LibGuides: POL 220: US Public Policy: Public Policy Resources

Newspaper Articles

Newspapers are an EXCELLENT source for tracing policy histories. If you search for newspapers online, however, you often hit paywalls. Fortunately, you can access that exact same content - for free - through the library! Use the databases below to access full text of newspapers. The databases are updated constantly, so you'll even find today's papers already in the databases.

US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Indexing and selected full text access to over 350 newspapers from around the world. Archival coverage begins in 1985 for some titles. Access is provided by eLibraryMN (ELM).
Access World News (Newsbank) This link opens in a new window
Provides the full text of global, regional and local news sources. Coverage ranges from over 40 Minnesota sources to international sources from over 200 countries.

Additional Resources

We have a number of primary source and other resources that might be useful, depending on your topic. Browse the databases below to see what might fit.

CQ Researcher Online This link opens in a new window
Provides reporting and analysis on issues in the news, with coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy. Each report includes an introductory overview, a background and chronology, an assessment of the current situation, a pro/con debate by representatives of opposing positions, and bibliographies of key sources.
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America This link opens in a new window
This collection brings together journals, compiled legislative histories, congressional hearings and reports, Supreme Court briefs, and more related to gun regulation.
Civil Rights and Social Justice This link opens in a new window
An online collection of publications on civil rights in the United States. This collection includes publications from the Commission on Civil Rights, legislative histories on landmark legislation, briefs from relevant U.S. Supreme Court cases, and more. The Civil Rights & Social Justice database is provided to libraries at no cost by HeinOnline.

Finding Legislation

You'll be able to access many government documents online, although it gets a little trickier the farther back you go, as not everything has been digitized. These resources will point you to on legislation at both the federal and state levels.

Georgetown Law Library has an excellent guide to finding government documents and legislative histories (although note that we have access to some - but not all - of the resources mentioned on that guide.)

You can also search the Gustavus Library catalog for other government documents, both in print and online. We're a selective Federal Repository Library (and scroll to the bottom of this page for more links on finding government documents).

Federal

Congressional This link opens in a new window
Index to congressional publications from 1970 to the present, legislative histories for public laws, testimony at congressional hearings, and biographical and committee information. Also allows searching of the Congressional Record and Federal Register.

Congress.gov (formerly THOMAS)
From the Library of Congress. Provides the text of bills introduced in Congress along with committee action from the 104th Congress (1995) to present. Users can search the site by bill number or keyword to learn about the legislative process, find a state's members of Congress, and access a comprehensive database on current and past legislation. The site also provides a full-text search of the Congressional Record, a daily record of activity in Congress, and committee information. Most official state Web sites provide similar bill-tracking information for state legislatures.
Congressional Research Service Reports
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a federal legislative branch agency located within the Library of Congress that conducts in-depth analysis and research on various topics for members of Congress. Their reports are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan and are an excellent source of information on various public policy issues.
Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
Proposed Rules and Regulations
Search the Federal Registrar Daily Journal of the United States Government for proposed rules and regulations.
Executive Orders
The President of the United States manages the operations of the Executive branch of Government through Executive orders. After the President signs an Executive order, the White House sends it to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR).
GovTrack.us
From their website: "GovTrack.us began in 2004 as a project to use technology to make the U.S. Congress more open and accessible. Today we’re the leading non-governmental source of legislative information and statistics."
Legislative Explorer
"An interactive data visualization that allows anyone to explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress."
US Code
The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives.

State

National Conference of State Legislatures
An excellent source for exploring state-level legislation on various issues.

If you're researching state-level policies, here are some relevant sites for the state of Minnesota. If you're working on a different state, search for these same kinds of resources from your state.

Finding Court Rulings

Consult our Guide for Law for more ways to search. If you are looking primarily for US Supreme Court cases, you can also consult the research guide for POL 390: Constitutional Law.

Supreme Court Opinions via Findlaw
Includes decisions from 1760 to present, searchable by date, party name, or case number.
Findlaw
A commercial directory to law resources. Includes a handy law dictionary and a well-designed full text database of US Supreme Court decisions from 1893 to the present. Site requires free registration.
Legal Information Institute, Cornell University
A directory to legal information on the web, including texts of case law and statutes for state, federal and international jurisdictions. The site - organized alphabetically by topic - also provides links to court opinions and directories to law organizations and journals. From the Cornell University Law School.
Supreme Court Opinions via Findlaw
Includes decisions from 1760 to present, searchable by date, party name, or case number.
Caselaw Access Project
CAP includes all official, book-published state and federal United States case law — every volume or case designated as an official report of decisions by a court within the United States.

Librarian

Rachel Flynn

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Subjects: Art and Art History, English, Health and Exercise Science, Psychological Science, Public Health

Sources for Opinion Polls

Associated Press/IPSOS Poll
Annotated list of polls with a focus on the economy and politics; includes US, Canada, and international polls.
FiveThirtyEight Politics
A site that analyzes poll and other data for politics, sports, economics, science, and culture. The underlying data is also made available in many cases.
Gallup Poll - Ref HN 90 .P8 G35
An annual compilation of opinion poll statistics gathered by the Gallup Organization, covering from 1935 to the present. Indexes make it easy to find figures from different years. This organization also maintains a website which contains selected data at Gallup.com.
LAPOP-Latin American Public Opinion Project
Results from most Latin American countries as well as Madagascar, Israel, and Albania.
Pew Research Center
A non-partisan site that researches politics, media, social trends, religion, science and technology, Hispanic Americans, and global opinion.
Polling Report
"An independent, nonpartisan resource
on trends in American public opinion."
Survey Research Center
From the University of Michigan.
Washington Post Polls
Results of surveys conducted by the Washington Post as well as links to other polls.

POL 220: US Public Policy: Public Policy Resources

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