What is a Reference Tool?           General Sources             American Politics
International Politics                   Law                                  Online Sources

What is a reference tool? 

• A reference tool is a resource that is used to uncover a specific fact or piece of information.  Reference tools are generally not intended to be read sequentially or cover-to-cover.
• Reference tools contain specific facts, definitions, overviews, background information and citations to other relevant resources.
• Reference tools are helpful in narrowing a topic.
• Reference tools provide definitions of concepts.
• Reference tools include encylopedias, dictionaries, biographies, bibliographies, handbooks, atlases, maps, and thesauri.
• Reference tools are a great place to start research!
• Reference books in Blackwell Library are located on the main floor and have call numbers that start with the letters REF.

General Sources

• Encyclopedia of Government and Politics
  REF JA61 .E53 1992

• The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought
  REF JA61 .B57 1991

• Encyclopedia of Policy Studies
  REF H97 .E6 1994

• The Statesman’s Yearbook
  Ready Reference | JA51 .S7

• Encyclopedia of Media and Politics
  REF P95.82.U6 E47 2007 

• Encyclopedia of Terrorism
  REF HV6431 .K883 2003

• Marxism, Communism & Western Society
  REF HX40 .K43

American Politics

• America Votes
  REF JK1867 .A8

• American Presidential Campaigns and Elections
  REF JK1965 .A57 2003

• The American Political Dictionary
  REF JK9 .P55 1997

• The Best Guide to American Politics
  REF JK1726 .W27 2000

• Congressional Staff Directory
  REF JK1012 .C65 2008

• CQ Almanac Plus
  REF JK1 .C66

• Encyclopedia of American Political Reform
  REF E839.5 .C57 1996

• A Historical Guide to the U.S. Government
  REF JK9 .H57 1998

• Political Profiles
  REF E840.6 .P64

• The Status of Women in the States : Politics, Economics, Health, Demographics
  REF HQ1438.A15 I57 2000

International Politics

• The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World
  REF JA61 .O95 1993

• Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
  REF DS4 .E53 2002

• Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations : Ethnic and National Groups around the World
  REF D860 .M56 2002

• Nations of the World
  REF D32 .N37

• The Columbia Gazetteer of the World
  REF G103.5 .C645 1998 

Law

• Black's Law Dictionary
  REF KF156 .B43 1999
• Constitution of the United States of America
  REF KF4527 .U54 2004
• Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
  REF KF4548 .E53 1986
• Landmark Supreme Court Cases
  REF KF4549 .L58 1999
• West's Encyclopedia of American Law
  REF KF154 .W47 1998

Online Sources

The librarian liaison to Political Science is Krista Knapp,
kmknapp@salisbury.edu | 410-677-0118