The Digital Research Initiative
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Online EIS Class Handouts

Government
The Biggest Resource of Them All

 

The United States government is the single largest publisher in the world. Every year, millions of documents are published by the Federal government, from transcripts of speeches to how-to manuals to legal records. These government documents can be of tremendous value to journalists and other information gatherers, because they provide access to more detailed information on more subjects than any other source. Although some US documents are classified as "top secret," the vast majority are available to the public.

Ways to Get US Government Documents

Indexes to Government Documents

Some Helpful Governmental Links

Federal Government
 
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
 
 
 
 

The Senate Homepage

The House of Representatives Homepage

The U.S. Courts Page

The Supreme Court Homepage

 
   
   
   
State Government
   
  • The NASCIO Homepage -- The National Association of State Information Officers maintains StateSearch, a topical clearinghouse of state information on the Internet.
  • State and Local Government on the Net -- A huge repository of online information about states, including governmental information and links to pages for counties, cities, and towns within your state of choice.
   
   
   
Federal Government Databases and Search Engines
   
  • Fedworld Homepage -- Your source for locating government information. Hosts FirstGov, a governmental database that contains more than 30 million documents. Also points you to listings of government jobs.
  • The National Technical Information Service -- Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, this site is the central source for scientific, technical, and business information.
  • FedStats Homepage -- This site is a gateway to statistics from more than 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
   
   
   
Government Beyond the United States
   
   
   
   

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This site was created especially for students of the UNC School of Journalism 
and Mass Communication and anyone else who may be interested.
For more information, please contact daikat@email.unc.edu