The Art of Finding Information

Department of Political Science

Lund University
Introduction _______________________________________________________________ 2
1 Literature on Method in Political Science Research ______________________________ 3
1.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Method ___________________________________________ 3
1.3 Content Analysis and Idea Analysis ____________________________________________ 4
1.4 Interviews__________________________________________________________________ 5
1.5 Case Studies and the Comparative Method ______________________________________ 5
1.6 Methods of Normative Analysis________________________________________________ 7
2. How to search ____________________________________________________________ 8
2.1 Search Strategies ____________________________________________________________ 8
2.2 Source-critical Problems _____________________________________________________ 9
2.3 Access to the Internet ________________________________________________________ 9
3 Source Material __________________________________________________________ 10
3.1 Department of Political Science’s homepage ____________________________________ 11
3.2 Online Library Catalogues___________________________________________________ 11
3.2.1 Lovisa ________________________________________________________________________ 11
3.2.2 Libris ________________________________________________________________________ 11
3.3 ELIN@Lund ______________________________________________________________ 12
3.3.1 Databases _____________________________________________________________________ 13
3.4 The Library's Reference Works ______________________________________________ 18
3.4.1 Bibliographies__________________________________________________________________ 18
3.4.2 Seminar Essays _________________________________________________________________ 18
4 Journals ________________________________________________________________ 19
4.1 General Political Science Journals ____________________________________________ 19
4.2 Political Theory ____________________________________________________________ 20
4.3 Comparative Politics________________________________________________________ 20
4.3.1 General _______________________________________________________________________ 20
4.3.2 Geographically Specialized Journals ________________________________________________ 21
4.4 Public Administration_______________________________________________________ 21
4.5 International Politics________________________________________________________ 22
4.6 Women’s Studies ___________________________________________________________ 22
4.7 Mass Media and Public Opinion ______________________________________________ 22
4.8 Current Politics ____________________________________________________________ 23

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Introduction
The Art of Finding Information constitutes a guide to resources that can be useful when
writing your thesis at the Department of Political Science. We identify a number of sources
and databases, giving you the possibility to learn more about them on you own. Due to the
rapid technological development, this text does not contain detailed information about how
search them. But it presents some basic principles and strategies that we believe are useful
when you collect material for your study. If you need more help in your information seeking,
please do not hesitate to contact the department library!

Please note that The Art of Writing and Speaking is also available online for our students and
should be viewed as a complement to this text.

The Art of Finding Information was first published in 1998. The revisions for this edition
were made in 2007 by Hanna Voog, Linda Grandsjö and Jakob Gustavsson.

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1 Literature on Method in Political Science Research
When you have found a problem worth investigating, the question arises of how to analyse it.
Some guidance is provided in the literature on the methods of political science. However, the
choice of method must not be looked at in isolation. What method to adopt always depends on
the nature of the problem, the theoretical point of departure, the available empirical material
and so on. The following chapter contains examples of literature that give introductions to a
number of different important methodological approaches in political science.

1.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Method

The classical difference between quantitative and qualitative method is still a major feature of
the literature of method in political science, even though modern works on method often try to
integrate elements from the two traditions of research. Marsh & Stoker (2002) give a broad
survey of different methodological angles of approach, and discuss the connection between
theory and method. In Rethinking Social Enquiry, edited by Brady & Collier (2004) you will
find an advanced discussion on the relations between quantitative and qualitative methods.

Bryman (1992) gives a good survey of the similarities and differences between qualitative and
quantitative research methods in social science. He also discusses the advantages and
disadvantages of the various methods. There is an abundance of “cookbook” style
publications giving an introduction to both the quantitative research method (see e.g. Black
1999) and the qualitative method (see e.g. Flick 1998).

Further reading:

Black, T R, 1999. Doing Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences. London: Sage
Brady, H E - Collier, D, 2004. Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards.
Lanham: Rowman & Little Publishers, Inc.
Bryman, A , 1992. Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Routledge.
Flick, U, 1998. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London: Sage
March, D - Stoker, G, 2002. Theory and Methods in Political Science. 2nd ed. London:
Macmillan.

