Overview of the Government Documents Library

Selected print sources for U. S. legislative research

United States Code DOC Y1.2/5:994/

United States Statutes at Large DOC AE2.111:

Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names, Federal and State DOC 345.Sh4s

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents DOC AE2.109: (for 1965-85: GS4.114: )

CQ Weekly 328.7305 COQA

Congressional Quarterly Almanac 328.7305 COQ 19xx

CCH Congressional Index 328.73BC73c

Congressional Record DOC X/a:

Federal Register DOC AE 2.106

Code of Federal Regulations DOC AE2.106/3:

Monthly Catalog of Government Publications DOC GP 3.8+8

CIS Index 015.73 C76

To see how these publications, and others, are used for tracking legislation, see Brief Recapitulation of the Legislative Paper Trail in the UIUC Libraries (part of the class guide prepared for Political Science 315).

Using online sources for U. S. legislative research

Journal Articles and related resources

• In Social Sciences Abstracts (via Ovid; from UIUC Library Gateway): try search terms such as United States -- Politics and government (combined with other relevant terms); United States Congress -- Voting etc.
• JSTOR  Limit search to All Political Science journals, then select keywords that are relevant to your area of interest.  Before printing selected articles, be sure to carefully read the information about your print options.
• The Economist Online (see Prof. Sala for login and password); print edition in the Commerce Library.
• Several other article databases may also be appropriate for your research topic; don’t hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance in identifying these.

Online sources not restricted to UIUC

Return to top

Selected print sources for researching the British Parliament

Dod's parliamentary companion REX 328.42 D668 (previous volumes in STX)

British political facts, 1900-1994 (7^th ed.) EDX 354.42 B97B1994

British political parties today (1998) EDX 324.24100904 G186b1998

The political quarterly EDX 320.5 POLQ (unbound issues; older issues in STX)

New statesman EDX 941.005 NE1 (unbound and previous five years; older issues in STX)

Finding British Parliamentary Papers in the UIUC Library

The Stationery Office monthly catalogue REX 015.42 G79co1a

HMSO annual catalogue REX 015.42 G79CO2

Catalogue of British Official Publications REX 015.410533C28

These catalogues index microfiche that are available in the Reference Library. Additionally, the Library has several indexes and finding aids for locating historical Parliamentary papers and other British documents. If you are planning to do extensive research involving the use of these items, you should consult with a librarian in the Reference Library or Government Documents Library well in advance of your project due date.

Return to top

Using online sources for researching the British Parliament

• In Social Sciences Abstracts or Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) (via Ovid; from UIUC Library Gateway): try search terms such as Great Britain -- Politics and government; Political news -- Great Britain; Great Britain – Judiciary, etc.
• Several other article databases may also be appropriate for your research topic; don’t hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance in identifying these.

Online sources not restricted to UIUC

Return to top

Choosing a research topic

• In LexisNexis Congressional, choose CIS Index, then search by subject or keyword. Look for "Legislative History" among the list of results from a particular subject search. Review the Legislative History to see if a bill was enacted into a law. Consult the Subject Index / Subject List for help in choosing appropriate subject terms.

• Review CQ Weekly for current topics. Also browse Congressional Quarterly Almanac – see topics listed in the Table of Contents, or the Appendix listing all Public Laws enacted during a particular Congressional session.

• Review the Index to the print version of the CIS Index; cross-reference chosen topics against the Abstracts and Legislative Histories.

• Browse links from any of the websites listed above, or try the lists of subjects from: