Doing Archival Research in Political Science

383 Pages·2012·2.25 MB·English

by  Scott A. Frisch

Doing Archival Research
in Political Science

Doing Archival Research
in Political Science
EDITED BY
Scott A. Frisch, Douglas B. Harris,
Sean Q Kelly, and David C.W. Parker
Copyright 2012 Cambria Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doing archival research in political
science / Scott A. Frisch ... [et al.], editors
p. cm. . -- (Politics, institutions, and public policy in America
Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN 978-1-60497-802-5 (alk. paper)
1. Political science--Research--Methodology. 2. Political
science--Archival resources. I. Frisch, Scott A., 1964-
JA86.D65 2012
320.072--dc23
2012003352
Table of Contents
List of Figures................................................................ vii
List of Tables.................................................................. ix
Introduction: Taking the Road Less Traveled
Scott A. Frisch, Douglas B. Harris, Sean Q Kelly, and
David C. W. Parker.................................................. 1
Part I: Political Science and the Archives.............................. 33
Chapter 1: Political Science and Archival Research
Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q Kelly............................. 35
Chapter 2: Behavioral Reality and Institutional Change
Douglas B. Harris.............................................. 59
Chapter 3: Pulling Back the Curtain
Linda A. Whitaker and Michael Lotstein..................... 99
Part II: Political Science in the Archives.............................. 155
Chapter 4: Why Archives?
David C. W. Parker........................................... 157
Chapter 5: If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Albuquerque
David C. W. Parker........................................... 165
Chapter 6: The Search for the Elusive Executive
Brandon Rottinghaus.......................................... 199
Chapter 7: Rummaging Through the Attics of the CIA and
Congress
David M. Barrett.............................................. 223
Chapter 8: Public Opinion in the Archives
Amy Fried...................................................... 239
vi Doing Archival Research in Political Science
Chapter 9: Digging Through Trash
Kathleen Sullivan and Patricia Strach...................... 271
Chapter 10: In Search of Influence
Tracy Roof.................................................... 293
Part III: On the Road.................................................... 323
Chapter 11: Hitting the Road Without Hitting the Potholes
Sean Q Kelly and Linda A. Whitaker...................... 325
Appendices.................................................................. 349
Index......................................................................... 353
About the Contributors.....................................................365
List of Figures
Figure 1: Page 1 of a list of members that the Carter White
House liaison team suggested President Carter contact.
The handwritten notes are the president’s, reflecting his
thoughts on each call. ........................................... 44
Figure 2: Whip counts from the papers of Representative Tom
Bevill help illustrate how he built a coalition in support
of his Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project ............... 45
Figure 3: Archivist Mary Anne Hamblen in the storage warehouse
with the Ted Stevens Papers Collection (2010). ............. 118
Figure 4: Personal and political papers of Senator Barry M.
Goldwater before processing (2003) ..........................121
Figure 5: Personal and political papers of Senator Barry M.
Goldwater after processing (2009) ............................ 122
Figure 6: Payroll, Department of Public Works, 1883 ................. 284

List of Tables
Table 1: The data available in archival collections. ...................... 49
Table 2: Ready and latent data in congressional papers
collections. ......................................................... 50
Table 3: Container list from the 1964 presidential campaign series
in the Goldwater papers. ........................................ 138
Table 4: Senator John Glenn and going home, 1987–1992. ........... 176
Table 5: Senator Barry Goldwater and going home, 1975–
1980 ............................................................... 176
Table 6: Comparison of Republican vote percentages in
Republican, swing, and Democratic precincts in Maricopa
and Pima Counties, 1976–1980 ................................ 179
Table 7: Change in voter turnout between 1976 and 1980 in
Republican, swing, and Democratic precincts in Maricopa
and Pima Counties ............................................... 180
Table 8: Library of Congress presidential manuscript
collections ......................................................... 202
Table 9: NARA presidential library websites and locations ........... 203
Table 10: Budget worksheet ............................................... 349
Table 11: Travel checklist ................................................. 351