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Reinharz, S., 1992. Feminist Methods in Social Research. New York: Oxford University
Press.

1.3 Content Analysis and Idea Analysis

McQuail (2000, chap. 13) gives a short introduction, from a mass communication perspective,
to different methods for content analysis. Graber (1976) gives a still highly readable broad
survey of various methods for the analysis of political messages and ideas from a
communication perspective. For introductions to some important new specialist areas, are for
instance to be recommended van Dijk (1997a; 1997b) on discourse analysis, and Seboek
(1994) on semiotics.

Krippendorff (2004) and Popping (2000) give an introduction to quantitative content analysis
of the traditional kind. There is an excellent survey of different qualitative idea analysis
methods in Vedung (1982). Naess (1981) gives an introduction to argumentation analysis
which is an important element of qualitative content analysis.

Further reading:

Graber, D, 1976. Verbal Behavior and Politics. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press.
Naess, A, 1981. Communication and Argument: Elements of Applied Semantics. Oslo:
Universitetsforlaget
Krippendorff, K, 2004. Content Analysis. An Introduction to its Methodology. London: Sage.
McQuail, D, 2000. McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. 4th Ed. London: Sage.
Popping, R, 2000. Computer-assisted Text Analysis. London: Sage.
Sebeok, T, 1994. An Introduction to Semiotics. London: Pinter.
van Dijk, TA (ed), 1997a. Discourse as Structure and Process. London: Sage.
van Dijk, TA (ed), 1997b. Discourse as Social Interaction. London: Sage.
Vedung, E, 1982. Political Reasoning. Beverly Hills: Sage.

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1.4 Interviews
Fink (1995a, 1995b) gives an introduction to survey methodology. The most common types
of interview in the political science context, the long interview and the elite interview, are
discussed in for example the following journal articles (all from PS: Political Science and
Politics): Aberbach & Rockman (2002), Berry (2002), Goldstein (2002), Leech (2002),
Rivera et al. (2002) and Woliver (2002).

Further reading:

Aberbach, J D - Rockman, B A, 2002. ”Conducting and Coding Elite Interviews”, in PS:

Political Science and Politics 35:673-676.
Berry, J M, 2002. ”Validity and Reliability Issues in Elite Interviewing”, in PS: Political
Science and Politics 35:679-682.
Fink, A, 1995a. The Survey Kit 1: The Survey Handbook. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
Fink, A, 1995b. The Survey Kit 2: How To Ask Survey Questions. Thousand Oaks, Calif.:
Sage.
Goldstein, K, 2002. ”Getting in the Door: Sampling and Completing Elite Interviews”, in PS:
Political Science and Politics 35:669-672.
Leech, B L, 2002. ”Asking Questions: Techniques for Semistructured Interviews”, in PS:
Political Science and Politics 35:665-668.
Rivera, S W et al., 2002. ”Interviewing Political Elites: Lessons from Russia”, in PS: Political
Science and Politics 35:683-688.
Woliver, L R, 2002. ”Ethical Dilemmas in Personal Interviewing”, in PS: Political Science
and Politics 35:677-678.

1.5 Case Studies and the Comparative Method

The comparative method has a long tradition in political science. A major objective of
comparative studies is the inductive development of political science theory by means of
comparisons between two or more cases. Peters (1998) and Landman (2003) give good and
modern surveys of the comparative methodological tradition. The literature discusses
strategies for the choice of cases, methods of drawing conclusions from the comparison
between different cases (e.g. King et al. 1994; Dogan & Pelassey 1984) and also the special

5
problems involved in trans-cultural comparisons between, for example, different countries
(Holt & Turner 1970).

There is an extensive body of literature on case studies (see e.g. Merriam 1988). Much of this
has not been written by political scientists, and it is often assumed that the researcher studies
the case by means of participatory observation, long interviews, and so on. While this can be
useful for political scientists, it is usually more relevant for research in other disciplines. An
authoritative source on how the case study method can be useful for political scientists with
theoretical ambitons is George & Bennett (2005). The relationship between the case study
method and the comparative method is discussed by Lijphart (1971, 1975) and Peters (1998,
Ch. 6-7).

