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Politics and international relations: Websites

A guide to finding information in politics and international relations. Includes links to key resources and sources of help.

There is a huge amount of information on the Internet but the quality is variable. Some reliable sources are suggested below.

See also the tips and suggestions to help you evaluate what's good and what's not!

Subject portals

This guide cannot - and does not aim to - provide an exhaustive list of websites for researching politics and international relations. To identify and access more sites of potential value, the resource listings in the specialist portals below are a good place to start.

UK politics

European and EU politics

US politics

World politics and international relations

General resources

Research institutions and organisations

Guides and tutorials

Tips on evaluating websites

Success

Before believing the information given on a web site, or quoting it in your essay or project, think about the following:

Authority

  • Who is responsible for the page/site?
  • Is it a reliable organisation (eg a well known university) or a subject expert?
  • Can you trust them?

Accuracy and reliability

  • Is the information correct?
  • Is the grammar and spelling correct?
  • Is it complete, or are they just giving one point of view?
  • Do they have their own agenda eg political organisations?
  • Is the information fact or opinion?

Currency

  • Can you tell how up-to-date it is?
  • Is it regularly updated?
  • You don't want to quote out-of-date information

Audience / relevance

  • Is the information of the right level to be quoted in your project? If it is aimed at the general public or school children it might not be!

Feel!

  • Is the site well structured and easy to navigate?
  • Are the links from the page up-to-date and valid?
  • If it is well designed and maintained then you can feel more confident about the information it provides