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Political Science

This is guide is an introductory guide to Political Science research and resources..

How to Find Government Documents

Government Call Numbers

If you need to search for a government document by its call number, we recommend that you go to the Numbers tab and start with the OCLC Call Number option in the drop-down menu.

Contrary to popular belief (and the catalog help screen), this recommendation applies to both U.S. federal and Texas state government documents.

If you are unable to locate a U.S. federal document using the Other Call Number search, then try a SuDoc Number search. But in most cases, the “Other” search is more dependable.

Additional tips

  • Make sure you enter the proper punctuation in a call number search. The online catalog is very “picky” about punctuation in call numbers.
  • Don’t rely on OCLC or WorldCat call numbers. They are often incorrect or different. If you find something in a WorldCat record, it’s best to search for the UNT copy by title rather than call number.
  • Speaking of WorldCat, please be aware that UNT government documents holdings are not listed in WorldCat. It’s necessary to search the UNT catalog to see if we have an item in our collection.

Online Versions of Government Documents

Did you know that a large percentage of government publications are available online? And it’s not just the new stuff, either.

Unfortunately, though, you can’t just limit your search to “electronic resources” if you’re looking for online government documents. Nor can you limit your material type to “ebooks” or “ejournals”.

To find an online version of a government document, you must do a regular catalog search as if you are looking for a paper book. 

Look for the “related content” button on the browse screen for your title. This signifies that there is a hyperlink of some sort in the record. 

 You’ll probably also notice that the paper book, paper map, and online versions of this title are all together on one record.  Due to the way government documents are issued, we’ve found that it’s easier for patrons to find all the parts and formats of a title if they are all included on the same record. Unfortunately, this also means that limiting searches to a particular format is not always productive.

So remember, if you’re looking for an online government document, don’t limit your search by format or material type.

How-tos

US Federal Government Resources

International Government Resources

Additional Links

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