Politics & Government Sources

Citation Tools & How-To Guides

Google Scholar Citations: Copy and Paste
For a super easy way to get citations in Chicago Style:
1. Look for your journal article or book (etc.) in Google Scholar
2. In the search results, click on the Quote Mark button underneath the item (  "  )
3. A box should pop up with the citation formatted in several styles: Chicago, APA, MLA, etc. Copy and Paste the correct one.
MOST OTHER SCHOLARLY DATABASES HAVE THE SAME TOOL BUILT IN. Just look for a quote mark button, a link to "Cite," or similar.

OWL @ Purdue Guide to Chicago Style
Simple guide to Chicago - recommended. Describes not just citation styles, but also how to format your paper, etc. If you need more detail, check out the full Chicago manual in print.

EasyBib
This is one of several free online citation generators that will create citations that you can cut-and-paste into your paper. BE CAREFUL to use the correct tab (Book, Journal, etc.) and proofread the results!

Zotero
Very cool free app that lets you grab citations from anywhere online with one or two clicks, plus has lots of other features, such as formatting entire bibliographies, note-taking tools, online back-up, integration with Word, etc. Very nice but does have a learning curve.

Annotated Bibliography Examples

What is an Annotated Bibliography?
One-page guide from the University of Washington with an example in Chicago Style

Sample Annotated Bibliography in APA Style 
Although this is in APA style, the content and layout are very similar to what you will do in your assignment. More critical assessment of the sources would be an improvement, though. This example mostly provides a description of the sources' content without analyzing or critiquing them.

Annotated Bibliography - real life example
This example on Media created for the FCC shows how annotated bibliographies are used outside the classroom to inform policy decisions.

Literature Review Examples & Guides

Example of  transforming an Annotated Bibliography into a Literature Review
This sample from the Ithaca College Library gives an example of how a student could take sources from an annotated bibliography and work them into a Literature Review.

Guide to making Literature Reviews
Very nice guide from UNC Chapel Hill gives lots of tips for how to organize your review logically and make a strong argument.

"Economic aspects and the Summer Olympics: a review of related research." by Evangelia Kasimati. International journal of tourism research 5, no. 6 (2003): 433-444.
This is an example of a Ph.D.-level annotated bibliography. Notice how the author divided the literature review into subsections and analyzed her sources through a few different lenses: 1. What overall view of the issue did they describe; 2. Methodologies; 3. Types of Economic Assessments; etc.; and she provides an analysis of where the scholarly literature is in agreement vs. disagreement, as well as pointing out gaps. 

Northwestern University's Political Science Department: Award-Winning Undergraduate Papers
This web page provides links to about a dozen senior theses in political science. There are many good examples here of what a well-written senior paper can achieve! Check out their literature review sections to see how multiple examples of how they can be written. The literature review is normally right after the introduction.