This guide is being updated. Some content may not be current.
Databases for Scholarly Journal Articles
Social Sciences Citation Index - Web of Science (Clarivate)Indexes core journals in the social sciences. Provides information on citing and cited references for each article. Search by article title word, journal title, author, cited author or reference, address word (i.e., author's institution), or funding agency. Covers 1956 to the present.
Scopus (Elsevier)Provides citations and abstracts to peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings in all major disciplines. Provides information on citing and cited references for each article.
JSTORProvides a full text archive of academic journals and books in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The most recent three to five years of a journal are usually not included.
PAIS International (ProQuest)Provides citations and abstracts for journal articles, books, government documents, conference papers, research reports, etc. in the areas of public affairs, public and social policy, and international relations. International in scope. Formerly known as the Public Affairs Information Service.
Databases for Scholarly, News & Reference Items
CQ Press Library (CQ Press)Provides a combined search interface and access to selected CQ Press publications including the CQ Almanac (1945-), the Political Handbook of the World (2005-), and the Supreme Court Yearbook (1989-). Offers links to CQ Press collections on the Sage Knowledge platform including Congress and the Nation (1945-2004), Historic Documents Series (1972-), Vital Statistics on American Politics, and the Washington Information Directory.
Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press) Tutorial
Presents peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies and expert commentary on current scholarship in selected disciplines. Villanova University has access to the following bibliographies: African American Studies, Art History, Atlantic History, Biblical Studies, British and Irish Literature, Buddhism, Cinema and Media Studies, Classics, Communication, Criminology, Environmental Science, Geography, International Relations, Islamic Studies, Latin American Studies, Management, Medieval Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Renaissance and Reformation, and Victorian Literature.
HeinOnlineProvides full text access to legal periodicals, books, government documents, legal texts, and other primary source collections in the legal field.
Subscription courtesy of the Charles Widger School of Law Library.
Lexis Nexis Academic Limitations on Use
Now Nexis Uni. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.
Limitations on Use:
LexisNexis online services and the materials contained therein are under copyright by LexisNexis. All rights reserved. No part of these Services may be used except for research purposes, and the Services may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the LexisNexis Academic Library Solutions. Materials retrieved from the Services may not be duplicated in hard copy or machine-readable form without the prior written authorization of LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions, except that limited reproduction of output is permitted solely for individual use by the Authorized User or internal distribution within the Subscribing Institution in accordance with the terms of this Agreement unless further limited or prohibited by the Copyright Act of 1976. Under no circumstances may the Materials or any portion thereof be used to create derivative products or services.
America: History and Life (EBSCO)Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes citations for journal and magazine articles, book reviews, and dissertations. Abstracts of journal articles are included together with selected full-text. Indexing goes back to 1964.
Search for Books
Books are a good source for general information because they tend to take a broad view of the topic at hand. Scholarly journal articles are narrowly focused on one area of a topic.
Falvey Library Catalog (Books & Media)Keyword and subject searches in the Library's catalog are good starting points when first exploring a topic. Search results can be narrowed with facets such as topic, era, language or region. Facets are located on the right hand side of the results screen.
WorldCat (FirstSearch)Presents a combined catalog of the catalogs of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide. WorldCat highlights publications available at Villanova University. Other items can be requested via an inter-library loan request form.
Google BooksSearch the full text of digitized books contributed by libraries and publishers. View either brief excerpts, bibliographic information or if not protected by copyright the full text.
Book Review Index Plus (Gale)Indexes reviews of fiction and nonfiction English-language books. Reviews are selected from academic journals, magazines, and library review journals. Includes selected full text. Coverage goes back to the early 1960s.
News Databases
Lexis Nexis Academic Limitations on Use
Now
Nexis Uni. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.
Limitations on Use:
LexisNexis online services and the materials contained therein are under copyright by LexisNexis. All rights reserved. No part of these Services may be used except for research purposes, and the Services may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the LexisNexis Academic Library Solutions. Materials retrieved from the Services may not be duplicated in hard copy or machine-readable form without the prior written authorization of LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions, except that limited reproduction of output is permitted solely for individual use by the Authorized User or internal distribution within the Subscribing Institution in accordance with the terms of this Agreement unless further limited or prohibited by the Copyright Act of 1976. Under no circumstances may the Materials or any portion thereof be used to create derivative products or services.
New York Times: 1851- (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)Provides full text access to the complete
New York Times archive except for the most recent five years. Use
NYTimes.com,
Nexis Uni, or
ABI/INFORM for access to current content.
