LibGuides: Politics and International Relations: Journal Articles

Introduction to Journals and Journal Articles

What are journals?

Journals are publications that contain the latest academic research and writing. Journals are also known as "serials" or "periodicals" because a they are published on a regular basis throughout the year. There are hundreds of journal titles covering all the different areas of research. An example of a journal is the Review of International Studies. Every issue of a journal contains a number of articles that are written by experts in the subject area.

Why should I use journal articles in my assignments?

Some key reasons are:

They are a great source of current research information.
They provide detailed coverage of specialist subjects.
Most journal articles are peer-reviewed. This means they are assessed before publication by subject experts to ensure the validity, significance and originality of the work.
They can often be accessed online, using a computer or a mobile device.

Where can I search for journal articles?

A good place to start is Articles and More on Library Search. There are also specialist databases for your subject area. You can find links to the top resources on this page.

How to find journal articles and more via Library Search

Top places to find articles for Politics and IR

Articles and More
Use the 'articles and more' tab on Library Search to find journal articles on your topic.

Politics Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
This collection provides access to renowned databases such as PAIS and WPSA, covering the international literature in political science and public administration/policy, along with related fields. Together, they provide abstracts, indexing and full text coverage of journal articles, country reports, dissertations, think-tank reports, working papers, government documents and more, including full-text from many leading political science and international relations journals.
ProQuest Political Science This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Political Science gives users access to over 410 leading political science and international relations journals. This collection provides the full-text of 385 core titles, many of which are indexed in Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. New to ProQuest Political Science are hundreds of recent, full-text, political science dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities, as well as thousands of current working papers from the Political Science Research Network.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of e-journals for the humanities, social sciences and sciences, not including the most recent issues from the past 3-5 years
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to current content from over 200 titles in the Humanities and Social Sciences, representing nearly 100 not-for-profit publishers. Includes the full text of several key politics and IR e-journals
Social Sciences Citation Index This link opens in a new window
2,697 journals across 55 social science disciplines, as well as selected items from 3,500 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals 1900 to present.
Social Science Premium (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Includes Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), and Sociological Abstracts.

Library Guides

Politics and International Relations: Journal Articles