duPont Library: Voting: Researching Issues

CQ Voting and Elections Collection

CQ Voting and Elections Collection This link opens in a new window
Integrates data, authoritative analyses, concise explanations, and historical material to provide a research and reference tool on voting and elections in America. From the American voter, to major and minor political parties, to actual races for Congress, the presidency, and governorships, the collection provides context-driven intelligence on the state of elections in America. Chronological coverage varies by office. Presidential coverage begins 1789.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A collection of over 3,000,000 reference entries on topics from all the major
academic subject areas serving as a great starting point for research. Full text articles plus images, audio files, and videos. Credo Reference also includes cross-references to other full text titles containing related information.
Includes more than 450 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, and atlases in all fields. Sources are selected from 100 major publishers, such as ABC Clio, Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Greenwood, Penguin, Routledge, Sage, Thames and Hudson, Wiley, and more.
U.S. Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Time period: 1980-present
Location: United States
U.S. Newsstream (from ProQuest) enables users to search current U.S. news content, as well as archives that stretch back into the 1980s. This contemporary news collection delivers current, full-text news sources including newspapers, newswires, news journals, television and radio transcripts, blogs, podcasts, and digital-only websites. The collection offers access to major national sources including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN Newswires, and the Huffington Post. It also offers exclusive access to over 80 Gannett regional newspapers and includes hundreds of other local, regional, and national titles from throughout the U.S. All content can be searched together or separately.
The following U.S. regional collections are included:
- U.S. Midwest Newsstream
- U.S. Southeast Newsstream
- U.S. North Central Newsstream
- U.S. Northeast Newsstream
- U.S. South Central Newsstream
- U.S. West Newsstream
Key U.S. titles include:
- The New York Times (from 1980 forward)
- The Wall Street Journal (from 1984 forward)
- The Washington Post (from 1987 forward)
- Los Angeles Times (from 1985 forward)
- Chicago Tribune (from 1985 forward)
- The Boston Globe (from 1980 forward).
Congressional Digest and Supreme Court Debates This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the Congressional Digest and Supreme Court Debates Online academic database, which provides indexed, searchable PRO&CON® content dating back to 1921. Includes downloadable articles from each publication's archive - including archives of International Debates. Its aim is to provide an "impartial view of controversial issues". It is searchable by subject, journal, title or most recent issues of each journal title.
Based on the Congressional Digest Publications.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
A database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.
National Journal This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive resource on politics and policy for the academic community including: National Journal Daily, The Hotline, The Racetracker, The Almanac, and Redistricting Hub.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text access to differing points of view on current social issues. Brings together viewpoint articles, contextual topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, biographies of social activists, court cases, profiles of government agencies and special interest groups, newspaper and magazine articles, as well as links to more than 1,800 reviewed and subject-indexed web sites.
Proquest News and Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Contains the content of several national and Tennessee newspapers, both historical and current. Indexes can be searched individually or in combination by names, events, and subjects. Updated daily.
Historical: Atlanta Constitution 1868-1945. Christian Science Monitor 1908-1996. New York Times 1851-2007. Wall Street Journal 1889-1993. Washington Post 1877-1994. Current: Chicago Tribune 1985-present. Los Angeles Times 1985-present. New York Times 1980-present. Wall Street Journal 1984-present. Washington Post 1987-present.
Diversity Studies (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals and magazines that explore cultural differences, contributions, and influences in the global community. The database is good for social science, history and interdisciplinary coursework.

American Community Survey & US Census Bureau
Data, statistics, interactive graphs/charts, publications, and reports on the US population.

Alternative Viewpoints

Alt-Press Watch This link opens in a new window
A full text database of over 210 newspapers, magazines and journals from alternative and independent presses. The alternative viewpoints and perspectives complement and challenge mainstream media coverage. Many of these publications are difficult to locate and acquire in their printed format. 1970 to present.
Search interface: ProQuest
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Independent Voices is a digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.

Video Sources

C-Span Video Library This link opens in a new window
Every C-SPAN program aired since 1987, now totaling over 160,000 hours, is contained in the C-SPAN Archives and immediately accessible through the database and electronic archival systems developed and maintained by the C-SPAN Archives. All programs since 1987 are digital and can be viewed online for free.
Includes addresses, interviews, broadcasts, ceremonies, call-in programs, news conferences, legislative sessions, committee hearings, debates, meetings, public affairs events, etc. The Archives records all three C-SPAN networks seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Programs are extensively indexed by subject, speaker names, titles, affiliations, sponsors, committees, categories, formats, policy groups, keywords, and location. The congressional sessions and committee hearings are indexed by person with full-text.
Culture Unplugged This link opens in a new window
cultureunplugged.com is an online archive of short length and feature length documentaries and films from independent film-makers and grassroots productions. The site is non-commercial and freely accessible.

Polling and Issues Websites

Gallup Trends
Trends presented by one of the premier organizations for public opinion polling data
Pew Research Center
"Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world."
Harris Poll
"From sports to health, politics to the economy, the Harris Poll reflects Americans’ opinions on a wide range of topics and are regularly published by national, local, consumer, business and trade media outlets."
National Issues Forums
"The institute’s central activity is to publish and distribute an ongoing series of Issue Guides and videos that prepare you for thoughtful discussion of many of today’s thorniest problems—healthcare, immigration, Social Security, and racial strife."

Think Tanks

Think tanks do research and present reports on issues, but they should be viewed with caution by information-seekers, since they may be biased. Because of this potential for bias, they may be helpful for research into a particular viewpoint. Often the general consensus will align think tanks with a particular place on the political spectrum. Those alignments are noted in the descriptions below.

Brookings Institution
"The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level." (Centrist)
Cato Institute
"The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace." (Libertarian)
Heritage Foundation
"The mission of The Heritage Foundation is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." (Conservative)
Institute for Policy Studies
"IPS is a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action." (Liberal)
Lexington Institute
"It is the goal of the Lexington Institute to inform, educate, and shape the public debate of national priorities in those areas that are of surpassing importance to the future success of democracy, such as national security, education reform, tax reform, immigration and federal policy concerning science and technology." (Conservative)
Policy Archive
"PolicyArchive is an innovative, new digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It makes use of the power, efficiency, and economy of modern Internet technology to collect and disseminate summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research." (Bi-partisan)

Jessie Ball duPont Library

Voting

Protest!

Other Research Guides

CQ Voting and Elections Collection

Starting Research

Alternative Viewpoints

Video Sources

Polling and Issues Websites

Think Tanks

Fact-checking Websites