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Finding Information in American Politics

Government and commercial publications which document the work of the government are essential to those who wish to understand the U.S.  government.

Background information on Government Agencies and Congressional Activity:

  • United States Government Manual —information on structure and activities of the federal government. Ask at the reference desk in Stapleton Library for paper edition. On the web at:  http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html.
  • Agency web sites  --most government bodies have their own web sites that are valuable sources of information on their mission, personnel, and services.

  • Congressional Directory.   Directory of members of Congress. Ask at reference desk for most recent copy in Stapleton Library.

  • House of Representatives Web Page

  • Senate Web Page

  • Congressional Record- proceedings of debates and daily digest of the United State House and Senate.
  • Congressional Digest--located in the Serials Department, this publications provides information on Congressional Activity.
  • Thomas-- this frequently updated sites provides information on the text and status of proposed and passed federal legislation
  • CIS Index  The hearings, documents, and reports of the United States Senate and House of Representatives provide valuable, authoritative information on nearly every topic, but can be difficult to locate. The CIS Index analyzes and reprints in its microfiche collection, the publications created through the activities of Congress and makes finding them much easier.  To access the bibliographic records, descriptive annotations, and the actual publication on microfiche:
    • Consult the index under subject, title, or name, and record the entry number.
    • Look in the abstract volume under the entry number and read the abstract.
    • If you want to read the publication microfiche, request it in the Serials Department by the collection name (CIS) entry number, and year of the index.
    • Also available electronically as  Congressional Universe.

  • Congressional Quarterly's Washington Information Directory—contains information on the structure and activities of the federal government as well as government-related organizations. Ask at the reference desk in Stapleton Library

  • Congressional Districts and Apportionment--the decennial census (every ten years) has been taken since 1790 to determine population on which to reapportion the House of Representatives. See the following publication by the Bureau of the Census to look at trends in apportionment in the last few decades  http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-7.pdf

Statistical Information:

  • Statistical Abstract of the United States-  This statistical almanac offers easy access to both commercial and governmentally produced statistics. Some versions available on the web at: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Codes and  Regulations:

Elections

  • Federal Elections Commission --  (FEC) is an  independent regulatory agency designed to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.

Public Affairs

  • PAIS International-- index provides access to the literature of public affairs—current issues and actions that affect world communities, countries, people, and governments. [INDEX] H96 .P9

Search engines which search retrieve government websites:    

Finding Information on American Politics Tutorial

Questions or comments concerning this page should be directed to Theresa McDevitt. Correspondence regarding this site should be sent to its maintainer, Ed Zimmerman, edzimmer@iup.edu> . Please see IUP's statement regarding pages that do not officially represent the university. Revised on 09/03/07.