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HomePUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: FEDERAL DOCUMENTS
University of Oregon Library Documents Collection
This guide is intended to help identify sources of information relevant to U. S. policy research at the federal level. The location in the Document Center is given for each printed source. For sources available via the Internet, appropriate links are made
FEDERAL PROGRAMS, LAWS AND REGULATIONS
1.Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). This tool provides information about assistance programs of the federal government. It can serve to identify programs in areas of interest, and to point to relevant laws and regulations.
LOCATION: DOCS REF HC 110.P63 A55
2. Statutes-at-Large. This annual compendium of federal laws provides an official chronological publication of legislation in the form it was passed. For a subject-based publication of laws or for later updates, see the U.S. Code, item 3 below. The statutes passed by the 104th and subsequent Congresses are available online at the Government Printing Office's Public and Private Laws page.
LOCATION: DOCUMENTS Range 31
3.U.S. Code. Federal laws currently in force, organized by topic . The latest edition with its annual supplements bring this up to within about one year of the present. Includes subject and popular name indexes.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF: Range 7B
4.Federal Register (FR). The Federal Register is the daily journal in which new or proposed regulations must be published by the executive branch agencies that issue them. (Regulations are administrative laws; most federal programs are governed by both laws and regulations.) In addition, the FR prints notices of meetings, decisions, and other announcements required by law. The FR has a cumulative monthly index, but researchers may prefer direct online searching.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF: Range 7A
5. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR organizes all federal regulations into 50 subject-related titles, which are completely revised annually. The annual index provides access by topic, agency, or U.S. Code section number. A monthly List of Sections Affected updates the CFR by identifying new or revised regulations published in the Federal Register.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF: Range 7B
LEGISLATIVE SOURCES
6.Bill texts. The online source has the text of bills from the 103rd Congress forward. For hard copy of the bills of earlier Congresses, use the following sources as appropriate.
GPO Microfiche: Y 1.4/ (1979-present) LOCATION: DOCUMENTS MICROFICHE
Congressional Record: Bills are sometimes printed here on their date of introduction.
7. Congressional Index. This weekly updated source lists, indexes and tracks the current status of all bills and resolutions for a particular Congress (e.g., the 1995-96 edition covers the 104th Congress.) Indexing is by subject and sponsor. For online bill tracking sources, see the next item.
LOCATION: DOC-LC J 69.C6 (this subscription ended with the 106th Congress. For subsequent Congresses, see the Law Library.)
8.Bill status: Use the following online sources as appropriate; dates of coverage vary.
GPO Access: History of Bills (1983- present)
The Library of Congress' LOCIS system (Telnet access) contains digests and status of all bills and amendments introduced since the 97th Congress. Begin by selecting "C" (catalogs of other libraries) on the main menu.
9.Lexis-Nexis Congressional, from Congressional Information Service (CIS). This database indexes and abstracts Congressional committee hearings and reports, by subject, name, bill number, and public law number. Hearings are the transcripts of oral and written testimony provided to Congressional committees in formal sessions, and may include statements from members of the Administration, expert witnesses, or interest groups. Reports are the recommendations of committees on the bills referred to them, and often contain valuable background information on legislative proposals.
10. Congressional Record. The daily record of the debates and actions of the House and Senate. With the hearings and reports of committees, the Record makes up a part of the "legislative history" of a bill. The Record publishes its own index by subject, name and bill number approximately every two weeks.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF: Range 7A
11. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report and Congressional Quarterly Almanac. The Weekly Report, usually called "CQ", contains articles about significant activities of Congress and its committees, as well as useful background articles on Congressional politics and procedures. Articles identify specific bills, hearings, reports and laws, permitting readers to locate those primary sources easily. Information from CQ articles is cumulated in the annual Almanac.
LOCATION: DOCS REF JK 1 .C15
STATISTICAL SOURCES
12. Lexis-Nexis Statistical. This is perhaps the best index to statistical information published by the U.S. government. Users can search by subject, agency, and name, as well as by "categories", such as sex, race, occupation or type of geographic area.
13. Statistical Abstract of the United States. A large annual compendium of statistical data on a wide array of topics: demographic, economic, social, and environmental. The source notes at the bottom of each table serve as pointers to other sources of more detailed and more current data. Can be searched online through Lexis-Nexis Statistical.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF Index Table--STATISTICS
14. Census Catalog and Guide. This annual catalog lists the current publications of the Census Bureau, including the 10-year censuses of population and housing, the 5-year economic and agricultural censuses, and ongoing surveys such as the Current Population Survey.
LOCATION: DOCS REF: Z 7554.U5 U32
15.Census Publications. The 2000 Census of Population and Housing (as well as earlier censuses) provide enormous amounts of statistical information about the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the U.S. population at many levels of geographic detail. This information is widely used to inform policy and planning decisions. Data products for 1990 include both printed reports and CD-ROM products. Ask a Documents Librarian for assistance in locating relevant census data.
DIRECTORIES
16. Federal Regulatory Directory; Congressional Staff Directory; Federal Staff Directory; Washington Information Directory. A sampling of useful directories for leads to organizational and personal expertise in the federal government, with addresses and telephone numbers.
LOCATION: DOCS REF: JK 901 .F4
GENERAL INDEXES AND CATALOGS
17. The University of Oregon Library Online Catalog currently contains records for all federal serials (periodicals, annuals, etc.) and for all monograph publications from federal agencies received after January 1996. Prior to 1996 use the GPO Monthly Catalog (item 18 below), Lexis-Nexis Congressional (item 9), and Lexis-Nexis Statistical (item 12).
18. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. The most comprehensive listing for federal publications. The paper version (Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications) covers 1895 to date. the online version covers 1994 - present. Most items are available in federal depository libraries, such as the UO Library's Document Center. For each item the "SuDoc" call number is given. This is the number by which most of the documents are shelved. This source is not all-inclusive, and should not be assumed to contain listings for most technical reports, regional publications, or limited distribution material.
19. U.S. Government Periodicals Index . An index to the articles contained in over 180 periodicals issued by federal agencies. Many articles contain explanations or evaluations of federal programs or policies. Period of coverage is 1994-present. This database is now online as part of Lexis-Nexis Congressional.
20. U.S. Agencies via Internet. Many federal agencies have created Internet sites for their information. The following URLs are good places to begin to look for particular agencies.
- White House "Your Government" page
- Link to Top Government Web Sites at FedWorld
- Yahoo
- Federal Web Locator
FEDERAL BUDGET
21. Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year ____. The President's annual budget proposal to Congress is a concrete statement of national priorities. It provides, by agency and program, detailed funding levels requested for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as outlays for the current and past fiscal year. Text provides justifications for the Administration's priorities.
PRINT LOCATION: DOCS REF: Index Table
EVALUATIONS
22.Government Accountability Office reports. GAO, a Congressional agency, produces hundreds of evaluations and recommendations for federal agencies and programs each year. Copies of the reports are shelved at this SuDoc location: GA 1.13: [rept. no.]. The reports are listed in the monthly Reports and Testimony (DOC-US GA 1.16/3) and the annual Abstracts of Reports and Testimony (DOC-US GA 1.16/3-3). Recommendations are summarized and tracked in a database titled "Status of Open Recommendations", which may be searched at the GPO CD-ROM station. GPO ACCESS provides abstracts online.
(NOTE: The oversight, authorization and appropriations hearings of Congressional committees are also relevant to the evaluation of programs and policies. Use Lexis Nexis Congressional, item 9 above.)
Last Modified: 07/08/2008