CCSF Library: Political Science: Articles

Article Sources

Description

Magazines, journals, and newspapers, are types of "periodicals" - as in, they are published periodically throughout the year. There are many different intended audiences.
- Magazines are generally intended for a broader, public audience.
  - Examples: Scientific American, Vogue, and The Atlantic.
- Journals are often intended for a scholarly audience (scholars, academics, researchers, etc.) Many articles in these journals go through a rigorous publishing process called peer-review: they are written by an academic, submitted to the journal, and then circulated to experts in the field for checking before being published.
  - Examples: New England Journal of Medicine, The William and Mary Quarterly.
- Newspapers are usually written for a broader, public audience. They share the news of the day.
  - Examples: The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle.

What do they contain?

Articles

How often are these sources published?

Magazines - usually monthly & quarterly (seasonally)
Journals - less frequently; can be monthly, but more likely quarterly
Newspapers - usually daily

Found in:

OneSearch - Periodicals
Easily locate CCSF subscribed periodicals (newspapers, journals, and magazines) in this particular view of OneSearch.
Journal Browse (BrowZine)
A clickable view of scholarly journals subscribed to by the CCSF Library.

Flipster This link opens in a new window
Easy-to-use digital magazine platform with People, National Geographic, and Archaeology. Pilot subscription runs through end of June 2025.
America's News This link opens in a new window
Features national, regional and local news content that delivers diverse perspectives on practically any issue, event or person as covered by the U.S. news media. With current content and archives back to the 1980s from more than 3,700 sources. Includes the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner. Hot Topics can be browsed as well.
US Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
Provides access to The New York Times (1980-present), Washington Post (1988-present), Los Angeles Times (1985-present), Chicago Tribune (1985-present), and the Wall Street Journal (1984-present). Available by 8 AM U.S. Eastern time each day. Supplemental website content from these publications may not be included in this text based resource.

Search Strategies

Digital searching can work well when you combine your search words with "Boolean" connectors.

Boolean Connector	What does it do?
AND	narrows the results of a search, though without this operator, the AND is usually implied. This searches only for items containing both search terms. Example: health disparities AND urban
OR	expands or broadens the results of a search. This searches for either term, thus widening the possibilities. This is helpful when searching using synonyms. ("OR is more.") Example search string: genetically modified OR transgenic OR GMO
NOT	excludes specific terms that may be clouding your result set with irrelevant results not related to your topic. This is helpful when trying to remove some results. Example: nutrition NOT diet

Other strategies:

Identify key concepts. Include the useful or relevant keywords in your search, as well as synonyms, rather than a full question.
Use "Filters" to limit your source type, time period, and location.
Need "scholarly" articles? Use the "Peer-Reviewed Journals" filter.

Recommended Databases for Political Science

Databases are searchable containers of the source types listed above: books, magazines, journals, and (but not webpages, which you search on the open web). Databases are owned by a few different companies, and the library pays for access to make relevant sources available for your research. The sources in the databases are rarely available for free on the open web.

When doing research in political science, we recommend the following options:

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
Cross-searches most CCSF Library databases. Some resources are excluded. Learn more about searching in OneSearch.
Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window
Full-text coverage of political topics with a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse. Provides access to full-text journals, reference books and conference papers, including those from the International Political Science Association.

Political Science

OneSearch

Key Journals for Political Science

Assistance