TRIO Librarian
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0753-4975Public Policy Librarian
Introduction
This guide is for students working on the Diversity Research Project.
Here you will find resources you need to help you conduct policy research for your Diversity Research Project. Take a look through the page for databases, news, and web sources where you can find policies, congressional bills and legislation, articles, newspapers, and more.
Planning your Search
Think about your identity - who are you? What issues are you interested in or passionate about?
For example, if you identify as a First Generation College student, you might be interested in cost of college or graduation rates of first generation college students.
Identify any groups or communities you are a member of (this can be your own family, your city or town, an organization you belong to, anything).
- First-generation (tuition funding, higher education opportunity)
- TRIO student (financial support, mentorship, TRIO program funding)
- writer or poet (funding for arts & humanities, school programming)
Identify the key issues or concerns within your group or community. What do you care about? What are others in your community concerned about? Create a list of keywords and key phrases to describe your identity or topic.
Locating Policies
What is a policy?
Policies are a set of ideas or plans of what to do in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party (Cambridge Dictionary).
Begin with CQ Researcher and browse online newspapers (see list of Newspaper databases from the Libraries) to search for recent news and background information regarding the current state of affairs. You may find a report that connects with your identity and references relevant legislation or policies.
Search GovInfo.gov by topic like higher education or first-generation student for hearings or bills.
Find your state legislator in Iowa. Find your US representative in Congress.
Resources to Get Started
- CQ ResearcherYou can search for background information on a particular topic that aligns with your identity.
- Nexis UniNexis Uni is a great place to look for legal and government information, such as federal and state court cases, statutes, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings and decisions going back to 1790 up until today.
- Gale Opposing ViewpointsBrowse current topics & real world issues; gain background information, read diverse viewpoints, academic articles, watch videos, and more.
Newspaper and Media Sources (UI Library Databases)
- Access World NewsProvides full-text articles of over 600 U.S. and over 700 international newspapers. Includes the Chicago Tribune, and some Iowa newspapers. Search by broadly by topic or geographical region or refine your search by selecting "more search options".
- Alt-Press WatchAlt-PressWatch includes full-text newspapers and magazines from alternative, independent presses. You will find things on government, policy, culture, and local and national news.
- Ethnic NewsWatchEthnic Newswatch is great for finding articles, journals, magazines and newspapers that are written by journalists from ethnic, minority, and indigenous presses.
- Newspaper Source PlusUpdated daily, search over 200 regional U.S. newspapers, international newspapers, newswires and newspaper columns.
- New York TimesLibrary provided access to NYTimes.com full website. Register first using your uiowa.edu email & create a password at http://AccessNYT.com and then use https://www.nytimes.com/ for access afterwards.
- Nexis UniNexis Uni is a great place to look for legal and government information, such as federal and state court cases, statutes, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings and decisions going back to 1790 up until today.
Public Government Sources
- Congress.govPublic source for information on all legislation, including bills, policies, and update on current legislative activities. Search by keyword or policy area using the advanced search.
- GovInfo.govSearch for policies, including bills and legislation by topic or category. You can also browse acts, reports, and documents alphabetically.
- Iowa State LegislatureSearch for current legislative topics, listen to live audio of Senate and House activities when legislature is in session. See the daily calendar of committee activities and much more.
- GovTrack.usAn accessible website to look up and track bills, introduced legislation, and voting issues in the U.S. Congress.
- Congressional Research ServiceCRS approaches complex topics and examines all sides of an issue. To search, type in a subject (immigration policy, student debt) or click search for a full index of products. Products you'll find are:
-reports on major policy issues
-tailored confidential memoranda, briefings and consultations
-seminars and workshops
-expert congressional testimony - National Conference of State LegislaturesSearch by topic to find information about policy research and track current statuses of bills being passed in congress.