Government Information : Tips

Do you have a topic, but you're not sure where to start? Try a few of these tips!

• Scan your textbook or assigned readings for ideas or for books and articles you can look for.
• Start to write down keywords and related concepts. Think of synonyms that you can use as keywords.
• Consider creating a concept map if you learn best visually. Try Mind42 or MindMeister for some cool online tools.
• Find background information and use it to find more keywords.

For more research tips, check out our research guide.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications provides an index to print and electronic publications created by Federal agencies.

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies

Federal Agency Directory (by Louisiana State University Library)

Thomas is the search engine for U.S. legislation, 1973 to present. 

Google Uncle Sam - Uses Google search technology to search U.S. government domain web sites.

LexisNexis - Use the US Legal tab on the left to look up cases, state and federal codes, or access the legal reference center.