Issues
Voter information
Elections and legislative process
Objective sources
Consider the source
Additional resources
After the election: transition |
Use these resources to get a concise, authoritative overview of an issue.
- CQ Researcher (online and in print, Ref
H35 .E35): Reports on
current issues affecting public policy
- Books series devoted to controversial issues: several book series look at a broad range of controversial issues from different points of view. Click on titles below to get a listing of topics covered by books in the series:
-At Issue
-Opposing Viewpoints
-Current Controversies
-Contemporary World Issues
- Congressional Digest:a pro & con monthly, highlighting "competing views on current affairs"
- International Debates: highlights the "latest controversies in the United Nations and other international forums."
- Supreme Court Debates: "spotlights current court cases and controversies emanating from or surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court."
- CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online): a McIntyre Library database rich in journal articles, working papers, and other resources on international affairs.
- Thomas.gov: this Library of Congress site provides a wealth of information about current and past legislation, members of congress, roll call votes and more.
- News databases: use McIntyre Library news databases to search for issues in regional, national and international newspapers. News sources often strive to be objective, but are not always. News sources also include editorials and commentaries, which provide opinions. They can be good sources to track debate on issues and to explore various points of view.
- Databases by Discipline: search for journal articles on the issues in discipline-specific databases. Scholarly articles provide results of research and studies that have been done on the issues.
- UW Eau Claire Voting Information: voting information for students on and off campus
- League of Women Voters (not just for women!): nonpartisan organization committed to informed and active political participation regardless of party or gender. Includes information on candidates, issues, where to vote, the election process and more.
- Student Voting Rights (Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law): FAQ on student voting rights, including the debunking of myths surrounding the issue, information on voting at home vs. voting at school, and a map linking to state voter registration requirements
- Voter Public Access: look up your voter registration status, polling place location, sample ballots and current office holders in your district.
- Google Voter Information: type in your address and get a map to your polling place along with other local voting information.
- From a Bill to a Law: learn about the legislative process (Library of Congress Thomas)
- Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections (Reference JK2261.S218 2006): so just what is the electoral college? This source will explain that and more.
- McIntyre Online Catalog: To find in-depth and historical analyses of the political process and related issues, search the catalog for books, government documents, videos/DVDs/CDs
Searching on some of the following subject headings in the catalog may be useful:
- Advertising, political
- Communication in politics
- Conservatism--United States
- Elections--United States
- Liberalism--United States
- Political campaigns--United States
- Political participation--United States
- Political parties--United States
- Political psychology
- Presidents--United States--Election
- Progressivism (United States politics)
- Rhetoric--Political aspects
- Voting--United States
Political advertisements and partisan news sources are perhaps the least valuable information sources to consult when you are interested in making informed voting decisions. Consider the following nonpartisan, independent sources to learn about the candidates:
- Project VoteSmart: voting records, biographical information and more on candidates
- Almanac of American Politics (Reference JK271.B343 2008): this annual publication provides biographical profiles for members of Congress, information on voting records, state and congressional districts and more.
- U.S. Congress Votes database (Washington Post): browse every vote in Congress since 1991
- New York Times Election 2008: overview of candidate stands on issues, campaign finance sources, latest polls and more.
- League of Women Voters (not just for women!): nonpartisan organization committed to informed and active political participation regardless of party or gender. Includes information on candidates, issues, where to vote, the election process and more.
- Wisconsinvote.org (Wisconsin Public Radio): for information on Wisconsin elections
Use these tools to help you in evaluating the credibility and accuracy of political ads, debates, etc.
- OpenSecrets.org: "nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy."
- FactCheck.org (Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania): a nonpartisan, nonprofit entity that monitors "the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases."
- PolitiFact.com: a service of the St. Petersburg Times and CQ, this site assess the accruacy of claims made by and on behalf of politicians. It includes the "Flip-o-meter" and the "Truth-o-meter."
- Associations Unlimited: look up an organization in this database to find out their mission and their constituency and to determine if there's a potential for bias in the information they provide.
- Magazines for Libraries (Reference Desk Z6941.M23 2008): reviews and describes magazines. Find out if a particular publication has a bias of which you should be aware when reading it.
- Congressional Digest 2008 Presidential Election Issue: Congressional Digest is a "pro & Con monthly," useful for looking at policy issues, current affairs and more. This issue is devoted to the 2008 election.
- Elections 2008 (University of Michigan Document Center): this guide links to myriad resources on elections and politics. Some are Michigan-specific, but most are widely useful.
- Election and Voting Resources (Internet Public Library: helpful guide linking to a wide range of freely-available web resources, including candidate and political party websites.
- Resources for the 2008 Elections (Marquette University): links to online resources, current books and more on this well-organized site.
After the election: transitioning to a new government
- Change.gov: the transition website of the Obama administration
- Plum Book: 2008 edition of the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, includes data on thousands of federal jobs available up for grabs with the change in administration.
- 2009 Congressional and Presidential Transition (GAO): insights, recommendations and reports on issues from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office
|
