Political Science 201: American Federal Government
Fall 2006
Civic Engagement Opportunities
work with a political or governmental official
Resources for finding local politicians and government officials, with contact information
- Politics1: Illinois ~ a thorough source of information about current Illinois government officials
- Project Vote-Smart ~ All current Illinois officials and candidates are included in this site, with links to each candidate's biographical information, issue positions, voting record, campaign finances, and special interest groups; check out who's in Congress, and find out more about state officials and local officials
- Yahoo! Directory: Politics ~ this is a complete listing of Illinois politicians with web presences, according to Yahoo!; check out candidates and officials for more information on their positions, policies, and requests for volunteer assistance
- Illinois Government: Legislative Section ~ information on the state's politicians, from the official Illinois government site
work with a political party or political action committee
Links to County Clerk's Offices, political parties, and political action committees (PACs)
County Clerks
- Cook County Clerk
- DuPage County Clerk
- Will County Clerk
- Lake County Clerk
- Kane County Clerk
- McHenry County Clerk
Political Parties
- Democratic National Committee ~ ask about opportunities to volunteer or raise money in your area
- Democratic Party of DuPage County ~ a number of ways in which you can help out
- Democratic Party of Illinois: Links ~ this collection links from the official Illinios Democratic party will take you to several organizations' sites, many of whom would welcome volunteers
- DuPage Republican Party ~ working on phone banks is a great way to help out this organization
- Illinois Republican Party ~ sign up to help out the Republican party in this state
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Republican National Committee ~ the RNC is looking for people to volunteer as team leaders in their area
PACs
- Citizen Advocacy Center ~ presents a great opportunity to learn about advocacy; take place in a survey on February 24
- League of Women Voters (Illinois chapter) ~ this nonpartisan political organization encourages informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy
- Eagle Forum ~ Eagle Forum was founded by Phyllis Schlafly and advocates for conservative family, education, and political issues. Also check out Eagle Forum Collegians for possible opportunities to get involved.
- MoveOnPAC.org ~ a liberal PAC (Political Action Committee); presents opportunities for volunteering to register voters, holding MoveOn fundraisers, and working to defeat George Bush
work with a non-profit community organization or interest group
Try searching at one of the below resources for contact information for different groups; or, if you have a specific organization in mind, like Planned Parenthood or Animal Care League, try searching Google for the organization's website (but make sure you evaluate the web site to make sure it is legitimate!)
- Yahoo! Directory: Chicago Metro: Community Organizations ~ divided by type of work organizations do
- Community Organizations ~ from Northwestern University's School of Law, a list of Chicago community organizations who welcome volunteers
- Chicagovolunteer.net ~ a database of volunteer opportunities in the Chicagoland area
- Network For Good ~ a great place to learn of volunteer opportunities; there are MANY organizations working for hurricane relief
- VolunteerMatch ~ enter your ZIP code and be matched up to volunteer opportunities
- Idealist.org ~ click here to search for volunteer opportunities
- Schaumburg Township District Library: Community Organizations ~ search or browse for community organizations throughout the area
- Chicago Area Directory of Organizations ~ compiled by librarians at the Chicago Public Library, a list of clubs and organizations
Using Internet Resources
Finding Books
- You can locate books owned by the library using I-Share Online.
- Use subject headings for more focused searching.
- If you don't know the appropriate subject heading, try a Guided Keyword search (much more useful than an Any Word Anywhere search!).
- If a book appears in the catalog, but is not available at Elmhurst, you can request the item directly in I-Share Online.
- Books not available through Illinet may be ordered through our online Interlibrary Loan book request form.
Finding Articles
Finding Journal Articles
Below are only three possible resources for finding articles on your topic. Explore the other article databases; some focus on particular topics, such as education, psychology, or nursing.
- Academic Search Premier ~ contains articles from both (scholarly) journal and popular magazines on a wide range of topics, many in full text. This article can help you tell the difference between scholarly journals and popular magazines: Looking for Articles in Journals and Magazines: Scholarly or Popular?
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CQ Researcher ~ published by Congressional Quarterly, this electronic reference tool is an excellent source for hot topics. This tool does not index articles; rather, it presents in electronic format the full text of individual issues of the publication. Each issue focuses exclusively on a particular topic, such as campaign finance reform or abortion.
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Lexis-Nexis Academic ~ a plethora of legal resources are at your fingertips, available in full text. You can also access political transcripts, or transcripts from radio and television programs.
Is this a scholarly journal or a popular magazine? Click here to find out.
Finding Newspaper Articles
- Chicago Tribune
- Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe ~ also provides access to newspapers from all over the world
- Newspaper Source ~ another database providing access to newspapers both large and small
- New York Times
What If The Article Isn't Available Online?
- Click the
button - Use I-Share Online to determine if the library owns the journal in print or in microfilm
- Check Alphabetical List of Journals Online to see if the article is available through another database
- If you cannot find an article at Elmhurst, you can request it through our online Interlibrary Loan article request form
Citing Your Sources
- The Political Science Student Writer's Manual, 3rd ed. R 808.06632 S426p 2000
- Writing and Citing: Styles by Discipline: Political Science ~ from Elmhurst College
- APSA style is based off of the Chicago Manual of Style (which is also the basis for Turabian); thus, here is an example of an article citation from a database (based off of Online! Citation Styles):
- Borut, Donald J., "Katrina Calls Attention to Race and Poverty in Cities," Nation's Cities Weekly, 28, no. 38 (2005): 2-2. Academic Search Premier Database, EBSCOhost (30 September 2005).
7 September, 2006
by Peg Cook, Assistant Reference Librarian
A.C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College