and political exchanges across national boundaries. The two-volume Oxford Companion to International Relations would be one of the first reference works to make this field clear and comprehensible to both specialists and non-specialists.
The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics by Todd Landman (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2009
An overview of the theoretical, methodological, and substantive elements of comparative political science. The 28 specially commissioned chapters, written by renowned comparative scholars, guide the reader through the central issues and debates, presenting a state-of-the-art guide to the past, present, and possible futures of the field.

Online Resources: Subject Focus

Encyclopedia of Political Theory by Mark Bevir (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2010
Looking at the roots of contemporary political theory, this set examines the global landscape of all the key theories and the theorists behind them, and provides concise, to-the-point definitions of key concepts, ideas, schools and figures.
Encyclopedia of Politics: the Left and the Right by Rodney P. Carlisle (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2005
What exactly are the terms left and right supposed to imply? This encyclopedia contains articles on individuals, movements, political parties, and ideological principles.
Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements by David A. Snow (Editor); Donatella Della Porta (Editor); Bert Klandermans (Editor); Doug McAdam (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2013
Covers the most significant social and political developments and changes throughout much of human history, from the French revolution, to the global women’s movement, to Martin Luther King Jr. and the American civil rights movement, through to more recent issues including environmentalism and the Arab Spring.
Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States by David Spinoza Tanenhaus
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2008
Covers concepts, cases, topics, personalities, institutions, events, and processes. Focuses on the substance of American law, the processes that produce its legal principles, and the history of the Supreme Court.
Political Encyclopedia of U.S. States and Regions by Donald P. Haider-Markel (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2008
Offers analysis of government and politics in all 50 states and the US territories.
U. S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior by Kenneth F. Warren (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2008
Focuses on American campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior but also provides a culturally and politically diverse perspective of American democratic practices and institutions.
The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization by George Ritzer
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access.
Publication Date: 2012
Offers clear and concise explanations of the key concepts of Globalization. Arranged in A to Z format. Includes entries on concepts derived from across the social sciences, from sociology and anthropology to political science, economics, and human geography Looks at the founding theories as well as the realities of globalization today.

Sage Knowledge

Sage provides online Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Dictionaries that cover topics in the Social Sciences.

Sage Knowledge Online