Research Guides: Peace and Justice Studies: Government Information

Overview of Government Information

Materials (print or digital) that are produced or published by governmental bodies, whether local, state, national, or international, are considered to be government documents or government information.

Some types of government information can be considered scholarly, such as research reports funded by the federal government—which may even be peer reviewed—while other forms of scholarly government sources could be primary sources of law, such as cases or statues.

Popular government documents would be print or online information that is created to educate the public. They often provide credible background information in a short, easy to read format and do not include citations.

Finding Government Documents - United States

Databases
Government Websites

General Information

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Full text news sources including newspapers, news magazines, news wires, and online news sites. Also includes legal information: court cases and full text of law review journals. SEC filings are also a part of Nexis Uni.
New in Nexis Uni!

After getting a search results page, click on the Analytics button to view data about your search.
- A chart of coverage over time
- List of top publications with information about your search terms
- Word clouds showing relevant terms
- Charts wit top subjects and industries
Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window
Provides full text access to over 500 publications, and cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for more than 800 journals; also includes full-text reference books and monographs and full text conference papers.

Subject Specific

GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
Offers information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
Left Index This link opens in a new window
A complete guide to the diverse literature of the left, with an emphasis on political, economic, social and culturally engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Coverage spans from 1900 to the present.
Native American Tribal Histories This link opens in a new window
These primary source documents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and their agents cover not only encounters between indigenous people and the U.S. government, but also accounts of Native American cultures.

Data & Statistics

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista.com consolidates market and consumer statistical data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources. Results are presented in graphical display with Excel and pdf download options.
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the Statistical Abstracts from 2013 through 2024. Data can be downloaded in pdf and Excel formats.

General Information

USA.gov
USA.gov searches the Internet for '.gov' and '.mil' domains as well as state government web sites. Start with a keyword search and scan the results to see which agencies are concerned with your topic.
National Archives Government Documents
"Links to government publications in the National Archives, gateways and guides to federal information, finding aids and indexes to government documents, federal directories, and other government publications."
GovInfo
"GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government."

Subject Specific

Criminal Justice

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Virtual Library
"The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Virtual Library hosts a collection of over 235,000 information resources on criminal justice subjects, including corrections, courts, drugs, law enforcement, juvenile justice, victims of crime, and related topics. The Virtual Library provides access to all known OJP works and sponsored research, as well as to thousands of government products, research reports, journal articles, and published and unpublished literature produced through 2014."
Full text may not be available for all items, you will have to make an InterLibrary Loan Request.
National Institute of Justice - Library and Multimedia
"...a wide range of publications and media to bridge the science-to-practice gap by giving criminal justice professionals evidence-based knowledge they can use in their work." Includes datasets.

Data & Statistics

Data.gov
"Data.gov is the federal government's open data site, and aims to make government more open and accountable. Opening government data increases citizen participation in government, creates opportunities for economic development, and informs decision making in both the private and public sectors."
Bureau of Justice Statistics
"BJS is the primary statistical agency of the Department of Justice."
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"The mission of BJS is to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. BJS also provides financial and technical support to state, local, and tribal governments to improve both their statistical capabilities and the quality and utility of their criminal history records. "

International Government

UN iLibrary
"Every year, the United Nations publishes a vast range of valuable and reliable information. It is often published in the form of books that contain research covering the United Nations’ priorities, such as international peace and security, human rights, sustainable development, climate change, and international law.

The UN iLibrary is an online collection providing access to much of this valuable content on one easy-to-use platform for researchers, students, and the general public."

Finding International Governmental Organizations

Intergovernmental Organization Search Engine
From the Union of International Associations (UIA). This unique free service allows you to search the websites of all intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), comprising over 3000 bodies including the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, etc.
List of Organizations With .int Domain Names (Wikipedia)
List of Intergovernmental Organizations (Wikipedia)