Librarian for Political Science, Policy Studies, and Government Information
Reference and Instruction Librarian
351 Olmsted Drive
Middletown, PA 17057
Political Science Resources
This guide is designed as a starting point for political science research. If you are not finding what you need please consult one of our other in-depth guides on related topics. Consult the list of Social Sciences guides below.
Course guides for political science
The following guides are available for courses in the Political Science Department at University Park and World Campus.
Citing Your Sources
When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent.
- Citation and Writing GuidesInformation for APA, MLA, and other citation styles as well as general writing help.
Citing your sources in APSA style
If you have been asked to user the American Political Science Association (APSA) citation style these resources can help.
- American Political Science Association Style ManualFull APSA Style Manual in PDF
- The Citation Machine -- American Political Science AssociationPlug in the information for many commonly cited types of resources and generate a formated citation. Be sure to check it against a published APSA guide to ensure accuracy.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy.
- Academic IntegrityA series of modules that provide a basic definition of academic integrity and explain practically how to avoid plagiarism, cheating, and other academic integrity violations.