Information Literacy Resources: Political Science

Kristina Troost, PhD
Course: Research Methods in Japanese Studies, 2005 Spring,
Duke University

Rational Choice Analysis and Area Studies

"Rational Choice Analysis and Area Studies: enemies or partners," by Margaret A. McKean in Neil Waters et al., ed., Beyond the Area Studies Wars, University of New England Press, 2000, pp. 29-63.

Finding Japanese Government Documents

The author attempts to help uncover how to find these critical documents by describing the Japanese policy making process, along with the life-cycle of these documents at each step. The author believes there are two major fundamental changes that must be made to improve access to Japanese government documents; (1) an enforceable records management system must be established across the government, and (2) a legally mandated open government mechanism must be created.

Using Grey Literature

Grey literature includes publications "produced at all levels by government, academia, business and industry, both in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commerical publishing interests, and where publishing is not the primary business activity of the organization." These provide important but difficult to find research materials.

Key reference books to examine

1. Nihon kanryōsei sōgō jiten, 1868-2000
   日本官僚制総合事典
   Hata Ikuhiko.
   Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 2001.
2. Seijigaku Jiten = Encyclopedia of Political Science
   政治学事典 = Encyclopedia of Political Science
   Inoguchi, Takashi et al.
   Tokyo: Kobundo, 2000.
3. Uyoku jiten. Minzokuha no zenbo.
   右翼事典。民族派の全貌。
   Shakai Mondai Kenkyūkai. Sōsōsha, 1970.
4. Sayoku dantai jiten.
   左翼団体事典
   Shakai Mondai Chōsakai. Kyokutō, 1966

Journals

These are the three most important journals in Japanese Political Science which Duke subscribe to. Searching MagazinePlus while limiting your search to one or another title will help you assess their relevance to your interests.

1. Jurisuto. ジュリスト。
   Duke has 1980-
2. Kokka gakkai zasshi. Journal of the Association of Political and Social Science. 国家学会雑誌。
   Duke has 1916-44; 1946-present
3. Revaiasan=Leviathan. レヴァイアサン。
   Duke has 1992-

Japanese Politics Central

Developed by Leonard Schoppa at UVA, it is a comprehensive source on contemporary Japanese politics. The links pages are excellent.

Japanese Government Portal Site for e-government

Japan Focus

Japan Focus presents writings about Japan, Japan in Asia and the world, as well as Japanese and international perspectives on contemporary Japanese politics, economics, society, and culture. It offers translations from Japanese, reprints of important English language texts, and Japan Focus originals. A subscription link to their weekly newsletter is available on the website.