Guides: PSC 3340 U.S. Domestic Policy: Find Research

Government Resources

Bills, Laws, Publications
Data and Statistics

Congress.gov
Official website for U.S. Federal legislative information. Find bills, laws, and other documents from Congress.
GovTrack
Nonpartisan source for legislative documents and information from Congress.
GovInfo
Provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
CRS is a nonpartisan branch of the Library of Congress that provides research services to Congress.

Census Bureau Data
Search by location or topic. For more guidance on finding Census data, contact a librarian, or see the Community Assessment Research Guide.
Data and Statistics About the U.S.
Provides links and information about statistical agencies in the U.S. government.
Data.gov
Open data from the U.S. government.
U.S. Department and Government Agencies Index
Lists websites for individual departments and agencies.
U.S. Federal Government Data Guide - Tulane University
This guide from Tulane University Libraries contains links for government information broken down by topic.

Google Search

Use the limiter site: to filter for websites that end in a specific domain.

Examples

site:.gov returns sites that end with .gov
site:.edu returns sites that end with .edu
site:.org returns sites that end with .org

Political Science and Public Policy Databases

PAIS Index
Subjects: energy resources and policy, law, human rights, international studies, political science
Content: index of journals, books, conference papers
Publication date: 1915 – present

This resource covers issues in the public debate through selective coverage of a wide variety of international sources including journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more. PAIS International is the current file covering 1972 to present, and PAIS Archive includes the content from printed volumes published 1915-1976. (PAIS Index contains both PAIS International and PAIS Archive.)
Policy File Index
Subjects: economics, law, international studies, political science, social work
Content: reports
Publication date: 1990 – present

Policy File Index is a unique resource for U.S. public policy research. Users are able to access timely, updated information from over 350 public policy think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, research institutes, university centers, advocacy groups, and other entities.
Political Science Complete
Subjects: gender studies, history, international studies, political science
Content: journals, books, conference papers
Publication date: 1965 – present
Politics Collection
Subjects: international studies, political science
Content: full-text and index to journals, working papers, conference proceedings, country reports, policy papers
Publication date: 1914 – present

This collection provides access to renowned databases such as PAIS and WPSA, covering the international literature in political science and public administration/policy, along with related fields. Together, they provide abstracts, indexing and full text coverage of journal articles, country reports, dissertations, think-tank reports, working papers, government documents and more, including full-text from many leading political science and international relations journals.
Social Science Premium Collection
Subjects: anthropology, criminology, education, linguistics, library science, nursing, politics, public policy, social work, sociology
Content: full-text and index of journals, dissertations, ebooks, working and conference papers, etc.
Publication date: 1914 – present

This collection provides access to databases covering international literature in social sciences, including politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, library science, and education. Featured databases include IBSS, Sociological Abstracts and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Together, they provide abstracts, indexing and full-text coverage of journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more.
SocINDEX with Full Text
Subjects: criminal justice, gender studies, latino studies, political science, psychology, social work, sociology
Content: journals, magazines, books, conference proceedings
Publication dates: 1908 – present

Search Tips

Keywords

Identify keywords for your topic and brainstorm narrower, broader, and related terms.

Example: Factors that affect academic performance in first-generation college students.

Academic Performance	College	First-Generation Students
Student Success	Higher Education	Children of Immigrants
Student Achievement	University	Minority Students
Learning Outcomes	Community College	Nontraditional Students

Boolean Operators

Typing the Boolean Operators AND, OR, and NOT into the library catalog or databases allow you to broaden or narrow your results.

Found too many results?

Add more keywords.

Adding additional keywords to your search can help to further narrow your topic.

Example: college AND first-generation students AND academic performance

Found too few results?

Use OR.

Broaden your search by using OR to link your terms.

Example: (college OR higher education OR university) AND first-generation students AND (academic performance OR student success)