PUAF 620: Political Analysis
Professor: Christopher Foreman
Librarian: Judy Markowitz
This guide will assist you in locating resources for your PUAF 620 research assignments.
For additional information, please contact Judy Markowitz, 301-314-1316, judym[@]umd.edu.
Table of Contents
How a Bill Becomes a Law Background Information / Getting Started Primary Sources (Legislation and other documents, hearings, reports, etc Databases: Journal Articles, Reports... Roll Call Votes Public Opinion Sources Key Players Research Guides Citation Guides Government 101: How a Bill Becomes a Law (Project Vote Smart)
http://www.votesmart.org/resource_govt101_02.phpSinclair, Barbara. Unorthodox Lawmaking: new legislative processes in the U.S. Congress. MCK STACKS KF4945.S58 2007 (third edition)
(1997 and 2000 editions also available in MCK STACKS
Background Information / Getting Started
Catalog = Books and Other Documents
Use the Catalog to locate books and other materials on your topic.
SEARCH BY KEYWORDS using the word/s anywhere search: (be sure to look at the subject headings and follow them to refine the results) (the * at the end of the word is the truncation symbol = reform* = (reform or reform)
Examples:
| (voting or election*) and reform* | military and (cost* or spending) | (gay or homosexual*) and (marriage or partnership) |
SEARCH BY PHRASE using the word/s anywhere search: (be sure to look at the subject headings and follow them to refine the results)
Examples:
| "election reform" | "military spending" | "gay marriage" | "energy policy" | "immigration reform" | "environmental policy" |
SEARCH BY SUBJECT HEADING using either the subject beginning with... or the subject word/s search
Examples:
| voting-united states | voter registration-united states | united states-military policy | government spending policy | same-sex marriage-law and legislation | domestic partner benefits-law and legislation-united states | immigrants-government policy-united states | united states-emigration and immigration-government policy | energy policy-environmental aspects |
ADD SUBJECT QUALIFIERS:
Examples:
| law and legislation | government policy | legal status, laws, etc |
| Note: All electronic sources without a url noted are Library resources available through Research Port. For remote access (off-campus) use your UM Directory ID and password. |
Additional Sources
- CQ Researcher
Full-text coverage of the CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher from 1992 to the present that provides comprehensive analysis of each topic, including history and background information, relevant pro & con arguments, current status, bibliographies, contact information, and outlooks on upcoming "hot topics" in current events. CQ Weekly
Weekly legislative news and analysis covering all the major policy issues confronting the U.S. Congress. Full text from 1983 to the present.National Journal Group's Policy Central
Comprehensive full-text searchable collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy, including the National Journal, Hotline, Poll Track, Ad Spotlight, CongressDaily, Technology Daily, and the Almanac of American Politics. All components may be searched at once. Also includes markup reports, public opinion data, and an archive of television campaign ads with streaming audio and video.Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports Search Engine
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the public policy research arm of the US Congress. This legislative branch agency works exclusively for Members of Congress, their committees and their staffs. It issues about 3,000 briefs, reports, short issue papers and longer position papers per year, but it does not make its reports available to the public. However, it cannot prevent members of Congress from giving them out individually and some government agencies from posting reports they find relevant. Perhaps 1/3 of these reports have become available on the web.
http://zfacts.com/p/576.html
Reports from the U.S. Department of State
http://fpc.state.gov/c18185.htm
Congressional Research Service Reports, Hosted by UNT Libraries
http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/Congressional Quarterly Almanac 1945-
Sessional compilation of articles from CQ Weekly, coverage of actions, votes, presidential statements, and public laws. It includes the annual CQ Vote Studies, significant bills and resolutions, key votes, and roll call votes.
McK REF JK1.C66
Primary Sources (Legislation and other documents, hearings, reports, etc
Lexis-Nexis Congressional
Comprehensive access to US legislative information including legislative histories and the CIS index of congressional publications from 1970 to the present, including congressional hearing testimonies and the Congressional Record. A separate index, less exhaustive, is also available for previous congressional publications (1789-1969). Also includes: "Help Tool Box", "Political News/Hot Topics", "Members" section for biographical information on individual members of Congress, including key votes, floor statements, committee assignments, financial disclosures, and campaign finance information. Check the catalog by SU DOC number (ex: Y1.1/8:110-28/PT.1) for the full-text of reports if not available via the database.GPO Access: United States Congress
Recent legislative history sources plus the Congressional Record Index and History of Bills from 1983 forward, and links to committees' and caucuses' home pages.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.htmlThomas
Library of Congress site with recent legislative history sources. (Inaugurated January 5, 1995, by the Library of Congress at the request of then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as the portal for “legislative information on the Internet.”)
http://thomas.loc.gov/CQ Congress Collection
An analytical survey of the history and development; powers; personalities; current developments; and legislation considered and passed by the U.S. Congress. Includes data on voting alignments, interest group ratings, advanced CQ key vote analysis, and advanced member analysis.C-SPAN Congress Site
Congressional directory, congressional votes library, and issues and legislation sections.
http://www.c-span.org/resources/congress.asp
There are many databases that will be useful, depending on the focus of your memo. Consult the Databases by Category for additional databases.
Databases: Journal Articles, Reports, ...
