Using the internet for political research: practical tips and hints

Paperback  200 pages  ISBN 1843340496      £25.00

Hardback  200 pages  ISBN 184334050x      £55.00

A practical guide to using the Internet for political science research. Shows the reader how to develop effective Internet searching strategies and indicates what is available online. Covers some of the key areas, including elections, parliamentary information and political parties, showing how to successively locate and evaluate Internet resources. Covers political research mainly in the UK, and the USA.

Key Features

• Includes chapters on key topics such as elections, parliaments, prime ministers and presidents
• Contains case studies of typical searches
• Highlights useful political science Internet sites.

The Author

Heather Dawson is an Assistant Librarian at the British Library of Political and Economic Science and Politics, and Government Editor of SOSIG (The Social Science Information Gateway).

Readership

This book is aimed at researchers, librarians/ information workers handling reference enquiries and students.

Contents

Getting started on using the Internet search tools available, information gateways, search terms, getting further information

Political science research getting started, key organisations, key web sites

Elections using the Internet to follow an election, information on electoral systems, tracing election results, future developments (e.g. digital archive)

Political parties what is online, constructing searches, key sites, where to find information

Heads of state (Presidents and Prime Ministers) tracing news stories, speeches, directories worldwide

Parliaments what is happening in Parliament, tracing MPs, Bills, devolution and regional parliaments in the UK; links to useful sites with directories of parliaments worldwide

Government departments tracing legislation, statistics and consultation papers

Political science education information on courses, grants, libraries, searching library catalogues, tracing academic staff members

Keeping up-to-date political news stories, political research and forthcoming events