Further reading:

Collier, D, 1993. “The Comparative Method”, in Finifter, A W (ed), Political Science: The
State of the Discipline. Washington DC: The American Political Science Association.
Dogan, M - Pelassey, D, 1984. How to Compare Nations. Strategies in Comparative Politics.
Chatham, NJ: Chatham House. [Available online]
George, A - Bennett, A, 2005. Case studies and theory development in the social sciences
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.
Holt, R T - Turner, J E (eds), 1970. The Methodology of Comparative Research. New York:
Free Press.
King, G, Keohane, R O - Verba, S, 1994. Designing Social Inquiry. Scientific Inference in
Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Landman, T, 2003. Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics: An Introduction. 2nd ed.
London: Routledge.
Lijphart, A, 1971. ”Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method”, American Political
ScienceReview, 682-693.
Lijphart, A, 1975. ”The Comparable-Cases Strategy in Comparative Research”, Comparative
Political Studies, vol. 8, 156-177.
Mackie, T - Marsh, D, 1994. “The Comparative Method”, in Marsh, D - Stoker, G (eds),
Theory and Methods in Political Science. Hampshire: Macmillan.
Merriam, S B, 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San
Fransico, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.

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Peters, G, 1998. Comparative Politics. Theory and Methods. London: Macmillan.

1.6 Methods of Normative Analysis

Compared with methods of empirical analysis, the methodology of normative value analysis
is relatively undeveloped. It is also more controversial. The majority of books on political
philosophy contain a section on normative analysis. Raphael (1990) is a good example.
Vedung gives an overview of various methods of testing the validity of value judgements. A
special area in political science, where questions of methods of value judgement play an
important part, is policy analysis, see for example Vedung (1997).

Further reading:

Raphael, D D, 1990. Problems of Political Philosophy. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Macmillan.

Vedung, E, 1982. Political Reasoning. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Vedung, E, 1997. Public Policy and Program Evaluation. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction
Publishers.

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2. How to search
In order to make library catalogues, databases, and the Internet into effective tools in the hunt
for scientifically relevant information, you must first define the information that you need.
Your need for information must be “translated” into words, synonyms and phrases so that the
search engines and directories can understand your question. The first step is therefore to
write down words that describe your subject. While doing so, you define your topic, which
helps you to put limitations on your searches.

2.1 Search Strategies

A general rule for information searching is “think before you act”. Aimless surfing and
random searching seldom produce worthwhile results. You should therefore first of all reflect
on the following questions:

• Purpose. What are you looking for and why? Draw up an outline of the key words
connected with your subject and the various possible ways to reach it. Look for
synonyms, alternative spellings and abbreviations that you can use in your search.
• Sources. Which are the best sources? Library catalogues? Databases? Journals?
• Subject. If you are looking for older information, printed sources are normally still
superior.
• Time. How much time do you have? Start your information searching in time, because
it takes time!

The more thoroughly you prepare your search question, the better are your chances of getting
good results. Just entering words in a search service without forethought often leads to very
long result lists in which the relevant hits are mixed with so many irrelevant ones, that you
give up before having gone through but a fraction of them. So make sure you formulate your
search question as clearly as possible. Sort out which aspects are interesting and which
uninteresting. Use the articles, books and other resources you already know of, in order to
find new search words. Also make sure you know your limitations with regards to time,
language and geography, because these aspects are relevant to your choice of search services.

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2.2 Source-critical Problems
It is always important to be critical when searching for information. There is a difference
between using library catalogues or databases provided by your library and searching the
Internet, using for example Google. The Internet offers a virtually unlimited supply of
information, but often there is no one who registers, describes or checks the quality of the
material. One of the consequences is that you must both search out the information and
evaluate it much more carefully than in the case of the traditional search for printed material
where the publishers evaluate before publishing.

The problem of assessing sources calls for a critical attitude towards this mass of information.
• Who is in fact the originator?
• Can I be sure that it is correct?
• For whom is this material produced?

