Step-by-Step Research about a Federal Law
Begin Step-by-Step Research -- Research Tips
- Identify the Public Law number
- Locate and read overviews of the bill's history
- Congressional Quarterly Almanac
- U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News - Retrieve a compiled legislative history list of bills, hearings, reports, debate, etc.
- CIS Index: Legislative Histories - Retrieve the Bill Tracking Report
- ProQuest Congressional - Retrieve the brief "Guide to Legislative History" list of bills, reports and debate
- U.S. Statutes at Large - Retrieve the list of reports and documents by bill number(s)
- CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, Part XIII, Index by Reported Bill Numbers, 1817-1969 - Retrieve the list of reports, documents, and hearings by subject
- ProQuest Congressional, Historical Indexes, 1789-1969
- CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index, 1833-1969 - Retrieve articles from journals & newspapers
- Search for information from organizations concerned with the issue
- Gale Directory Library - Check other resources for information
- Thomas
- GPO Access
- Other sites
Retrieve articles from journals and newspapers
If you haven't already done so, consider reviewing your topic in a specialized encyclopedia, e.g.,
- Encyclopedia of Social Issues - Reference HN 57 .E59
- Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change, America in the Twentieth Century - Reference HN 59.2 .B43
- Encyclopedia of Social Work - Reference HV 35 .S6
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law - Reference KF 154 .W47
- Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law (online only)
- Major Acts of Congress (online only)
Search for articles discussing the legislation in journals and newspapers. These articles may help in your analysis of the legislative history documents gathered in the previous steps.
CQ Weekly (1953-2010)
CQ Weekly provides a weekly analysis of Congressional activities. Some of this analysis is summarized in Congressional Quarterly Almanac (See step 2).
- Online version (October 1983-2010)
- Online version
- July 7, 1990-April 10, 1998 Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report
- April 11, 1998-2003 CQ Weekly
- General Collection JK 1 .C15 (1968-June 1994)
- Microfiche JK 1 .C15 (1994-2004)
- Microfilm JK 1 .C15 (1953-1967)
Congressional Digest (1921+)
- Congressional Digest (1921+)Call Number: UCF Main Library Microfilm - 3rd Floor -- JK1.C65 (1922-1966)Congressional Digest provides a monthly analysis of the pros and cons of public policy issues.
Online 1921+
Print - v.43(1964)-v.76(1997) - UCF Main Library General Collection 3rd floor -- JK1.C65
National Journal (1969+)
National Journal provides weekly coverage of political and policy developments.
- Online version (full-text 2000+; indexing/abstracting July 8, 1996+)
- Online version (May 1995-September 2001)
- Microfilm JK 1 .N28 (1969+)
Inside Washington -- ProQuest Congressional (1977+)
Inside Washington (ProQuest Congressional) provides full text articles from several Washington, D.C. news sources:
- Washington Post (1977+)
- Roll Call (1989+)
- The Hill (1995+)
Vital Speeches of the Day (1934+)
Vital Speeches of the Day provides the full text of speeches on a wide range of political topics.
- Online version (1934+)
- Microfilm PN 6121 .V52 (1934-1939, 1968-1996, 1997-2001)
- General Collection PN 6121 .V52 (1939-1968)
Facts on File Yearbook (1941+)
Facts on File Yearbook provides "a detailed, objective and timely weekly distillation of the news and current information as reported in more than 70 major newspapers and newsmagazines from the U.S. and around the world."
- Reference D 410 .F3 (1941+)
Wilson Indexes (1890+)
The UCF Libraries subscribe to the online versions of several indexes covering articles published in the early part of the twentieth century:
- Readers' Guide Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson) (1983+)"includes indexing of over 450 periodicals as far back as 1983 and searchable full text of articles from over 250 journals as far back as 1994. Subject coverage includes antiques, arts, business, computers, education, entertainment, film & television, gardening, health & medicine, history, home improvement, literature, news & current events, photography, popular & classical music, politics, popular culture, religion, science, sports & fitness, transportation, travel and much more."
- Social Sciences Index (H.W. Wilson) (1974-2004)[online access cancelled due to budget cuts]
paper index available: UCF ARC Main General Collection -- AI3.R492
"Subject coverage includes addiction studies, anthropology, community health & medical care, communications, economics, environmental studies, ethics, family studies, gender studies, geography, international relations, law, mass media, minority studies, political science, psychiatry, psychology, public welfare, social work, urban studies and much more." - Business Abstracts with Full Text (H.W. Wilson) (1982+)"contains the full text of articles from more than 510 key publications dating back to 1995, and provides access to product evaluations, interviews, biographical sketches, corporate profiles, obituaries, surveys, statistical rankings, book reviews and reports from associations, societies, trade shows, conferences and more."
- Education Source (EBSCOhost)“This database provides scholarly research and information to meet the needs of education students, professionals, and policy makers. It covers all levels of education — from early childhood to higher education — as well as all educational specialties such as multilingual education, health education, and testing.”
See also Education Index Retrospective (1929-1983)
Other articles
Continue your research by looking for articles in other journals and newspapers.
- Social Work
- News and Newspapers can provide access to newspaper articles written during critical stages of the legislative process or shortly after enactment.
- Florida News
Databases -- Some of the databases and indexes available at UCF can be used to locate professional journals in political science or in the discipline of the legislative topic. Note that you may find articles in more recent journal issues looking back at laws enacted much earlier than the publication date of the journal. Examples of some databases to consider include:
- Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest) (1979+)Research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest) (1975+)provides citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.