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The University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Political Science Research Guide

Use this guide to find information and research on topics in the field of political science

Discovery search

screenshot of Discovery catalog landing page with a search for the terms "United States" and "democracy"Books (print and digital) in the Five College Consortium system can be searched for in the Discovery catalog.

Users can search by title, author, abstract, subject, or by general key words or phrases. Results can then be filtered by Source Types > Books and/or ebooks.

Note that only one holding shows by default in the results – to see other holdings, click on "+[n] more" under the result.

Ebooks that are shown as being available at Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, or Holyoke Colleges cannot be accessed from UMass; you must visit the college's campus or request the title via Interlibrary Loan.

Call numbers

UMass Libraries use the Library of Congress (LC) classification. Print books in political science are generally found in the LC call numbers starting with J (located on the 17th floor of Du Bois library).

How to read Library of Congress call numbers.

Floor directory for Du Bois library.

Library of Congress classification outline.