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Politics & Government Junior Seminar (POLS 399)

Sources for research papers in Politics and Government

Getting Started

In your Politics and Government junior seminar, you will be finding sources for a research topic of your choosing. 

  • For your Literature Review and/or Annotated Bibliography, you will need: Scholarly Sources, including Journal Articles and Scholarly Books
    The point of your bibliography is to compare scholarly perspectives on the question that you are raising in your paper, and, ideally, to find a gap in scholarly research which you can address. Scholarly sources are often found in peer-reviewed journals, in books published by reputable academic presses, and other reliable sources written by qualified authors. 
     
  • Your paper will also need a variety of "Primary" Sources like newspaper reports, eyewitness accounts, videos of events, etc. 
    These sources are often the main content that you are discussing in your paper. They are original sources on the topic you are researching -- not necessarily academic or scholarly sources. These types of sources are important but are USUALLY NOT PART OF YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW. 

This guide also describes: