How To Research Congress

A practical and up-to-date guide that leads the novice as well as the expert through the entire process of researching Congress.This easy-to-use introduction provides resources and searching tools for primary and secondary sources. Listings include almanacs, bibliographical directories, encyclopedias, indexes, online services, databases, journals, newspapers, and news services. All aspects of Congress are covered, including procedures, committees, investigations, reform, foreign affairs, and legislative analysis.

Entries describe approximately 255 legislative histories compiled during the 37th Congress in 1862 through the 101st Congress, second session, in 1990. Actual public laws covered begin with the 4th Congress, first session, 1796.

This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others at navigating the legislative process and what this means for how Congress is organized and what policies it produces. Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness (the Legislative Effectiveness Score) that will be of interest to scholars, voters, and politicians alike. They use these scores to study party influence in Congress, the successes or failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock, and the specific strategies that lawmakers employ to advance their agendas.