Research Guides: Elections & Voting Information: Secondary Sources

What is a scholarly journal article?

What is a scholarly journal and how is it different from a magazine or newspaper? All three are called periodicals because they are published at periodic intervals throughout the year.

Newspapers are the first draft of history, but are not scholarly.
Magazines are good sources of information or opinions about popular culture or up-to-date information on current events.
Scholarly or peer-reviewed journals have collections of articles written by experts in academic or professional fields.
Such journals are excellent for finding out what has been studied or researched on a topic, and to find bibliographies that point to other relevant sources of information. Please note: the word "journal" is not necessarily in the title of a scholarly publication.

Political Science Databases

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database for peer-reviewed journals, newspapers and magazines, and some trade publications.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Links to journal articles, books, government documents, conference papers web content and statistical directories from 1914 to current.
CQ Library This link opens in a new window
Full text articles published in Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Weekly and CQ Researcher. CQ Weekly includes floor votes by keyword, bill date, and bill number. CQ Researcher includes a history, pro & con, and bibliography for each current issue. 1983-present for CQ Weekly, 1991-Present for CQ Researcher. Has full text of other publications such as Congress and the Nation; CQ Almanac and The Political Handbook of the World.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Citations for articles in political science, government, foreign affairs and international relations journals. 1984-present.

Vital Speeches of the Day
Link to texts of selected speeches of prominent people.From 1995 - current
List of databases from A to Z (or by subject)

Legal Databases

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Law, News and Business Database.
Full text news articles, law journal articles, court cases, briefs, legal codes, and SEC filings. Users can Shepardize court cases and then read the full text of the related decisions. Most publications are covered 1980-present. The best place to find interview transcripts from television and radio.
Westlaw Campus This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to law cases, federal and state, legal subject guides, law reviews, statutes and administrative materials, legislative materials and legal encyclopedias. Most data 1996- present. Cases go back to 1945, Federal Register back to 1980. Key search allows searching by Westlaw's keynote system of indexing.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Access to law journals (back to the 19th century), international and US treaties (back to 1776), out-of-copyright legal classics, the federal register (back to 1936), and Supreme Court slip opinions from 2002. All material is fully searchable and in PDF format, including all charts, graphs, pictures, photographs, and footnotes.
Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts to hearings, committee reports, bill files, witness testimony, and more issued by Congress from 1769-present. Full-text is available through 2010, later for some titles. Full-Text Hearings 1824-2010; (CRS) Reports 1916-present, committee prints from 1830-current; Serials Set documents from 1789; the Congressional Record (1969-1994 in print); and Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1789-2017.

List of databases from A to Z (or by subject)