Subject Guide
Library Links
- Ask a LibrarianContact a librarian by chat, phone, email, in-person or schedule a reference appointment.
- FAQs at the University LibrariesFind the answers to frequently asked questions here!
- Interlibrary LoanRequest a book, article, or another item not available in the Ball State University Libraries.
Bills and Congressional Reports
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new windowFinding a legislative history starting with a topic
Enter your search term(s) in the search box and click on search. Then select Bill Profile under Document Type. You will then have a list of bills related to your keywords. Click on the bill number and name on the results for more information.
Finding a legislative history starting with a bill number (e.g. 116 S. 2661)
Click on Legislative & Executive Publications, in the upper left corner, and then select Search by Number and select your congress and bill type and then enter the bill number. and press Search. Select Legislative Histories under Document Type. Click on the public law number to access the legislative history. Additional information can be found by clicking Retrieve Bill Profile Report to the right of Enacted Bill in the legislative history.
Finding a legislative history starting with a public law (e.g. PL116-172)
Click on Legislative & Executive Publications, in the upper left corner, and then select Search by Number and then Public Laws under Legislation. Next select your congress and enter your public law number and press Search. Select Legislative Histories under Document Type. Click on the public law number to access the legislative history. Additional information can be found by clicking Retrieve Bill Profile Report to the right of Enacted Bill in the legislative history.
- Congress.govTo find legislative histories, text of legislation and congressional hearings from the current congress, enter a topic in the search box and click on the search button. You may wish to click on Uncheck all under Limit Your Search in the left column of the results list, you would then reselect Legislation.
To research all congresses follow the steps above except you will want to change default limit to the left of the search box from Current Congress to All Congresses.
Finding a legislative history starting with public law number or bill number can be done using the main search box. Change the setting to All Congresses, enter the number and then selecting the congress. For example you would enter this bill 116 S. 2661 this way S. 2661 and select the 116 under Congress in the left column of the results list.
If you are starting with a public law number (e.g. PL116-172), change the setting to "All Congresses." Then enter the number starting with the congress number followed by PL and the law number with no spaces (i.e. 116PL172). You will see the bill number on the results list along with the name of the law.
- GovtrakAnother source for the text of the legislation and research.
- Congressional Research Service Reports (Library of Congress) This link opens in a new windowAccess to nonpartisan reports on a wide variety of topics prepared by the Congressional Research Service-- the public policy research arm of Congress.
- Congressional Research Service Reports (University of North Texas) This link opens in a new windowAdditional reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service which have not been officially made available to the public by the CRS. This site is not affiliated with Congressional Research Service. The information is compiled and made available as a public service by the Government Documents Department at the UNT Libraries.
Finding Articles on your Topic
- MEDLINE with Full Text This link opens in a new windowMEDLINE with Full Text also contains articles on topics related to public policy. Search using terms related to the problem the bill is intended to solve.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowArticles on a wide range of topics can be found here. Use search terms related to the issue your legislation is intended to deal with.
- PAIS International This link opens in a new windowA major public policy database which is international in scope. Search using terms related to your legislation.
Finding Statistics
- Summary of Notifiable Diseases 2016 to Most RecentThe Center for Disease Control reports cases of selected diseases. The summary provides statistical information about these diseases by geographies, including number and rate. You will find statistics from the more recent issues here. See the link below for older reports.
- Summary of Notifiable Diseases Before 2016Older issues of the Summary of Notifiable Diseases.
- National Vital Statistics ReportsMortaily, natality, and nuptuality statistics for the United States. Coverage starting in 1998 including the most recent data.
- Statistical Abstracts of the United StatesA wide range on statistical information compiled the U.S. Census Bureau. The most recent print edition of this is at the Library Information Desk.
- Statistics Subject GuideLinks to statistics sources covering many topics.