LibGuides: Political Science: Find a Bill: Analyze Legislation

Analyze Legislation: News Sources

News Sources

Newspapers and journalists are the most important resources for reporting decisions to the public. Watchdog websites are organizations whose mission may vary. Each website differs: some aggregate data, and others provide expert analysis. Use a variety of sources to evaluate your information.

Newsbank (Access World News)
Electronic editions of record of newspapers, many in California, for valuable local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers--all in one easy-to-search database-- providingunique coverage of local and regional news, including companies, politics, sports, industries, cultural activities, and people in the community. Paid ads are excluded.
Nexis Uni (Lexis Nexis)
Covers newspapers, magazines, wire services, federal and state court opinions, federal and state statutes, federal regulations, and SEC filings such as 10-Ks,10-Qsand their exhibits. News information is updated daily and wire services several times daily. Research areas in LexisNexis Academic cover top news, general news topics, and news transcripts; non-English language news sources; company, industry, and market news; legal news; company financial information; general medical and health topics and medical abstracts; accounting, auditing, and tax information; law reviews; federal case law; U.S. Code; and state legal research.
Opposing Viewpoints (GALE)
Pro/Con Viewpoint essays on hot social issues including 5 million periodical articles, primary source documents and statistical tables, charts and graphs.

Analyze Legislation: Data and Statistics

Statistics

Statistics can present powerful evidence for supporting a claim or argument and are collected at every level of government and in nearly every industry. Below are helpful places to find statistics about some of the biggest issues facing the country.

Public Opinion

Polling and surveys provide insight into what a nation, state, or local community thinks about any number of issues. Below are reliable polling and survey resources to help you explore public opinion in the United States

Gallup Poll (Public Opinion)
"Gallup measures public opinion and attitudes on virtually every political, social, and economic issue. Its data reach the highest levels of government, the judiciary, business, and academia."
Pew Research Center (Public Opinion)
Pew Research conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, and content analysis on topics that range from politics and policy, to internet, science, and technology, to religion and public life.
Public Policy Institute of California (Public Opinion)
The PPIC conducts research on variety of issues concerning Californians, from water to higher education, results and analyses from its surveys and studies can be found in-depth reports and blog posts.
Reuters Polling (Public Opinion)
Reuters Polling conducts weekly polls about various topics, collecting responses from over 2,000 people each week. Polling is conducted through online surveys.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (Government Stats)
Can browse by topics to view reports and data related to corrections, law enforcement, courts, and types of crime nationwide.
National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC (Government Statistics)
Provides "FastStats" including health insurance coverage; health status by age range, sex, and race; disease; disability; and substance abuse statistics at the national level.
U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics (Government Stats)
Provides updates on employment and unemployment rates, consumer spending, pay and benefits, and work-related injuries at the national, regional, and state-level.
U.S. Census Bureau (Government Stats)
The Census Bureau is the nation's leading source of information about life in the United States. The Advanced Search feature allows users to filter by geographical area, topic, year, and survey.