1. POLS 3025: A Century of Revolution Adam Taves Scott Library
Library Research
POLS 3025: A Century of Revolution
Adam Taves
Scott Library

2. Research as Conversation

3. Research Process Eavesdropping Entering Engaging
course readings, lectures
Entering
discussion
selecting and focusing a topic
finding books and journals
Engaging
form opinions, ideas
critical analysis

4. Developing a Research Question
More than facts
What is the problem/question?
What do I want to know?
What is already known?

5. Sample Topic
Compare and contrast James I’s Trew Law of Free Monarchies and Hobbes’ Leviathan.

6. Some questions
What does Hobbes argue in terms of the social contract?  (i.e., what have post-Hobbesian thinkers said about Hobbes work in this regard?)
How has the divine right of kings thesis, as explicated by James I, been handled in other texts?  What have other thinkers said on this theme that may help clarify your understanding of the assumptions that Hobbes was re-examining?

7. Finding Books Use the library catalogue Keyword search works best
Focus your topic before searching

8. Scholarly Journals Sometimes called “Periodicals”
Scholarly vs. popular
Written for researchers
Extensive bibliographies
Often include abstracts

9. Article Databases Click Find Articles by Subject (under eResources)
Choose Political Science
Select a database
Do a keyword search

10. Rules of Scholarly Communication
Creativity
Acknowledgement
Acknowledge original source whenever you use someone else’s idea, theory, or opinion
How?
Direct quotations
Paraphrasing
Signal phrases
The Tools: Style guides

11. Need More Help? 736-5150 9 am to 9 pm Chat Reference – Ask A Librarian
Reference Desk:
9 am to 9 pm
Chat Reference – Ask A Librarian