Research Guides
JSIS 495: Task Force - Winter 2019: Task Force I
The End of Democracy?
Is democracy "over"? Around the world, established democracies are said to face “deconsolidation” or “erosion.” In other words, democracies seem a lot less stable and even less democratic. Separating rhetoric from reality and evaluating the substance of these claims is a core objective of this task force. The task force will also evaluate perceived causes of democratic erosion, including the splintering of political parties, weakening of democratic norms, the rise of populism, and media transformation.
Top Organizational Tools
- Feedly
A news aggregator application for various web browsers and mobile devices running iOS and Android. Useful to track developing situations in current events. 
A free online service that collects information on various topics or from various sources in one place as it is published. A great way to stay up-to-date on developing situations.
- Helpful Google Doc Add-OnsThe 32 best Google Doc add-ons according to Matthew Guay, as of September 11, 2017
- Concept Mapping Handout (.docx)Please complete this and bring it to the library session on Jan. 15.
Background & Context Sources
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
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Introductions to topics and critical surveys of the current state of scholarship in a particular field of study. - Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window
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Full text encyclopedias in all subject areas - Europa World This link opens in a new window
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Political, social and economic information about countries and world regions.
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) ReportsResearch and analysis for Congress on a broad range of national policy issues.
Scholarly Article Sources
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowScholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.
See help for accessing articles from off-campus through Google Scholar. - PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
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Social and public policy literature from periodicals, government documents, books, and other sources. - Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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Citation index for the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly articles and general interest sources in all fields. - Military & Government Collection This link opens in a new window
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News and scholarship on all branches of the military and government. - ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
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Index to doctoral dissertations and selected masters theses from 1861 to the present; includes 2 million+ full text dissertations published since 1997.
Think Tank & NGO/IGO Sources
Think tanks are institutions that generate public policy research and analysis. They can be affiliated with governments, advocacy groups, universities, businesses and other organizations. Their purpose is to influence and inform public opinion and policymakers. Most in the US are nonpartisan though many do have an ideological perspective. For more information on think tanks see the entry in the Encyclopedia of Global Studies.
Find additional think tanks in the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index rankings. Also see information about evaluating think tank research.
See also:
- AllSides: Bias Rankings for Think Tanks & Policy Groups
- 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (rankings by country/region, theme)
Domestic News Sources
- The Conversation (U.S. edition)Independent source of news and views from the academic & research community.
- Google NewsAggregated current news; create an alert to be notified of new developments
- Access World News This link opens in a new window
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Regional, national, and international newspapers, 1980's-present. - US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
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Washington State, national & regional newspapers, 1980 - present
International News Sources
- The Conversation (Global edition)Global edition of this independent source of news and views from the academic & research community. (See also: editions for Africa, Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, and the UK)
- Access World News This link opens in a new window
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Regional, national, and international newspapers, 1980's-present. - Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
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Current international, national & regional newspapers, 1980 - present.
Librarian
Required Texts
Disciplinary Research Guides
- Legal & Judicial Systems in Countries Around the WorldGuide from the UW Law Library