Sociology: Finding Government Information

Legislative and Judicial Information: Online Databases

ProQuest Congressional
Indexes Congressional materials from 1789-present. Includes full text access to U.S. legislative information, including bills and pending legislation, legislative history, hearings, testimony, Congressional Record, CRS Reports, public laws, etc. (For full text of most historic reports and documents, try the U.S. Congressional Serial Set via Readex.) Now also includes Serial Set Maps 1789-2007; Executive Branch Documents 1789-1952; and Presidential Materials 1789-Present.
Westlaw Campus Research
Search for Court Opinions (Supreme Court, Federal, State Court cases), Law Review articles and more.
CQ Press Electronic Library
Find reporting, analysis on Congressional issues in the news and coverage of the status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, and backroom maneuvering. Includes:
CQ Almanac
CQ Researcher Plus Archive
CQ Weekly
Political Handbook of the World
Politics in America
Supreme Court Yearbook
Voting and Elections Collection

CIA World FactBook
U.S. government profiles of countries and territories around the world. Information on geography, people, government, transportation, economy, communications, and more. Available electronically and in print.
Historical Publications of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Full text of historical reports of the commission, from 1957 (when it was established) to the present. The United States Commission on Civil Rights has been at the forefront of efforts by the Federal Government and state governments to examine and resolve issues related to race, ethnicity, religion and, more recently, sexual orientation.
U.S. Census-American Factfinder
Has population and demographics data for 1990 and 2000. Use Summary File 1 for statistics on race and gender. Use the library census guide for more information.

For more in-depth guides to finding State, Federal, and international government information, the following library research guides may be useful:

San Diego Government Information
by Kelly L. Smith Last Updated Jun 6, 2025 294 views this year
California State Government Information
by Kelly L. Smith Last Updated Jun 6, 2025 1134 views this year
U.S. Government Information
by Kelly L. Smith Last Updated Jun 8, 2025 31334 views this year
International Government Information
by Annelise Sklar Last Updated Jun 6, 2025 774 views this year
Political Science
by Annelise Sklar Last Updated Jun 7, 2025 3530 views this year