Need a quick snapshot of major historic news stories from around the world?
A quick checklist:
1. Where did you find the source? Did you use a scholarly database? UC Library Search?
2. Who's responsible for the work? Is it published by a university press or another known scholarly publisher? What are the author's credentials? Is the author a professor or other known academic or scholar?
3. Does it look like a scholarly work? Does it have footnotes and/or endnotes and/or a bibliography? What kinds of sources is it citing? Where did the author get their information? What research methodology are they using?
Scholarly articles are written by academics who are experts in their field and published in scholarly journals. Peer-reviewed articles are scholarly articles that have been read and vetted by other experts in the field (e.g., the author's peers) before the journal accepts them for publication.
Find citations to scholarly articles in Political Science and other Social Sciences by searching by keyword in the following databases.
The full text of an article within a database is provided in multiple formats. Look for:
The Get it at UC link will provide you options for how to access the full text of the article. If there are no online links available, this means you need to request the item through Interlibrary Loan if a print version is not available at UC San Diego. The Library will deliver the full text of an article to you free of charge. When requesting you will need your Library ID number.
Your library card/account number begins with "21822" and can be found on the back of your UCSD ID card or within the UCSD app. Enter the 14-digit number without spaces.
Full text of law reviews/legal periodicals plus primary sources such as the Code of Federal Regulations; Federal Register; Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS); Treaties and Agreements Library; United States Code; U.S. Attorney General Opinions; U.S. Congressional Documents; U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals; U.S. Federal Legislative History Library; U.S. Statutes at Large; State Session Laws Library; State Statutes: A Historical Archive; Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes); World Constitutions Illustrated; World Treaty Library. Also includes special topics databases.
Canadian Content
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes)
Provincial Statutes of Canada
Case Law
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
U.S. Supreme Court Library
International Resources
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes)
Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
History of International Law
Law Library of Congress Reports
Open Society Justice Initiative
Provincial Statutes of Canada
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents and Resources
World Treaty Library
International Treaties and Agreements
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
World Treaty Library
Journals and Periodicals
Bar Journals
Law Journal Library
NOMOS: American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Special Collections
Air and Space Law
American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Brennan Center for Justice Publications at NYU School of Law
Business and Legal Aspects of Sports and Entertainment (BLASE)
COVID-19: Pandemics Past and Present
Cataloging Legal Literature
Civil Rights and Social Justice
Criminal Justice & Criminology
Democracy in America
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
LGBTQ+ Rights
Labor and Employment: The American Worker
Law Academy Project
Legal Classics
Military Legal Resources (U.S. Army JAG School)
Military and Government
NOMOS: American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
Open Society Justice Initiative
Pentagon Papers
Religion and the Law
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
Voting Rights & Election Law
Water Rights & Resources
Women and the Law (Peggy)
U.S. Federal Content
Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
Bremer-Kovacs Collection: Historic Documents Related to the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
COVID-19: Pandemics Past and Present
Civil Rights and Social Justice
Code of Federal Regulations
Executive Privilege
Federal Register Library
GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions
History of Supreme Court Nominations
Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S.
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
Labor and Employment: The American Worker
Law Library of Congress Reports
Military Legal Resources (U.S. Army JAG School)
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
U.S. Code
U.S. Congressional Documents
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library
U.S. Presidential Library
U.S. Statutes at Large
U.S. Supreme Court Library
Water Rights & Resources
U.S. State Content
Civil Rights and Social Justice
LGBTQ+ Rights
National Survey of State Laws
Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide
Session Laws Library
State Attorney General Reports and Opinions
State Constitutions Illustrated
State Reports: A Historical Archive
State Statutes: A Historical Archive
Subject Compilations of State Laws
Water Rights & Resources
News sources can be particularly useful as primary sources that describe events as they unfold. They may cover sitautions or events that are newer or more specific than than one might find in scholarly articles. The Library subscribe to a number of online sources for international news.
Provides economic studies, company & industry reports, country risk, economic and industrial statistics, and political news with a focus on emerging market countries. Covers public & private companies & global industry reports. Includes interactive data analysis tools & news alerts. Excellent China coverage.
►Bonus search tip: Google Scholar is a useful tool because it searches within the full text of articles. It's most useful when your topic is so narrow that you don't find much using the subject-specific databases.