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Political Science

Learn how to search for information on political science topics in books & ebooks, article databases, and the web.

Finding Biographical Information

The resources below will help you find biographical and background information about the particular woman you are advocating on behalf of in your assignment (Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Marsha Blackburn, or Nikki Haley).

When searching for information about a person, be sure to put quotation marks around her name like "Alexandria Ocasio Cortez."

When researching your candidate's voting record, sponsored legislation, etc. use the Govtrack site below:

Researching your Political Party

The website links below will take you to the "official" websites of each party. Each website should have a page (often called "About Us," "Our Platform," or something similar) that introduces you to the party and provides links to the party's platform/beliefs. This information should help you determine if your candidate's positions comport with those of her party or diverge from them.

Want more information about your candidate's political party? Search for her party's name in the ebook collections linked below. 

Researching a Policy Issue

Find more information on the particular policy you are focusing on (like abortion or "Roe v. Wade") using the resources listed below. These tools may also lead you to additional information about your candidate and the political party she represents.

News Coverage

News articles may discuss your individual generally or may focus on her particular views on a given topic. If you are searching for your candidate's views on a specific  topic, try searching for her name and the issue like: "Kamala Harris" and abortion.

The BEST way to find reputable news is to use one of the Library's newspaper databases, like:

You may also be able to find good articles on the websites of some news outlets themselves. Just keep in mind that some of these sites -- like Fox -- are not reliable. Some sites traffic in bad information or "fake news" and should be avoided.

If you are looking for reliable, CONSERVATIVE news sources, you may want to look at the following:

If you are looking for reliable, LIBERAL news sources, you may want to look at some of the following: 

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