This kind of questions must always be kept in mind when browsing the Internet. There are
examples of elaborate practical jokes published on the Internet appearing to be genuine facts.
This applies particularly to material on small or less-known websites, but it can also happen
on major sites. Remember that in the end it is you who are responsible for quality assessment.

2.3 Access to the Internet

All students enrolled at Lund University have free access to the Internet. Students at the
Department of Political Science can use the computer labs on the ground floor, you will have
to apply for a key card in the reception on the first floor. You will need your StiL-identity in
order to access the Internet on campus, as well as if you like to search for licensed material for
example via ELIN@Lund from a computer outside of campus. In ELIN@Lund you will be
able to access a number of licensed databases and journals only supplied for students and staff
at Lund University.

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3 Source Material
Rapid technical development is opening up more and more possibilities for the researcher to
obtain material from many different kinds of media. Traditionally, the printed word has
dominated, but more and more material is stored electronically in different types of databases,
and will continue to be so in the future. A lot of material will still exist in printed form, but
probably not everything. Students and researchers must therefore learn to search for material
in different ways. In this chapter both electronic and printed sources are described. As far as
electronic search for source material is concerned, the individual reader must be prepared for
the fact that there is an on-going change, and that some parts of this presentation of possible
ways of finding sources may rapidly be overtaken.

This chapter mainly deals with the existing means to assist the student in finding his/her way
through the jungle of information, when preparing for working on an essay. There are,
however, no directions as to how you in practice use e.g. databases or search for information
on the Internet. You will acquire those practical skills by attending courses on computer-aided
information search that the Department of Political Science gives all students writing essays.
You can of course always ask your librarian for help.

The following are some elementary rules of thumb on where to begin the search for different
kinds of material for your essays:

• Books should primarily be searched for in Lovisa, the library catalogue of Lund
University or in the national electronic library catalogue Libris. If the book is not
available at Lund University you can always apply for an interlibrary loan. Please see
details at www.svet.lu.se Æ Library Æ Interlibrary loans.
• Journal articles can be searched for in the large number of political science databases
that Lund University subscribes to. You will find for example International Political
Science Abstracts (IPSA) or the general social science database Social Sciences
Citation Index in ELIN@Lund. ELIN@Lund is the framework for all the electronic
material that Lund University subscribes to, and you will find for example journals,
databases and e-books through ELIN@Lund.

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 • Newspaper articles in the international daily press can be difficult to get hold of. Look
in specialist databases or search the Internet for the newspaper's home page.
• Official publications from different countries, as well as material from international
organisations, should primarily be sought on the Internet or in specialist databases. The
information is often available in full text.

3.1 Department of Political Science’s homepage

You will find the Department of Political Science in Lund on www.svet.lu.se. In addition to
information about education and research at the department, it also contains links to websites
and databases of interest to the political scientist. At the Political Science Library’s website
you will find links to different library catalogues and to all electronic material that can be
reached from the campus-area and from your home computer when using your StiL- identity.
The electronically searchable material described in this chapter can therefore best be accessed
via the department’s homepage. It is the natural starting-point for anyone writing an essay. On
the department’s and library’s webpage there is also a lot of other material which, due to
space concerns, cannot be included here. The links on the home page are continuously
updated.

3.2 Online Library Catalogues

3.2.1 Lovisa
Lovisa is the online library catalogue (OPAC) of Lund University Libraries (www.lub.lu.se
Æ Lovisa). You can search for most of the literature available at the Lund University
libraries, primarily material published after 1957, in Lovisa. If you would like to search for
earlier works, you can visit the University Library (UB) webpage, where you will find a
couple of different databases to search. In the Political Science Library we also have an older
collection of books, which are only searchable in a card catalogue (we are currently working
on making the collection searchable in Lovisa).

3.2.2 Libris
Libris is an online library catalogue that covers all university libraries and other scientific
libraries in Sweden. You can search for books accessible in Lund as well as in the rest of the

11
country. Libris is accessible via www.libris.kb.se. If you find a book in Libris which is not
available in Lund you can apply for an interlibrary loan. Please read the conditions for
interlibrary loans at the Library of Political Science’s homepage before you fill out the
application form.