Washington Post Historical: 1877- (ProQuest)Contains the full text of the
Washington Post and its title variations from 1877 until seventeen years ago.
Select Government Offices and Agencies
A-Z list of US Government Agencies
The White House
State & Local Government on the Net
U.S. Courts - The Federal JudiciaryThe purpose of this site is to function as a clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationAgency of the U.S. government responsible for regulating food, dietary supplements, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, biologics, and blood products in the United States.
Congressional Budget Office - TopicsCongressional Budget Office featured topics and policy options.
Department of Homeland Security (U.S.)The Department of Homeland Security combined 22 different federal departments and agencies into a unified, integrated cabinet agency when it was established in 2002. The Department of Homeland Security has the mission: to secure the nation from the many threats it faces.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. For brief video introduction click here.
Federal Reserve BoardNews, research and data on banking and monetary policy from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
U.S. Census BureauCensus information about people & households, business & industry, geography, news, data tools, and fact finder resources
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesUSCIS is the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States.
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Gov't agencies - DOE (Department of Energy)The Department of Energy's overarching mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.
U.S. Gov't agencies - EPA (Environmental Protection Agencies)The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment.
U.S. Gov't agencies - USDA (Department of Agriculture)A steward of our nation's 192 million acres of national forests and rangelands, the USDA is the country's largest conservation agency.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE's primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
Government Documents & Records
Almanac of American PoliticsAuthoritative source of information about members of Congress, their districts, the governors and the states. The Web site is organized according to people, districts and states, similar to the book. The most recent profile of a person, along with biographical data and voting behavior.
A detailed description of a congressional district, along with several tables of demographic data, the district's 2008 presidential results and its Cook rating.
Also includes a history and analysis of the politics of a state. The state pages also contain 2008 presidential election results, legislature party breakdowns, and analyses of demographic shifts that could affect redistricting for 2012.
Congress.govCongress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. It includes bills and resolutions, committee reports, the Congressional Record, Presidential nominations, treaties, and other related information including summary and status of legislation. The site also provides information about members of Congress, links to House and Senate committee pages, to the United States Code, and to other legislative resources. Coverage varies with the earliest citations dating back to 1973. Consult Coverage Dates for Legislative Information for the start date for each collection.
CQ Electronic Library
Supreme Court DatabaseThe Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1946 and 2012 terms.
Supreme Court of the United StatesOfficial website of the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Courts - The Federal JudiciaryThe purpose of this site is to function as a clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set: 1817–1994 (Readex)Provides full text of selected reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1817 through 1994 (15th through 103rd Congresses). Documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses can be found in the American State Papers collection.
Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Provides comprehensive indexing of United States legislative information: hearings transcripts and submitted testimony, committee reports, bills, public laws, congressional member public interest group ratings, selected committee prints, congressional documents, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the U.S. Code. Includes abstracts. Some of the indexing goes back to the late 18th century.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) ReportsCongressional Research Service (CRS) provides authoritative and confidential research and analysis for Congress' deliberative use.
Election Law/Electoral College
American National Election Studies (ANES)Quality data from ANES surveys on voting, public opinion, and political participation. ANES data is meant to enable researchers to better understand the theoretical and empirical foundations of national election outcomes. Includes: Tables & Graphs, Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior, a library of pilot studies, technical reports and conference papers, and data center links. See also HOW TO ANALYZE ANES SURVEY DATA.
Brennan Center for Justice - redistricting guidesA non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.
Electoral College (U.S.)The electoral college is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and comprises a set of electors selected to elect the president of the United States.
Electoral College (U.S.) - historical election resultsView the electoral votes, popular votes, electors, and certificates of past presidential elections.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. For brief video introduction click here.
Law Library of Congress - Guide to Election ResourcesA variety of historical print and online resources about elections and the electoral college.
Law Library of Congress - Guide to Law Online - Election LawSelected, annotated guide to Internet sources of interest to legal researcher emphasizing wherever possible sites offering the full texts of laws, regulations, and court decisions, along with commentary from lawyers writing primarily for other lawyers. Some materials related to law and government that were written by or for lay persons also have also been included.
Campaign Finance
Brookings Institution on Campaign FinanceThe Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. conducts and reports quality, independent research and provides recommendations based on that research.
Campaign Finance Institute (CFI)Conducts research and education, empanels task forces, and makes recommendations for policy change in the field of campaign finance. Resources include Federal campaign finance, state campaign finance, tables, charts & data, law and policy modeling tool.
Campaign Legal CenterOffers nonpartisan analyses of issues and represents the public interest in administrative, legislative and legal proceedings.
