Political Science Research and Resource Support

The Proquest Congressional Digital Collection, announced in an earlier post, provides efficient, targeted access to the most comprehensive collection of historic and current congressional information (Source: Proquest)

One part of the collection is the Congressional Research Service reports. With Proquest Congressional you have access to the non-partisan research that is provided for members of Congress. To limit your search to CRS Reports simply select Search Within CRS Reports:

Enter your search terms.

Access PDF versions of the Reports.

Here is an example of a 31 page 2011 report on The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States:

Summary:
The United States, the third most populous country globally, accounts for about 4.6% of the world's population. Within the next few years, the U.S. population -- currently estimated at 299 million persons -- is expected to reach twice its 1950 level of 152 million. More than just being double in size, the population has become qualitatively different from what it was in 1950. As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, "The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse." The objective of this report is to highlight some of the demographic changes that have already occurred since 1950 and to illustrate how these and future trends will reshape the nation in the decades to come (through 2050).
Source: U.S. Congressional Research Service. Changing Demographic Profile of the United States (RL32701; Mar. 31, 2011), by Laura B. Shrestha and Elayne J. Heisler. Text in: ProQuest Congressional Research Digital Collection; Accessed: July 5, 2011.

If you require assistance with this or any other tool please email me here.

Source: http://www.app.collinsindicate.com/worldbankatlas-global/en

The World Bank eAtlas of Global Development maps and graphs more than 175 thematically organized indicators for over 200 countries, letting you visualize and compare progress on the most important development challenges facing our world. Most indicators cover several decades, so you can see, for example, how "life expectancy at birth" has improved from 1960 up through the latest year. Source

Some Features:

• Map more than 175 World Bank indicators worldwide


• Compare and view two maps simultaneously


• Animate maps to show change over time


• View all data in ranking tables and charts alongside maps


• Export maps and data for use in presentations and more


• Import your own data

Check it out HERE.

RefWorks 2.0, the information management tool, has been released. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with some of the enhancements and the changes. As with the original RefWorks, version 2.0 includes excellent video tutorials to help you manage your bibliographic information.

If you have questions about RefWorks 2.0, or, if you are unfamiliar with this tool and would like to set up an account or learn about some of the advanced features that will make managing your information easier, please email me HERE.

RefWorks can be accessed from the Library home page http://www.lib.uwo.ca/. Sign in through Off Campus Access if you are working from off campus then click the RefWorks Link.

Politwitter.ca (http://politwitter.ca/)

The Canadian Federal Election is a Twitter Race. Keep abreast of what politicians are saying through Social Media.

From the Site: poliTwitter not only tracks MPs & Canadian politics on Twitter but also Facebook, Youtube, flickr, blogs and hansard from parliament. (About)

A nice tool that brings together in one space the Social Media musings of Canada's political actors and spectators.

Twitter Feed Wed. April 13, 2011 12:19 PM:

In anticipation of a Canadian Federal Election here are a few, perhaps useful, resources:

The Elections Canada Website: http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx

Reporting directly to Parliament, Elections Canada "must be prepared at all times to conduct a federal general election, by-election or referendum, administer the political financing provisions of the Canada Elections Act, monitor compliance and enforce electoral legislation."
Explore this site if you want to find your electoral district, MP, past candidates, election results, maps & more.

Elections Canada offers an intuitive site that can be searched based on your role, e.g., researcher, candidate, returning officer or you can search a list of the most popular sites:

Political Parties:

Bloc Quebecois (English)
Conservative Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
New Democratic Party of Canada

Keep current on Election happenings with Western Libraries numerous News Resources.

With Factiva you can access top stories from a selection of Canadian Newspapers:

Select News Pages from top menu bar then select Canada in the drop down menu to get the top stories for the day from publications like the Globe & Mail and National Post. You can search the entire Newsstand or you can do more focused searches by region, topic, source, etc.

Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies

Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies provides full access to many leading Canadian news sources (articles, columns, editorials and feature articles). The content in this database is updated daily, following a two-day embargo period.

News Sources covered in Canadian Newsstand:

• Calgary Herald; Calgary, Alta.


• Daily News; Halifax, N.S.


• Edmonton Journal; Edmonton, Alta.


• Financial Post; Toronto, Ont.


• The Gazette; Montreal, Que.


• The Globe and Mail; Toronto, Ont.


• Guardian; Charlottetown,


• Kingston Whig - Standard; Kingston, Ont.


• Leader Post; Regina, Sask.


• National Post; Don Mills, Ont.


• The Ottawa Citizen; Ottawa, Ont.


• The Province; Vancouver, B.C.


• Star - Phoenix; Saskatoon, Sask.


• Sudbury Star; Sudbury, Ont.


• Telegram; St. John's, Nfld.


• Telegraph-Journal; Saint John, N.B.


• Times - Colonist; Victoria, B.C.


• Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont.


• The Vancouver Sun; Vancouver, B.C.


• The Windsor Star; Windsor, Ont.


• Winnipeg Free Press; Winnipeg, Man.

For information on the political affiliations of various Canadian Newspapers check WorldPress.org.

Public Opinion: IPSOS News Centre

Access news and polls on issues critical to voters and candidates via Ipsos News.

An example of a recent poll:
Thursday, March 24, 2011: On Eve of Confidence Votes, Half (50%) of Canadians Say to Opposition Parties: Pass Budget, Avoid Election

If you need help finding information on the Canadian Federal Election please do not hesitate to contact me directly (HERE) or The D.B. Weldon Research Help Desk (HERE)

Western Libraries has added some new resources that will assist anyone studying US Government or Environmental Issues.

Accessible through the Database by Title links Proquest Congressional Digital Collection and Proquest Environmental Impact Statements are the latest additions to Western's first rate collection of research tools.

Proquest Congressional Digital Collection (formerly the LexisNexis Congressional Digital Collection) contains:
ProQuest Congressional Hearings Digital Collection (2004 Onward) offering full transcripts of the proceedings, including all oral statements, committee questions, and discussion. The texts of related reports, statistical analyses, correspondence, exhibits, and articles presented by witnesses or inserted into the record by committee members and staff.
ProQuest U. S. Congressional Research Digital Collection
containing Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Congressional
Committee Prints. These resources provide the invaluable background research requested by Congress on a variety of topics and are excellent sources of public policy.

If you need assistance with the Basic or Advanced Search options for this resource please contact me HERE Or contact the Research Help Desk HERE.

Proquest Environmental Impact Statements.
Environmental Impact Statements
From the vendor:
This database provides detailed abstracts and indexing of the hundreds of environmental impact statements issued each year by the federal government. EIS extracts the key issues from complex government-released environmental impact statements, converting massive documents into concise, readable abstracts. Each entry includes a clear description of the project, sections on positive impact and negative consequences and legal mandates.

The US Budget from President Obama is now available via the Government Printing Office (GPO) Federal Digital Systems (FdSYS).

To access the budget go to:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET

Here's a Press Release on the Budget from the GPO.