In Libris you will also find various specialist databases such as Uppsök, which is a national
database for student theses written at departments all over Sweden. There is also a journal
database, where you can search for articles that have appeared in social science journals
during the 1990’s and the database Kvinnsam which provides material (both books and
journal articles) related to women’s studies.

3.3 ELIN@Lund
ELIN@Lund (Electronic Library Information Navigator) is a portal over electronic resources
for Lund University, where you easily can access various databases, e-books and e-journals.
A large amount of this material is available in full text. Since many of the databases we refer
to under 3.3.1 Databases are available via ELIN@Lund, it is important to know how you
search this portal. To get an idea of what this resource can offer in a specific subject area, you
browse the section “By Subject” and get hold of the journals, databases and e-books covering
your subject. You might say that ELIN@Lund is divided into four different sections:
• Articles – Here you can search articles (many in fulltext) from several of the electronic
journals that Lund University subscribe to. Unfortunately not all articles are
searchable here, so you may have to complement your searches in the other parts of
ELIN.
• Journals – It is possible to search for a specific electronic journal here. Not everything
available via the Journal entrance is searchable in “Articles”, so to access the articles
in some journals you need to search for them here via the journal title, then browsing
your way for the specific issue and number and article you are looking for in the list of
each journal. Note that it sometimes is possible to go to “Journal homepage at remote
site”, where additional issues might be available (both further back or more recent
than what first appears). Examples of quality journals in political science, see chapter
4 Journals.

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 • Databases – Here you will find a large selection of both licensed databases and some
that are free online. You can find databases in specific subject areas, and also those
that are multidisciplinary. Below we have listed some of the most useful databases for
political science students. To reach a certain database you have to search for the name
of the database and then click the title to enter it. If you would like to know what kind
of material you can access in the specific database you want to search, go to the
“Info”-link.
• E-books – Under this section you can search for the e-books that are accessible via
Lund University. You will for instance find Encyclopedia Britannica here.

You can enter ELIN@Lund both from computers within the university and from home using
your STiL-identity to log on. On the Political Science Library home page you will find links
to ELIN@Lund (http://www.svet.lu.se Æ Library)

If the Political Science Library or any of the other Lund University Libraries does not have a
subscription to the journal you need, it is possible to order article copies on interlibrary loan
for a standard charge (see current pricing at our webpage). You order copies at the Political
Science library’s homepage under “Interlibrary loans”. Please remember to fill out the form
with your e-mail address, so we can contact you at once when your material has arrived.

3.3.1 Databases
At Lund University Library there is a large number of electronic databases where you can
search for books, articles from journals and newspapers, and various types of public material.
The content is constantly increasing, as new licences and agreements are added. Most of the
databases are accessible via ELIN@Lund. You can search from the department’s computer
labs, the library or from your own computer at home.

The following are databases which all political science students may have occasion to consult,
and which they must know how to search:

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Correlates of war

This database contains international treaties and agreements. It is an electronic version of the
book Correlates of war (Rengger & Campbell, 6th ed, 1995). The database contains important
international, regional and bilateral agreements. (http://www.correlatesofwar.org/)

DOAJ

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) covers articles from Open Access journals on
different subjects. Many of the articles are searchable directly through the interface. All
journals are either peer-reviewed or evaluated by an editorial board. (see ELIN@Lund or
http://www.doaj.org/)

EUR-Lex

EUR-Lex is a multilingual collection of material concerning EU-legislation. It contains

treaties, case-law and legal acts from different institutions. (see ELIN@Lund)

European Regional Statistics (REGIO)

This is a regional database (former REGIO) that contains statistics around the economical and
social life within the EU. You will for example find statistics related to demography,
employment and unemployment. (see ELIN@Lund)

Foreign Newspapers Online

Foreign Newspapers Online is a selection of links to newspapers and different news media
online. (see ELIN@Lund)

