Government Info - POLS 331W - Introduction to Research Methods

Branches of Government

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
The directory allows you to search for current and former members of Congress (1774-present) by name, position, or state. Information includes birth and death dates, education, employment, and election history.

Congressional Publications
You will be required to sign-in with your WIldcat ID/login. U.S. legislative information on members of Congress, voting records and publications including The Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Role Call. Legislative histories are available 1970-present; key votes in Congress 1987-present; committee reports 1990-present; bill text 1989-present.

U.S. House of Representatives
As per the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws. The House is one of Congress’s two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government’s legislative branch. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.
U.S. Senate
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State. [U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 3, clause 1]. Due to the high volume and complexity of its work, the Senate divides its tasks among 20 permanent committees, 4 joint committees, and occasionally temporary committees.
Vote Smart: Facts for All
Vote Smart provides free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to all Americans.

The White House
Learn more about the current administration, our country’s former presidents, and the official residence.
Presidents of the United States (POTUS)
POTUS stands for the President of the United States. In this resource, you will find background information on all the Presidents of the United States of America. This includes election results, their Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, First Ladies, Supreme Court appointments, notable events, and other points of interest. Links to their biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included.

California Courts:The Judicial Branch of California
The vast majority of cases in the California courts begin in one of the 58 superior, or trial, courts, which reside in each of the state’s 58 counties. With approximately 450 court buildings throughout the state, these courts hear both civil and criminal cases as well as family, probate, mental health, juvenile, and traffic cases.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.
U.S. Federal Courts
The U.S. Courts were created under Article III of the Constitution to administer justice fairly and impartially, within the jurisdiction established by the Constitution and Congress. This website will help you learn more about the Judicial Branch and its work..

WestlawNext
Full text of federal and state court cases, laws and regulations; legal periodicals and encyclopedias; European Union legal documents; and legal guides and information for pre-law students. Note: many functions of Westlaw will only function properly if you disable any pop-up blocker. For example, printing may not work if a pop-up blocker is active.

CQ Press Library
Learn about major issues from current and historical perspectives and the inner workings of the U.S. government from authoritative, accessible, and unbiased sources. Search rich current and historical content comprising full-text and analytical database resources.
Homeland Security Digital Library
A compendium of materials available for scholarly research in the area of Homeland Security. The digital library collection is focused on strategy and policy in the various subject areas of Homeland Security Research. Materials selected for inclusion in the HSDL include, but are not limited to : A
governmental departments and agencies, academic institutions, think tanks, conference sites, non-governmental organizations, institutes and organizations and other entities deemed credible by the content develop team.
Open Secrets
OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Their mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy.
Public Agenda
Reports, survey data starting from 1979, issue guides and toolkits.

The U.S. Constitution (Yale Law School)
The full U.S. Constitution organized by each Article of the Constitution. Each Article is a separate link.
Primary Source Documents in American History (Library of Congress)
A digital collection of historical U.S. documents including all the Federalist Papers by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton, the Bill of Rights and Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789.
National Archives Documents
The National Archives is the keeper of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They also hold in trust for the public the records of ordinary citizens—for example, military records of thee men and women who have fought for the U.S., naturalization records of the immigrants, and even the canceled check from the purchase of Alaska.

The American Presidency Project
From the University of California - Santa Barbara, A non-partisan on-line source for presidential public documents.
Center for American Women and Politics (Rutgers University)
Bigraphical and issue information about women in American politics. Examples include gender gap and voting patterns, winners and losers in the 2000 election, and women-focused interest groups.
C-SPAN
C-SPAN provides access to the live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and to other forums where public policy is discussed, debated and decided––all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view;
Democratic Party
Green Party
Libertarian Party
Republican Party