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Politics: Databases

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Databases provide access to high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, dissertations and many other resources. 

These databases have been especially selected for this subject area. When carrying out your research for a piece of work, you will need to search more than one database to find all of the journal articles relevant to your topic, as each database covers different journal titles.

Database Spotlight

House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Search Interface

House of Commons Parliamentary Papers

British politics and culture have had a profound influence on people, places and events around the world. For students and researchers exploring any aspect of this influence – in society, law, colonization, economics, foreign policy and more – government documents are essential. ProQuest’s House of Commons Parliamentary Papers is the only online source for the complete file of 18th to 20th-century papers, spanning nearly 11 million pages from 1715 to the present, with supplementary material dating back to 1688.

House of Commons Parliamentary Papers are foremost among the richest and most detailed primary sources for the past three centuries, for Britain, its colonies and the wider world. As such, they constitute a major part of the world’s historical record. Parliamentary Papers influenced public opinion and social and political philosophy and provided a forum for the ideas of thinkers of the day.

House of Commons Parliamentary Papers  (HCPP) includes the complete file of House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, also known as Sessional Papers or Blue Books, dating from 1715 through to today.

This includes:

  • Bills – drafts of legislation, to be reviewed through various parliamentary stages.
  • House of Commons Papers – documents resulting from the work of the House of Commons.
  • Command Papers – government papers conveying information or decisions the Government wishes to draw to attention of the House, presented ‘by Command of Her Majesty’.

The latter two categories breakdown further into:

  • Reports of Committees – Select or the Whole House. Appointed to investigate issues of concern.
  • Reports of Commissioners – commissions appointed by the Crown to investigate social problems, to conduct inquiries into events, and as a preparation for legislation.
  • Accounts – statistical information, originating primarily from the Treasury, the Board of Trade and the War Office/Admiralty.
  • Papers – correspondence from ambassadors, governors, army officers abroad; commercial, trade and navigation accounts, statistical abstracts: judicial, taxation, etc; census data; slavery and slave trade documents; treaties.

Plus, the 18th Century Collection includes pre-Hansard debates, House of Lords and House of Commons journals, rare private bills, other legislative materials, and reports and papers presented to both Houses (Provided by Publisher).

Essential databases

The following are important databases for this subject area, however if you don't see what you're looking for, please go to the Database Directory for Politics to browse a wider selection.

 

  • International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) Essential
    The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) includes over 3 million bibliographic references to journal articles and to books, reviews and selected chapters dating back to 1951. It is unique in its broad coverage of international material and incorporates over 100 languages and countries. It provides cross-disciplinary coverage across the social sciences, focused on four primary subject areas: anthropology, economics, political science and sociology.
  • Worldwide political science abstracts Essential
    Worldwide Political Science Abstracts provides citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy. The database is building on the merged backfiles of Political Science Abstracts, published by IFI / Plenum, 1975-2000, and ABC POL SCI, published by ABC-CLIO, 1984-2000. Since 2000, development of the serials list has focused on expanding international coverage. As of November 2005 approximately 1,500+ titles are being monitored for coverage; of these, 67% are published outside the United States. The references cited in the bibliography of the source article have been included for citations to core journals in political science, added to the database since 2001, and for all journals added since 2004. Each individual reference may also have links to an abstract and/or to other papers that cite that reference; these references are linked both within Worldwide Political Science Abstracts and across other social science databases available on the ProQuest platform. All records added since 2000 are indexed using a thesaurus of over 3,000 terms.
  • Social Science Premium Collection Essential
    The Social Science Premium Collection provides access to databases covering international literature in social sciences, including politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, library science, and education. Featured databases include IBSS, Sociological Abstracts and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Together, they provide abstracts, indexing and full-text coverage of journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more.
  • Scopus Essential
    Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research. Scopus delivers an overview of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. As research becomes increasingly global, interdisciplinary and collaborative, you can make sure that critical research from around the world is not missed.
  • Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) Essential
    An indexing and abstracting tool covering health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, race relations and education. Updated monthly, ASSIA provides a comprehensive source of social science and health information for the practical and academic professional. It contains records from over 500 journals published in 16 different countries, including the UK and US.

Database Directory

You can use our Database Directory to browse a broader range of databases that are relevant to Politics as well as other subjects. The directory also allows you to identify databases that provide access to specific types of resources (e.g. Full Text Articles, Streaming Video, Patents, Theses and Dissertations, and much more).

Database Directory Politics

 

Research at the University of Manchester

The University of Manchester's research is internationally recognised. Go to Research Explorer, Manchester's research database, to discover the breadth of research produced by staff across the University.

Browse research publications from the Department of Politics (please note: whilst many of the publications listed are available to access/Open Access, some records are for forthcoming titles awaiting publication).

 

Research Explorer Search Interface

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