Brennan Center for JusticeA non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.
Center for Public IntegrityOne of the country's oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations, it attempts to enhance democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of trust by powerful public and private institutions by using the tools of investigative journalism. Profiles PACs, ad buys by super PACs, election donors and nonprofit election supporters.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. For brief video introduction click here.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) ReportsCongressional Research Service (CRS) provides authoritative and confidential research and analysis for Congress' deliberative use.
OpenSecrets.orgBrought to you by the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group tracking money in U.S. Linked tabs include politicians & elections, influence & lobbying (to search industry and issues) and news & analysis.
Washington Post - Recent Presidential Campaign Finance Explorer
Washington Post - Congressional wealth seriesA close-up look at Congressional wealth, includes lists and interactive.
Polling Information/Public Opinion
Web Sites
A Century of Lawmaking For a New Nation: US Congressional Documents and DebatesBeginning with the Continental Congress in 1774, America's national legislative bodies have kept records of their proceedings. The records of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States Congress make up a rich documentary history of the construction of the nation and the development of the federal government and its role in the national life. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation brings together online the records and acts of Congress from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention through the 43rd Congress, including the first three volumes of the Congressional Record, 1873-75.
American Presidency ProjectThe American Presidency Project, was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The archives contain 102,014 documents related to the study of the Presidency.
CQ Supreme Court YearbookIncludes year-end overviews of Supreme Court terms from 1989 to present, case summaries of every opinion written during each Supreme Court term, essays on the most significant cases from each year and the trends in each term, useful tables and figures on voting patterns and trends in constitutional law ,biographies of justices and reference documents for understanding how the Supreme Court works.
Congress.gov - Federal Legislative InformationBeginning with 101st Congress (1989) through current Congress, provides text of bills, public laws, Roll Call votes and sponsorship and co-sponsorship by member.
All About Legislation of the U.S. Congress is available at
https://www.congress.gov/legislation/about. Other features include
Browse Legislation providing
Action on Legislation — Browse by Date, Days in Session, Roll Call Votes, Bill and Law Texts Received Today, Legislation Popular Titles and Short Titles.
Congress.gov - State legislature websitesInformation from state legislatures, often including video, audio, calendars, meetings, bills, house and senate members, rules, budgetary information and state constitutions, etc.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) ReportsCongressional Research Service (CRS) provides authoritative and confidential research and analysis for Congress' deliberative use.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. For brief video introduction click here.
GovTrack.usGovTrack.us, a transparency project of Civic Impulse, LLC, is meant to help ordinary citizens find and track bills in the U.S. Congress and understand their representatives’ legislative record by bringing together the status of U.S. federal legislation, voting records, congressional district maps, and more.
GovTrack.us - Members of Congress and congressional district mapsFind a congressional district and locate a senator or representative by name, state, zip code.
Ideological History of the Supreme Court, 1937–2007"... the relative location of each U.S. Supreme Court justice on an ideological continuum." represented by ideology numbers in Martin-Quinn scores, developed by political scientists Andrew Martin (Washington University) and Kevin Quinn (Harvard University).
Open States (Politics in Your State)Open States is a collection of tools that make it possible for citizens to track what is happening in their state's capitol by aggregating information from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
OpenJuristOpenJurist's mission is to provide access to published United States legal opinions, Code and legal resources without charge
Policy Agendas ProjectTool for tracking policy changes in the United States. Users can trace, graph and download policy changes in many different arenas. Datasets allow users to immediately download and access full text source policy documents from linked websites. By providing direct information on the sources of the measures of policy changes, this website allows users to access the original material, which provides the historical context of policy choice. A long-term objective of the Project is to provide a systematic gateway to a virtual digital policy library through a ‘guided search’ function.
Project Vote SmartProject Vote Smart (PVS) is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in six basic areas, providing free, unbiased, in-depth information about current officials, candidates, issues, legislation, and voting.
Supreme Court (U.S.) Cases PreviewAmerican Bar Association Preview of U.S. Supreme Court briefs from current and past terms beginning 2003-04 term.
Supreme Court - most effective friends of the Court by amicus filingsThis post looks at some of the defining aspects of the most effective amici before the Court both this Term and throughout the years of the Roberts Court.
Supreme Court DatabaseThe Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1946 and 2012 terms.
Supreme Court of the United StatesOfficial website of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Supreme Court of the United States Blog (SCOTUS)Blog hosted by Bloomberg News with access to Supreme Courts briefs.
United States CourtsExplains how the U.S. court system functions. Includes answers to frequently asked questions.