Pro/Con Resources: Finding Evidence to Support Arguments

• LexisNexis Congressional
  
• Congressional testimony from government officials and witnesses invited to provide information and background

• PolicyFile (Public Policy Research and Analysis)
  
• Provides information from associations and think tanks
  
• Policy-related information at ".org" web sites
  

• Public Opinion Polls for Communications Research
  
• Provides links to a variety of polling databases

• On the Issues
  
• Provides views from political candidates, members of Congress, and the President

• Newspaper Databases : Try These First
  
• Databases to help search for editorials or commentary articles

• Solid pro/con research includes understanding which periodicals and resources may express opinions from specific ideological slants — for example, conservative or liberal, left vs. right, Catholic vs. Unitarian — or from a different geo-political perspective, like international views vs. U.S. views.

• In The O'Toole News Magazine Collection
  
• Magazines that present the news from a particular editorial slant
  
• Descriptions include the range of editorial perspectives
  
• Many titles are available at other Penn State locations

Look for resources that seek to provide balanced points of view from which you can better understand the range of issues and perspectives.

Databases

• CQ Researcher (contemporary and public policy issues)
  
• Resource for an overview of an issue or topic area
• References to related resources
  
• Pro/Con page that argues different sides of a topic in a clear and straightforward manner

• CQ Weekly
  
• More than 100 reporters, editors and researchers
  
• Covers acts of Congress, delivering nonpartisan news and analysis unavailable anywhere else

• National Journal
  
• Provides public policy information from the Executive Branch point of view

• Newsbank

• thousands of local, national, and world newspapers
• try choosing to search within the "section" and typing in editorial or opinion
  

• The Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
  
• Includes the Opposing Viewpoints series available in print
  
• The Contemporary World Issues series
  
• Print source
  
• Includes research on a variety of topics

• ProQuest Research Library
• Diversified mix of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines

• Government Policies and their Unintended Consequences (Research Guide)
  
• Resources that touch on government or political issues
  

• Explore Policy Options (Research Guide)
  

• GAO (Government Accountability Office)
• Government agency that provides oversight and review of government programs
  
• Most reports are full-text

Background and summaries of opinions

• West's Encylopedia of American Law
• Supreme Court Yearbook
• CQ Supreme Court Collection

Databases

• LexisNexis Academic
  • Supreme Court opinions

• Westlaw Campus
  • Supreme Court opinions

• Law - A Guide to Research
  • Good general starting point for this research

• Federal Rules and Regulations
  
  • How to find and use regulations

• More Law Research Guides at Social Sciences

Sources Comparing State Statutes by Topic

• National Survey of State Laws
• Citations and brief summaries of state laws
  
• Highly selective list of topics
• Ranging from abortion and antitrust to wills and whistleblowers
• Series of tables comparing laws
  
• Business and consumer law, criminal law, education, employment, family law, civil law, real estate, and taxes
  
• Tables include citations to state statutes
• New editions appear every other year
   
  
• The National Conference of State Legislatures
  
• Offers substantive, comparative articles on state laws
• Includes wide range of topics and subtopics under the "Issue & Research" tab
• Activities of states at the forefront of the issue are mentioned
• Tables listing state laws and bills with citations

• The National Association of Secretaries of State
  
• Comparative views of issues related to state voting and elections through news items, fact sheets, and short reports

• The National Governors Association
  
• Provides news on current issues in state government
  
• Center for Best Practices
  
• Reports and publications on an extensive list of issues
• Explains which states are implementing creative solutions to thorny problems
• Some tables are descriptive only and do not provide citations.

• Google search
  
• "compare state laws" and/or limit search by "site:.edu" or "site:.gov" for a wide set of search results

Databases to find State Laws, Regulations, and Court Decisions

• Westlaw Campus
• Statutes — all 50 states included
  

• LexisNexis State Capital
• Select Statutes. Search across all state statutes by keyword

• Social Explorer
• Provides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present
• Allows you to easily create maps and reports showing population trends over time to very small geographic areas
• A tool for creating a slide shows that can be easily exported into a Powerpoint presentation