Where to Search - SWK 3150: Social Welfare Policies and Institutions - Spring 2022

Finding Bills

Federal Legislation

Congress.gov
Official website for U.S. federal legislative information.
GovTrack.us
Nonpartisan source for legislative information and statistics.

State Legislation

Illinois General Assembly Bills
This link shows legislation that has been introduced in the current session of Illinois Congress but has not yet become law.
To see current laws, look under "Public Acts."
Wisconsin State Legislature
Select 'Law and Legislation' on the right-hand side of the page to find search tools.

Professional Advocacy Work

Explore policy and social justice issues relevant to social work on professional organizations' websites.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

National Association of Social Workers - Illinois Chapter (NASWIL)

Learning More about a Bill

Congressional Budget Office
Nonpartisan budget analysis and cost estimates for U.S. Congress
GovInfo
Free public access to official government publications.
Congressional Research Service Reports
Congressional Research Service is a nonpartisan branch of the Library of Congress that provides research services to Congress, including summaries of legislation.
C-Span Congressional Chronicle
This is a comprehensive recording of United States Congress proceedings.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)
This legislative branch government agency provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress. You may find reports about legislation and relevant issues here.

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

Databases

Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
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.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Subjects: accounting, actuarial science, business, criminal justice, finance, international studies, marketing, professional selling,
Content: company profiles, legal cases, newspapers
Publication dates: varies

Nexis Uni, the successor of LexisNexis Academic, provides full-text access to over 15,000 news, business, and legal sources.
Social Science Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
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.
Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window
Subjects: multidisciplinary
Content: Wall Street Journal 1984 - present
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
Subjects: multidisciplinary
Content: newspapers, television news transcripts
Publication dates: 1995 - present

Bill Help

Types of Legislation
A Key to U.S. Federal Legislation Codes
How Laws are Made
This resource from the U.S. House of Representatives describes the path a bill takes to become a law, including the resolution process and committee involvement.

SWK 3150: Social Welfare Policies and Institutions - Spring 2022

Instructional Services Librarian

Current Events Databases

Need more research help?

Finding Bills

Federal Legislation

State Legislation

Professional Advocacy Work

Learning More about a Bill

Google Search

Google Search

Databases

Bill Help