Political Science Research Guide: Theories of Political Behavior

This area of Political Science that deals with:

These areas rely heavily on research in the fields of Psychology, Sociology, Media Studies and Demography. Consequently, it is a good idea to begin any research in this area using tools such as:  

• PsychInfo
  This Psychology Database will provide you with citations from journals dealing with the study of human behavior.
   
• SocIndex
  This Sociology Database will provide you with citations to journals dealing with how humans interact in society.  As part of it, there will be writings dealing with social groups, demographic groups, the role of media, etc.

You can also consult one of our General Interdisciplinary Databases such as:

• EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
  Interdisciplinary full-text database indexing many Political Science journals. Also has indexing for Newsmagazines which makes it useful for current events.
   
• JSTOR
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences. 
   
• Periodical Archive Online
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older)
   
• Project Muse
  Searchable collection of periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Coverage is retrospective (3-5 years and older)
   
• Web of Knowledge
  Interdisciplinary database that indexes the most widely respected periodicals in Academia.

For Journal Articles about:

• Social Groups and Political Orientation check the Social Groups Box Below
   
• The Media and Voting Behavior see the Media Box Below
   
• Political Orientation in Different Cultures, consult the Political Behavior in Different Cultures box below

If your topic deals with the political orientation of different groups (Women, First Nations, etc), you may also wish to consult databases that cite literature related to them.  They are listed below

• Bibliography of Native North Americans Database
       Useful for topics dealing with First Nations People and Political Behavior.
   
• LGBT Life Database
       Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Trans-Gender Studies is useful for topics dealing with Gender Orientation and Political Behavior.
   
• ATLA Religion Index
       Database that indexes journals in the field of Religion. Useful for topics dealing with Religion and Political Behavior.
   
• SocIndex
      This Sociology Database will provide you with citations to articles that deal with people in different groups and how they 
      participate in political decisions.

Consult any of the following databases for information on Media and Voting Behavior

• PsychInfo
  This Psychology Database will provide you with citations from journals dealing human behavior and (1) the Media or (2) how people vote.
   
• SocIndex
  This Sociology Database will provide you with citations to journals dealing with the media, political orientation of various groups and voting behavior. 
   
• EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
  Interdisciplinary full-text database indexing many Political Science and Communications Journals. It also includes indexing from News Magazines which makes it useful for Current Events.

Note:  When searching for this topic think of all related terms, place OR between them and surround them with brackets. Then combine them with records from a second record set such as:

(Media OR Television OR Radio OR Newspapers OR Blogs)

AND

(Vot* OR Elections)

For coverage of the political behavior of groups in different areas of the world - whether it is historical or current in nature  - consult one of the databases listed below:

• America: History and Life
  Use for topics dealing with historical political behavior of individuals or groups in North America
   
• Canadian Reference Center
  Use for topics dealing with Political Behavior in Canada
   
• Historical Abstracts
  A useful tool for topics dealing with the historical behavior of groups outside of North America.
   
• SocIndex
  This Sociology Database will provide you with citations to journals dealing with the political behavior of in different cultures.

After searching a Database, you may need to learn if an article cited is in a journal held by the library. 

To learn if the library owns the journal, search our Journal Titles List.

If a journal is not in our collection, you can still get the article via Inter-Library Loans.

If you are a student or faculty member at Brandon University, you can access databases from off campus.

If you are accessing the library's web site from off campus, most links on the library's web site will first take you to the Proxy Authentication Page, where you can log in with your Brandon University username and password. Once you have logged in, you will be taken to the destination of the link. You should only have to log in once per session.

To log in, you will need your Brandon University username and password - the same username and password you use to log into the Brandon University network when you're on campus. If you have not claimed your username and password or you are having trouble logging in with those, you should contact the Brandon University Help Desk (Phone 571-8500 Monday -Friday 8:30AM to 4:30PM).

For more information, see the Off-Campus Access Page