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POLS 038: Designing and Doing Political Science Research (SC)

Political Science 038: Designing and Doing Political Science Research (Schwarz) Fall 2025

History + Topic Overviews

These sources offer overviews and introductions to the topics they discuss. You can use these sources for some basic historical background, and to identify relevant readings to explore your topic in greater depth.

Cambridge Histories Online
Searchable collection of e-books; useful starting point for exploring topics in history

Handbooks and companions [search in Tripod]
These books can offer historical information and other background on your topic.

In Tripod, look on the left for the Region limit. This lets you filter handbooks by country.

Oxford Reference
Find background information on your topic from academic encyclopedias and other reference works published by Oxford University Press

Narrowing Your Focus

Mapping your research ideas
Walks you through the process of creating a simple map to generate, visualize, and clarify your research ideas. (another example concept map)

Language + Terminology

Keyword brainstorming tool
Follow the prompts to break down your topic idea into concepts and brainstorm keywords.