PS 102 - Election Project Resources

Here are some general tips for more efficient searching:

• Put names in quotation marks. For example - "Paul Seaton"
• Use Ctrl+F to quickly search for a person's name or a topic on a website or in a PDF document
• Add important keywords to help narrow your search (election, Alaska, candidate, year - e.g. 2018, issue - e.g. PFD)
• For database searches, limit your search by date
• Use website-based search engines (YouTube, Facebook, State of Alaska, etc.) rather than doing a global Google search

Candidate's Websites:

Candidate's websites are great sources of information about their background and position on different topics.

• Division of Election's Candidate's Page to find current candidates' website links. 
• Past Election Pamphlets to find websites for candidates from older races. These may or may not still be active - try the Wayback Machine link below if you find a link that is no longer active.
• Search for: "Candidate's name" official website. This may help find websites for people who don't have websites listed on the Division of Election's page or who were candidates in the past

Division of Elections Regions (for Election Pamphlets):

• Region I: Southeast, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, Prince William Sound
• Region II: Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Borough
• Region III: Interior, Greater Valdez, Eastern Mat-Su Area, Fairbanks and Greater Fairbanks Area
• Region IV: Northern, Western, Southwest, Aleutian Chain

The following article databases provide access to news coverage of Alaskan topics. Access to these databases is limited to currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff at UAS. If you are accessing these materials from off campus, you will need to login with your UA username and password. 

YouTube:

Most news outlets also have YouTube channels (KTOO, Alaska Public Media, etc.). You can go to their channel home page and use the magnifying glass search tool to find current and past election coverage. (Keywords: election, year, candidate's names, candidate forum, etc.)

Many candidates also have their own YouTube channels where they post videos about their positions on different topics. You can usually find a link to their YouTube channel from their websites. If they have run previously, try searching by year in the keyword search.

X (Former Twitter):

News outlets and candidates usually have Twitter accounts. If you know a person or organization's Twitter handle (@name), you can add that to a keyword search and find past Tweets on a topic. (Keywords: @name, election, Alaska, year, name of issue, etc.) Try to avoid searching Twitter without limiting to a particular account, however, as you are likely to come across a lot of mis/disinformation.

Facebook and others:

Like searching Twitter and YouTube, it's best to search within a candidate's page or the page of a news organization to avoid mis/disinformation. You can find these links on the candidate's / news organization's website. 

Having trouble finding what you need? Having issues accessing content online?

Contact us at the library:

• email (uas.eganlibrary@alaska.edu)
• phone (907-796-6502) 
• chat from the library's website.
• visit us in person at the Reference Desk during our open hours