- Greenwire
Comprehensive, daily coverage of environmental and energy politics and policy, includes summaries of important energy and environmental policy coverage from hundreds of print, broadcast and online sources, including editorials. Greenwire's archive of key documents provides direct links to reports, analyses, memos, court cases and over 30,000 Greenwire stories. Includes new video and transcripts. PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International Index to articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs topics from 1972 to the present. Use PAIS Archive for 1915-1976.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts 1975 to the present. Abstracts of journal articles and dissertations from over 1,000 sources. Combined database of the former "Political Science Abstracts" and "ABC PolSci."
Roll Call Votes
CQ Weekly
Click on "Floor Vote Search" - can be searched by bill number, date, or browse by topic. 1983 to the present.Thomas Roll Call Votes
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/rollcallvotes.htmlUS House of Representatives
http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.htmlUS Senate
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_109_1.htmC-SPAN Congressional Votes Library
http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/dbq/issuesdbq/votesearch.dbqLexis-Nexis Congressional
Click on "Legislative Histories, Bills, & Laws" - "Keyword Search" and select "Floor Votes."CQ Congress Collection
Key vote analysis.
Public Opinion
- iPOLL (Roper Center)
This databank is a comprehensive, up-to-date source for questions asked on U.S. nationwide public opinion surveys since 1935. It provides question wordings, response percentages, and full survey-level citations. RoperExpress, a data access tool for on-demand downloading of data in the Roper Center collection that are in ASCII or SPSS portable formats, is also available. Gallup Brain
Searchable database of the Gallup Poll since 1935 plus "current Gallup Poll News Service articles that feature the latest in-depth poll analyses and replicas of news stories and press releases linked to the surveys."Gallup Poll. MCK REF HN90.P8G35
Gallup opinion poll summaries, 1935/1971, 1972/1977, and annual volumes from 1978 on.National Journal's Policy Central
Go into "Poll Track."Harris Poll. 2005 - present.
McK Periodical Stacks HM261.A211 (988-2007) weekly polls on a wide range of subjects.
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/
Interested Groups and Individuals
CQ Politics in America
Profiles of all the current members of the U.S. Congress. Information includes biographical data, committee assignments, election results, CQ Key Votes, interest group ratings, CQ Vote Studies, and contact information; campaign finance, partisan caucuses, standing committees; detailed descriptions of each member's congressional district as drawn after the 2000 census, including updated maps and voting trends; and the vote for president in each of the House districts.Washington Information Directory
Contact information, descriptions, and organizational charts for over 10,000 federal, congressional, and state government offices, nongovernmental organizations, policy groups, and foundations. Ability to export contact information into letter templates and other formats, and to create your own profile of saved favorite documents, document history, and searches.Congressional Quarterly's Congressional Staff Directory.
MCK REF JK1012.C65 (older editions in MCK PERIODICALS STACKS)
Includes information on members, committees, staffs, and biographies.Congressional Quarterly's Federal Staff Directory MCK REF JK6.F43 (older editions in MCK PERIODICALS STACKS)
Includes information on staff in the White House, executive departments, independent agencies, quasi-official organizations, and biographies.Congressional Yellow Book: Who's Who in Congress, Including Committees and Key Staff. MCK REF JK1010.C68
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Ness, Immanuel. Encyclopedia of Interest Groups and Lobbyists in the United States. MCK REF JK1118.N47 2000 vols. 1-2
Includes information on group histories, current and future activities, finances, and bibliographies. - Political Science Resources: Think Tank Directory
"Think tanks" are policy research and advocacy organizations which usually have a political slant. This site from the University of Michigan Libraries gives an annotated list of links to think tank home pages. Most think tanks post research and position papers and other documents on the web.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psthink.html U.S. Government Manual
"As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual rovides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees."
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.htmlWashington Representatives.
MCK REF JK1118.D581 (older editions in MCK PERIODICALS STACKS)
"A compilation of Washington representatives of major national associations, labor unions, governments, U.S. and foreign companies, registered foreign agents, lobbyists, lawyers, and special interest groups, together with their clients and areas of legislative and regulatory concern."Zuckerman, Edward. Almanac of Federal PACs.
MCK REF JK1991.A744 (older editions in MCK PERIODICALS STACKS)
Published every two years. Includes information about every PAC which contributed $50,000 or more to congressional candidates during the election cycles.
Research Guides
Finding Congressional Hearings
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/GOV/hearings.htmlFinding Federal Legislative Information
http://www.lib.umd.edu/GOV/legs.htmlFinding Federal Regulatory Information
http://www.lib.umd.edu/GOV/regs.htmlFinding U.S. Government Documents in the University of Maryland Libraries
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/GOV/basic.htmlPublic Policy Research
http://www.lib.umd.edu/MCK/GUIDES/pubpol.html
Citation Guides
Citation Machine http://www.citationmachine.net/
Citation Guidelines: Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper (Duke University)
http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/Documentation Guidelines: Citing Sources Within Your Paper (Duke University)
http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/within/Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications (University of Memphis)
http://exlibris.memphis.edu/resource/unclesam/citeweb.htmlReading Legal Citations (Boston College Law Library)
http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/library/meta-elements/pdf/researchguides/citations.pdf