GPO-Access

GPO contains references to American governmental publications, and covers different areas
and publication types such as reports, inquiries and maps. You will for instance find the

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Catalogue and U.S. Government Publications (1994-), Congressional Bills (1993-), Federal
Register (1994-) and Supreme Court Decisions (1992). (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/)

HUDOC (Human Rights Document)

This is a database covering legal usage of the European Convention on Human Rights. It
offers case-law concerning human rights from the European Commission, the Council of
Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. There is also information on current cases
in the Court and a register of coming public inquiries. (see ELIN@Lund)

International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)

An extensive international database containing references to journals, books and dissertations

in anthropology, economics, sociology and political science. (see ELIN@Lund)

International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA)

Database produced by International Political Science Association which contains references

to journal articles in the fields of political science, international relations and administration.
(see ELIN@Lund)

Minorities at Risk (MAR)

MAR describes a range of politically active ethnic groups all over the world from 1945 to
2003. The focus is ethno-political groups and non-governmental groups with influence over
the political development in their society. (http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar/)

PAIS International

Public Affairs International Service is an international database with journals, books and
reports from over 100 different countries in the field of political science and social science in
general. (see ELIN@Lund)

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Scripta Academica Lundensia / Lund University Dissertations

Scripta Academica Lundensia enables you to search for all dissertations published by Lund
University since 1996. Some of them are available in full text.
(http://theses.lub.lu.se/postgrad/?langeng)

Social Sciences Citation Index

This is a big international cross-disciplinary database containing journals from all social
science fields. NB! When you are done using this database, please remember to LOG OUT so
that other users within LU Campus can access the database! (see ELIN@Lund)

Source OECD

Source OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) includes different
OECD-publications, for example e-books, articles and statistics from the OECD-countries
(most of the western European countries and Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zeeland, South
Korea and the U.S.). (see ELIN@Lund)

Swedish Parliament / Documents (Riksdagens dokument)

The Swedish Parliament website provides documents concerning, among other things,
Swedish laws, government bills, submissions and reports. The majority is in Swedish but
some documents have been translated into English. To get hold of the translated documents
search for the database “Riksdagens” in ELIN@Lund, choose to see “Info”, and you will find
a direct link to the site where only the translated documents are. (see ELIN@Lund)

UNBISnet

A catalogue containing UN publications: documents, speeches and resolutions. You can for
instance find out how different countries have been voting in the General Assembly. (see
ELIN@Lund)

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United Nations Official Documents (ODS)

Here you find official UN documents in full text in all of UN’s official languages. ODS
contains 2 databases:
• United Nations documentation – full text documents from 1993 and some older
documents.
• United Nations resolutions – the UN’s resolutions from the General Assembly,
Security Council, Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council since 1946.
(see ELIN@Lund)

United Nations Treaty Collection

Over 158 000 of UN’s multilateral and bilateral treaties are registered here, as well as
information about status and ratification of international treaties from different countries. (see
ELIN@Lund)

Uppsala Conflict Database

Uppsala Conflict Database is a free online database, gathering information about armed
conflicts. The information is divided into sections like conflicts, trends and peace agreements.
There is currently information about 120 armed conflicts from 1989 to 2005 (see
ELIN@Lund).

Web of Science (ISI)

Web of Science (ISI) contains three major reference databases:

• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)

• Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
• Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI)

Especially Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is of interest for anyone studying political
science, you can for example search for author and create citation reports. NB! When you are
done please remember to LOG OUT. (see ELIN@Lund)

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3.4 The Library's Reference Works
You should by no means underestimate the value of works of reference, as they often contain
a great deal of material and bring together widely scattered information. General works of
reference may, for example, be encyclopedias such as Encyclopaedia Britannica. Many social
and political science works of reference and handbooks are available online, via ELIN@Lund,
but are also available in print in the reference collections at the Political Science library and
other libraries at Lund University. They include for example older registers of material, which
in its newer version is to be found in databases. In addition there is also material which cannot
be obtained electronically.

