V540: Law & Public Affairs
Business/SPEA Information Commons
Monday-Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to Midnight
Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to Midnight
Need Research or Library Help?
E-mail: Christina Sheley: cmwilkin@indiana.edu or Melanie Groth: mgroth@indiana.edu
Call: 812.855.1957
Chat: Enter a question in the chat box below for immediate help.
The IUB Libraries provide access to hundreds of subject-specific databases that can be used to conduct research and locate needed information. Below is a select list of library and Internet-based (free) resources to use for this class. Additional research strategies and resource suggestions can be found using the Business/SPEA Information Commons Research Guides and Maurer School of Law Library Research Guides.
How to find law?
IUB Libraries State Statutes & Municipal Code Sources:
|
LexisNexis is a library database that allows for multi-state and code searches by topic. Each state code file includes the constitution, the current advanced legislative service, and all the titles of state code. Separate tables of contents allow one to view the hierarchical structure of the code and the desired code section. The municipal code file allows one to search by keyword across all states/cities included. |
Internet Municipal Code Sources (NOTE: Searching can be limited and/or fee-based on these sites):
|
The American Legal Publishing website allows one to search across and within the municipal code for 32 states. Some access is fee-based. |
|
Municode's Online Library allows one to search across the municipal codes from 49 states (Idaho is not represented). Not all cities are represented. |
How to find cases?
IUB Libraries Case Sources:
|
LexisNexis is a library database that provides access to federal and state cases by the "Look Up a Legal Case" widget or the "U.S. Legal" tab. Cases can be searched by citation, case name, or keyword.
Coverage: Shepard's Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1789 |
How to find NEWS & policy papers?
IUB Libraries News Sources:
| LexisNexis is a library database that provides access to news and current events. Formats found in LexisNexis are: international and domestic newspapers (over 350), magazines and trade journals, and broadcast transcripts (NPR, ABC News, CBS News, and CNN). |
|
Access World News provides full-text information and perspectives from over 600 U.S. and 700 international news sources. Each newspaper or wire service provides unique coverage of local and regional news, including specific information about local companies, politics, sports, industries, cultural activities, and the people in the community. |
Internet News Sources:
|
Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from more than 50,000 news sources worldwide. The articles are selected and ranked by computers that evaluate, among other things, how often and on what sites a story appears online. It also ranks based on certain characteristics of news content such as freshness, location, relevance, and diversity. The time or date displayed next to an article reflects when the article was added to Google News. Google News includes articles that have been crawled within the last 30 days. If you're looking for older news coverage, try the News Archive Search. |
IUB Libraries Policy Papers Sources:
|
CQ Public Affairs Collection is a library database that provides public policy content in a variety of areas: Advocacy & Public Service, Agriculture & Nutrition, Business, Banking, Commerce, Economics, Communications & the Media, Culture & Recreation, Education, Employment, Labor & Pensions, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Federal Budget & Tax Policy, General Government & Civil Service, Health, Housing & Development, International Affairs, International Trade & Development, Law & Justice, Military Personnel & Veterans, National Security, Science & Technology, Social Services & Disabilities, Transportation, and U.S. Congress & Politics. |
|
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) is a library database that indexes materials related to public policy and social issues, including the fields of political science, government, international relations, economics, finance, law, environment, demography, sociology, and business. |
Internet Policy Paper Sources:
|
The Policy Archive is a free digital archive of non-partisan public policy research from the Center for Governmental Studies. It collects and disseminates summaries and full-texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research. NOTE: Always check the think tank individually for specific bias. |
|
"The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis." Issues of focus are health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, and the environment. As a nonpartisan organization, it operates independently of political and commerical pressures. |
|
Social Sciences Research Network SSRN provides access to abstracts of scholarly working papers, forthcoming papers, and some downloadable full-text documents for a variety of disciplines, including policy and political science. |
Citing Sources:
You need to cite sources if they are directly quoted and/or paraphrased in your work. In addition, you should cite if reading a source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper. Citations allow readers to locate and further explore the sources you consulted, show the depth and scope of your research, and give credit to authors for his/her ideas. APA, Chicago, and MLA are the most frequently used documentation styles.
