Drifting Disciplines, Enduring Records: Political Science and the Use of Archives

Archivists' interest in expanding their academic clientele beyond historians has prompted them to consider the informational needs of researchers from other disciplines. Surveys of institutional users and citation studies of publications show that political scientists and public policy specialists have made little use of archival sources; but a careful analysis of political science literature reveals that changes in the discipline may be reversing its long-standing behaviorist antipathy for humanistic and historical inquiry. An understanding of these changes can inform effective archival outreach efforts to encourage research use of archives.