LibGuides: Soc 390: Research Methods 2: Comparative &amp; Qualitative Research: Government Documents and Policy

Government Documents

Laws, congressional hearings and reports, domestic and foreign policy documents, and statistical series are among the most commonly used categories of government documents. U.S. government documents are official publications of the United States government.

Federal Register
The Federal Register (the daily newspaper of the Federal government) is a legal newspaper published every business day by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Federal Register contains: Federal Agency Regulations, Proposed Rules and Public Notices, Executive Orders, Proclamations, Other Presidential Documents

ProQuest Congressional (1789 - Present) This link opens in a new window
Congressional documents, including bills, statues, hearings, reports, and legislative histories.
CQ Magazine (1983 - Present) This link opens in a new window
Archive of weekly magazine on government and particularly congressional activity.
Data.census.gov This link opens in a new window
Replaces the decommissioned American FactFinder. Interactive data and mapping from the U.S. Census Bureau. Includes population, housing, and other social and economic data from the decennial census of population and housing, the economic census, and from annual surveys and estimates programs.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present.

Below are examples of government agencies.

Additional Information

Government document collections can be found in libraries across the United States. In addition to Reed College, Portland State University and Multnomah County Library’s central branch, as well as several Orbis Cascade Alliance (Summit) libraries are particularly good sources of historical government documents in our region. Unfortunately, only small portions of these collections have been cataloged, so a search in the Reed catalog or in Summit will find only a fraction of the government documents that are available.

These specialized indexes and guides can be used to identify specific government documents. Contact a librarian for help in using them and in locating the public documents you need.

Policies

These links are to key data resources available from the federal government. When looking for reports, regulatory documents, or department-specific data you'll want to conduct additional searches at the department website.

PAIS Index (1915 - Present) This link opens in a new window
Covers public affairs issues 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.
ProQuest Congressional (1789 - Present) This link opens in a new window
Congressional documents, including bills, statues, hearings, reports, and legislative histories.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1976 - Present) This link opens in a new window
The CGP is a finding tool for government publications whether online or in print at a Federal Depository Library. The CGP includes records for, and links to, content available on govinfo.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1819 - 1994) This link opens in a new window
An important series of American government publications, the U.S. Congressional Serial Set is a rich source of primary and secondary material on the people, issues and events of the United States. The Reports, Documents and Journals of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives covers myriad subjects.

Soc 390: Research Methods 2: Comparative & Qualitative Research

Social Sciences and Zine Librarian

Government Documents

Additional Information

Policies