Political Science Research Resources

The Political Finance Database is a leading source of comparative information on political finance regulations. It includes laws and regulations from 179 individual countries.

The database answers 43 questions on political finance within 4 broad categories:

1. Bans and limits on private income
2. Public funding
3. Regulations of spending
4. Reporting, oversight and sanctions

The information in this database shows the use of different types of regulations in individual countries, but it can also be used to compare the prevalence of various provisions between countries and regions.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today submitted an application for Palestine to become a United Nations member state.

PA President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly.

For more news on this event, check out the SFU Library’s news databases Press Display, LexisNexis and the Canadian Newsstand.

For data and facts on the Palestinian Territories, check out the SFU Library’s databases Europa World and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

For a history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, check out books on the topic in the SFU Library catalogue.

Looking for current constitutions? Check out World Constitutions Illustrated.

From the publisher:

This collection contains the current constitution of every country in the world in its original language. For countries where multiple original-language versions exist, World Constitutions Illustrated provides each one. Also included with each constitution is at least one English translation.

World Constitutions Illustrated is working to identify and acquire the source documents for every historical constitution for every country. As historical documents are identified, they are be added to the constitutional timeline for each country. Documents identified but not yet acquired are listed to provide a documentary history of the constitution’s development. For every constitutional document, researchers will find the original text, amending laws, consolidated text, and important related texts. This database will also link you to scholarly articles and commentary, and provide a bibliography of select constitutional books available elsewhere.

In addition to world constitutions, this collection contains more than 800 classic books on constitutions, constitutional history and jurisprudence, and political and economic history, as well as over one dozen legal periodicals focusing on constitutional law.

With many thanks to those who participated in our trial process,  SFU Library has added a new database to the list of SFU library databases.

Political Science Complete from Ebsco contains full text for more than 500 journals, and indexing and abstracts for over 2,900 titles, many of which are unique to the product. PSC has a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse.

SFU Library has a new Political Science database on trial from EBSCO until October 31, 2010.

Political Science Complete contains full text for over 480 journals, and indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,100 titles, (including top-ranked scholarly journals), many of which are unique to the product, such as British Politics, Ethnopolitics and the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. PSC has a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse. The database also features 330 full-text reference books and monographs, and over 36,000 full-text conference papers, including those of the International Political Science Association. PSC includes a subject-specific thesaurus with over 17,500 terms (7,364 preferred and 10,144 non-preferred terms), to provide subject searching guidance to researchers.

Trial ends October 31, 2010. I would very much appreciate hearing from you if you have any questions or feedback prior to making a final decision. I may be reached at byousefi@sfu.ca or 778-839-4359.

SFU Library is very pleased to announce that SFU researchers now have access to Business Monitor Online – a database of industry reports published by Business Monitor International with good content related to defense and security industry analysis.

http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/10762

Business Monitor Online provides country-specific industry reports for a very wide range of developed, emerging, and frontier markets. Each report is updated quarterly, and is supplemented by daily analysis covering major industry and company developments as they happen.

BMO also includes …

• descriptions of key companies by country for each industry, including a SWOT analysis, as well as an inferred strategy based on recent events involving the company;
• political and economic SWOT analysis of many countries;
• business environment scores/ratings for many countries;
• risk/reward ratings for some major industries;
• a country-level, industry-specific database where one can download key historic and forecast data (how many widgets were or will be produced/imported/exported/sold?); and
• a country-level “major projects” database for some industries.

Based on the sorts of questions we get in the library, this database will definitely be of interest to all market researchers, both those who are focusing on domestic markets (there are many Canadian reports) and those who are doing more international/global research.  It will also help those who are researching company strategies, country/industry regulatory environments, political developments, and even those who are doing some career/job research.   Please take some time to explore BMO to see if it might play a role in your classes and assignments:  http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/10762

The SFU Library is pleased to announce that the Canadian Points of View Reference Centre is now available:  http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/10395

Canadian Points of View Reference Centre is a full-text database designed to provide students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. The database provides information on more than 100 key topics of interest to Canadian researchers, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide. Topics covered include: environment, health, human rights, crime, race, technology, substance abuse, and many more.

World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents & Resources is now available via HeinOnline.

This collection provides access to the current constitution for every country (193 countries) and substantial constitutional histories for the United Kingdom, France, Brazil and Colombia.

To access:

1. Login to SFU Library’s HeinOnline database and select the link, “World Constitutions Illustrated” found under the “Subscribed Libraries” heading
2. Click on “World Constitutions”
3. Select your country
4. Enjoy the English language translation of that country’s constitution, alongside its constitution in the original language

Note: this collection is a good place to begin constitutional research.  According to the publisher, HeinOnline “is working to identify and acquire the source documents for every historical constitution for every country. As historical documents are identified, they will be added to the constitutional timeline for each country. Documents identified but not yet acquired will be listed to provide a documentary history of the constitution’s development.”

The SFU Library is pleased to announce that we’ve recently purchased a new subscription to the Canadian Foreign Relations Index: http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/10003

“The Canadian Foreign Relations Index (CFRI) is a searchable database of over 50,000 items related to Canadian foreign relations, spanning from 1945 to the present. The CFRI contains references for Canadian and foreign material on Canada’s foreign relations, defence issues, economic relations, foreign aid, international law, and international environmental concerns. The index includes: journal articles, monographs, theses, research papers, chapters from edited works, conference proceedings, unpublished papers, selected government documents, news releases, statements, and treaties.”

The Library now has access to part of the database China Academic Journals.  China Academic Journals is a full-text database of Chinese language journals.  SFU currently has access to the following series: Series F (Literature, History and Philosophy) and Series G (Politics/Military Affairs/Law) which may be of interest to Political Science Researchers looking for Chinese language materials.

Check out this new database here:
http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/9248

Note: Please be aware of the following technical requirements:

- Using a MAC? Open the pdf in Preview.
- Using a PC? Users will need access to a Simplified Chinese Language Support Package from Adobe in order to view the Chinese fonts properly. Or use an alternative pdf reader like Foxit. If you have administrative rights to your computer, you can also download CAJ’s official viewer from within the site.