Sociology: Find Government Information

This guide provides resources for your sociological research

Useful Places To Begin

For more see the Government Information portal at Columbia.

  • U.S. Congress. Congressional Budget Office: The CBO publishes numerous publications relating to national security, including:
  • Congressional Publications: Access to hearings, committee prints, CRS reports, legislative histories, the Congressional Record, federal regulations, and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. Many documents are in full text and cover the years 1789 to the present; others are citations that are available in full text in print or microform in the library.
  • Congressional Research Service Reports: CRS, a branch of the Library of Congress, prepares research reports at the request of members of Congress, their staff, and Congressional committees.
  • Government Accountability Office (GAO) : Known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.

  • US Trade Representatives Office Topics: USTR is an agency with decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world. It negotiates directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, to resolve disputes, and to participate in global trade policy organizations.

ProQuest Tools

  • ProQuest Congressional: This is the most comprehensive online resource available for congressional publications and legislative research. Included are: Committee Hearings, Committee Prints, Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports, House and Senate Documents, House and Senate Reports, Senate Executive Reports, Senate Executive Treaty Documents, Legislative Histories, Statutes at Large, the Serial Set and Serial Set Maps. Most of the content is full text.
  • ProQuest Legislative Insight: This is a federal legislative history service that makes available thoroughly researched compilations of digital full-text publications relevant to enacted U.S. public laws. These include the full text of the public law itself, all versions of related bills, law-specific Congressional Record excerpts, committee hearings, reports, and prints. Also included are presidential signing statements, CRS reports and miscellaneous congressional publications that provide background material to aid in the understanding of issues related to the making of the law.

U.S. Government Websites

  • National Archives: Links and indexes to government publications in the National Archives.
  • Science.gov : Provide users with access to more than 200 million pages of authoritative federal science information including research and development results.
  • USA.gov: Official guide to government information and services