3.4.1 Bibliographies
Bibliographies are lists of literature on a given subject. In this field electronic databases have
completely taken over, since they prove a more rapid and efficient aid to research than their
printed counterparts. As a general rule of thumb literature published after about 1980 should
always be searched for via bibliographical databases. For older literature it may, however, be
necessary to consult the corresponding printed catalogues in the reference section of the
University Library (UB) or the library at the Department of Political Science.

3.4.2 Seminar Essays

Seminar essays and theses can be of great interest for anyone writing an essay. Other students
may earlier have studied a closely related topic, either empirically or theoretically. Essays
written 1997-2004 at all levels at the Department of Political Science are available in hard-
backed copies at the department library. Bachelor and Master Theses from recent years are
accessible online via Lund University’s database Xerxes, and in Libris Uppsök, a national
database for theses written at universities in Sweden.

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4 Journals
Scientific journals are of great importance in political science research. Below is a list of
various political science and social science journals that can be useful when writing an essay.
They have been divided according to their different subjects. Note that several journals appear
in more than one place. The reason is that many journals contain material regarded as relevant
for several sub-disciplines within political science.

Some of the journals are only available in print and some are accessible online via
ELIN@Lund. When searching for a specific journal you may need to search both in
ELIN@Lund (for electronically published journals) and our library catalogue Lovisa (for
printed journals). NB! You can only search for journals and not directly for articles in Lovisa.
When searching in ELIN@Lund you can either search by “Articles”, or by “Journals”. Some
journals are Open Access which means that they have free accessibility online. Lund
University hosts an Open Access journal database called DOAJ (Directory of Open Access
Journals) that you will find via ELIN@Lund or directly at www.doaj.org.

If you fail to find an article at Lund University, you can apply for an interlibrary loan (ILL).
NB! The Political Science library only supplies ILL to students writing a thesis, the conditions
for ILL are listed on the library’s homepage (www.svet.lu.se Æ LibraryÆ Interlibrary loans)

4.1 General Political Science Journals

The content of many political science journals is general in the sense that they basically cover
the whole discipline. They carry articles on international politics, comparative politics,
national politics, public administration and political theory. Among the leading journals are,
for example, International Political Science Review, which is published by the International
Political Science Association, American Political Science Review, which is published by the
American Political Science Association, and World Politics.

It must, however, be emphasized that the field of international politics is normally

underrepresented in the general journals. By tradition those researching in the field of
international politics prefer to publish their work in specialist journals. You will instead find

19
that several of the general political science journals are national rather than international, in
the sense that there is a certain emphasis on political conditions in the country in which the
journal is published. This applies for example to the British Journal of Political Science, the
German Politische Vierteljahresschrift and the Swedish Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift.

4.2 Political Theory

Traditionally the term political theory applies to the theoretical and methodological premises
of political science, as well as to political philosophy and the history of political ideas. The
leading international journal in the field is Political Theory. With regards to political
philosophy there are a number of journals in the borderland between political science and
philosophy, e.g. Ethics and Philosophy and Public Affairs. General journals in the field of
philosophy, e.g. Journal of Philosophy, also carry essays on political philosophy.

4.3 Comparative Politics

4.3.1 General
Strictly speaking you can find articles touching on the subject area of comparative politics in
every political science journal. What journals that are most rewarding will depend on the
particular topic you are writing about. The leading journals in the field of comparative politics
are Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies and World Politics. The last-
mentioned journal covers both comparative politics and international politics. There is an
emphasis on European politics in European Journal of Political Research. Many of the more
general journals, e.g. Political Studies Quarterly and Journal of Theoretical Politics also carry
essays on comparative politics.

Since the field of comparative politics is broad, there are quite a number of specialist journals.
Questions of democratization are treated in Journal of Democracy, which contains many
current country surveys, and Democratization. Other specialized journals, whose subject
matter is evident from their names, are Electoral Studies, Party Politics and Public Opinion
Quarterly. Legislative Studies Quarterly covers parliaments in general, but its emphasis is on
American politics.

