Political Science 201:

American Federal Government

Professor Shumaker

Fall 2007

Find your senator or representative

• CongressLink: Guide to the 109th Congress ~ provides good basic information on Congress, as well as contact information for congress members
• Project Vote-Smart ~ you can type in your ZIP code into the box on the left-hand side
• United States Senate ~ this official site provides information on committees as well as preliminary contact information
  • Illinois Senators
• United States House of Representatives ~ the House's web presence provides summaries of debates on the floor, committee information, and contact information
  • House of Representatives Member Web Site Listing
• Congressional Quarterly's Washington Information Directory (the library has the 2004-2005 edition) Call number: R328.73 W318 2004/2005.(A useful book located in the Reference Section)

back to top

Get some background info on your environment topic

Finding Journal Articles

• Academic Search Complete ~ contains articles from both popular and scholarly sources on a wide range of topics, many in full text.

• CQ Researcher ~ published by Congressional Quarterly, this resource weekly focuses on a particular topic, such as campaign finance reform or abortion; good for finding out background information or learning more about the topic at hand
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe ~ this database accesses a wealth of legal news and information.

Is this a scholarly journal or a popular magazine?

Finding Newspaper Articles

• Chicago Tribune
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe ~ also provides access to newspapers from all over the world
• Newspaper Source ~ another database providing access to newspapers both large and small
• New York Times

Finding Internet Sources

A word about Google and Wikipedia.

Google and Wikipedia are 2 tools that are available to help you find information on the Internet. Google is an Internet search engine. It will find websites for you on the subject of American Presidents. Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia.It contains lots of information about American Presidents. But you need to be careful when using these 2 tools. Google will just find sites for you. It will not tell you whether or not those sites are accurate, or unbiased, or current. Wikipedia can be useful to help you get started finding information. But because anybody can edit a Wikipedia page, you have to take information you find there with a grain of salt. Wikipedia is a fine source for some information--but always backup information you find there with another source.

Some potentially useful websites:

League of Conservation Voters-an advocacy group, lots of good information about taking action

National Council for Science and the Environment

EPA - Office of Enforcement and Complience Assurance - Environmental Justice

Environmental Resources on the Internet - comprehensive page with lots of good links to environmental resources on the web

back to top

Finding legislation and voting information on your topic

How do I find out what bills are pending on my topic?

• Congress.org ~ once you've selected your topic in the Issues and Action section, click on the link labeled "Bills" to display pending bills

How has my representative/senator has voted on similar bills?

• Congress.org ~ click on the name of a bill under the same topic; next to the run-down of the vote is a link for "Complete Tally" -- click on this link for a complete listing of who voted how
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet ~ click on the button for a search by bill number, then click on the link for "Bill Summary and Status," you will see hyperlinks to related bills
• C-SPAN: Congress Guide ~ Search to find out how officials have voted on key issues; search by session number, key word, or even by member

Did my representative write, sponsor, or cosponsor this bill?

• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet ~ includes the Congressional Record, a complete record of legislative goings-on, as well as bill summary and status going back to the 93rd congress; do a search by bill number, and click on the link for "Bill Summary and Status"

back to top

Contacting your representative

How do I write a letter to my Senator or Representative?

• Letter Writing for Advocacy ~ from the Reading Recovery Council of North America; also look at the information on faxing and emailing
• Letter Writing ~ from the League of Women Voters from New Jersey

How do I find contact information for my senator or representative?

• Project Vote-Smart: U.S. Congress Members of Illinois ~ click on a person's name to get biographies and contact information; the most effective way to contact your representative or senator is by using their Illinois address
• United States Senate: Illinois Senators
• United States House of Representatives: House of Representatives Member Web Site Listing

back to top

Writing and Citing Information

For help with writing, try the Elmhurst College Writing Center online help page.

You can also try these online resources

Power Point tutorials and help ~ created here at EC
College Writing and Citing
Citing Electronic Resources
ONLINE! Citation Styles
Citing Sources from the Duke University Libraries

If you need any help finding articles or writing, you can also contact the Reference Desk any time the library is open:

Reference: 630-617-3173
Email: ref[at[elmhurst[dot]edu
AIM: elmhrstcollibref   |   Yahoo!Messenger: eclibraryreference   |   MSN Messenger: ref[at]elmhurst.edu

back to top

Web Pages for Courses: Political Science

Elmhurst College Library