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4.3.2 Geographically Specialized Journals
There are also numerous journals devoted to a defined geographical area. They are often less
ambitious with regards to theory. For Europe there are West European Politics, Journal of
European Public Policy and Government and Opposition. Parliamentary Affairs mainly
covers Great Britain, but it also carries articles on other European countries. Developments in
Central and Eastern Europe are treated in East European Politics and Society, Journal of
Communist Studies and Transition Politics and Communist and Post-Communist Studies.
Politics in the USA are treated in many American journals, e.g. American Journal of Political
Science, Political Research Quarterly and Journal of Politics. Latin America is for example
treated in Journal of Latin American Studies and Journal of Inter-American Studies. Journals
about Africa are: African Affairs, Africa Today and Journal of Modern African Studies. The
Middle East is dealt with in Middle East Journal and Journal of Asian Studies.

4.4 Public Administration

Journals on general public administration carry articles from several different disciplines
dealing with problems in public administration itself as well as in the analysis of it. The
American journal Public Administration Review can be regarded as the flagship. Essays on
the subject of public administration also appear regularly in the general political science
journals.

Journals on the general theory of organization range over the whole area of organization
studies with special reference to the administration aspect. They discuss both private and
public organisation. Administrative Science Quarterly is one of the leading journals in this
field. Journals on municipal and local politics contain a general, multi-disciplinary analysis of
questions around municipal politics, in which they pay attention to more than the narrowly
defined administration aspect. The leading journal in the field is Local Government Studies.
The journal Regional and Federal Studies is concerned with regional politics and policy
primarily from a federal and territorial perspective.

Policy analysis looks at public administration on the basis of policies, i.e. the substance in
which administration operates. There are a number of journals to choose from, e.g. Journal of
Public Policy, Policy Sciences and Policy Studies Journal.

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4.5 International Politics
Among the leading journals with a general orientation towards international politics are
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, World Politics, International Studies Quarterly (ISQ) and
International Organization. Foreign Policy Analysis is a central journal in the field of foreign
policy analysis.

European Journal of International Relations reflects much of the European research in this
field. The leading British journals on the subject are Millennium, International Affairs and
Review of International Studies. All of them deal broadly with the theory and practice of
international affairs. The Nordic counterpart is Cooperation and Conflict, which contains
many articles on Nordic foreign policy, as well as on international affairs in general.

Review of International Political Economy is aimed at the borderland between international

politics and economics, and the same can also be said of International Organization. In the
field of security policy mention may be made of International Security, Adelphi Papers and
Survival. Among the most prominent journals in the field of peace research are normally
reckoned Journal of Conflict Resolution and Journal of Peace Research.

4.6 Women’s Studies

Articles on women’s studies, research based on a gender-perspective, and essays on feminist
theory appear in many journals. Certain general social science and political science journals
carry material on women’s studies more frequently than others. Critical Social Policy, New
Left Review and Scandinavian Political Studies are some examples. There are also specialist
journals devoted to women’s studies in social science, for instance Feminist Review and
Women and Politics.

4.7 Mass Media and Public Opinion

In the past decades communication research has been established as a scientific discipline in
its own right. Articles on the media, political communication and influencing public opinion
can for example be found in Public Opinion Quarterly. You will find articles on media and
policy in Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. The leading journal in Europe

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dealing with mass communication is European Journal of Communication. Nordicom Review
is a Nordic version.

4.8 Current Politics

Information on the current state of political affairs, and the course of events, in various
countries is now most easily found on the Internet. In printed form, in addition to calendars of
events and year-books, there are numerous quality journals reporting mainly news and current
events.

Note also that a number of political science journals publish regular surveys of election
campaigns and results in different countries. This applies for example to Electoral Studies,
European Journal of Political Research and Journal of Democracy. Many journals follow
political developments in a given part of the world, for example Asian Survey.

An excellent way of keeping abreast with events is using the Internet. A very large number of
newspapers are accessible on the Internet, as are masses of articles by individuals and
“expressions of public opinion”. Via the homepage of the Department of Political Science you
can find, among many other things, links to newspapers, subject-oriented websites and
various search engines.

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