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Laying Down the Law
In this guide, you will find a collection of resources on local and national law, federal government, and Oklahoma state government. This is a good starting place if you’re looking for legal information or for official statistics.
If you have trouble finding what you need, contact the research librarian for assistance.
Quick Links
- NWOSU Library Catalog
The WorldCat library catalog system for Northwestern.
- Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
Search engine for government documents.
- National Archives
Repository of historical documents.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office
Repository for government documents.
Government & Law Databases
Although not necessarily an exhaustive list, the following databases are relevant to the subject of Government & Law:
Multidisciplinary Databases
- Academic Search Complete
- Why search here? This database contains peer-reviewed articles on almost every academic subject.
- What’s included? Content includes over 5,000 full-text journals and over 200 full-text magazines, as well as full-text monographs and conference proceedings. Additional content includes citations and abstracts for many more journals and other publications.
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Why search here? This open-access database contains a wide array of peer-reviewed journals on almost every subject.
- What’s included? The DOAJ contains over 20,000 full-text, open-access journals.
- JSTOR
- Why search here? JSTOR is a large, full-text database covering a wide range of academic subjects, including biology, history, law, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, political science, psychology, social science, and social work.
- What’s included? JSTOR contains the full text of thousands of journals, and its collections are especially strong for older or historic journals.
- TOPICsearch
- Why search here? This database is focused on current events. It will be most useful for classes or writing assignments focused on contemporary issues or news items.
- What’s included? The database contains over 98,000 full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, biographies, book reviews, government publications, and opinion polls.
Legal Information
- Environment Complete
- Why search here? This database covers agriculture, biology, ecology, and related disciplines.
- What’s included? Environment Complete contains over 700 full-text, peer-reviewed journals and over 120 books, as well as citations for many more.
- Legal Collection
- Why search here? Legal Collection contains full-text, peer-reviewed law journals covering a wide array of legal topics.
- What’s included? The collection includes over 300 full-text journals.
- Legal Information Source
- Why search here? Legal Information Source contains legal forms and legal information aimed at the layman rather than the specialist. Topics include family law, property law, and business law, among others.
- What’s included? The collection includes legal reference books from Nolo and thousands of legal forms.
Federal & National Information
- Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
- Why search here? This is the official online catalog for federal government publications, both print and electronic. It updates daily.
- What’s included? It includes over a million records, with links to over 290,000 full-text documents.
- Data.gov
- Why search here? Data.gov is the online catalog of government-generated datasets, from crime rates to annual rainfall. It aggregates information from all levels and branches of government.
- What’s included? Over 280,000 datasets are included, covering a vast array of information about the United States.
- GovInfo
- Why search here? This government website offers free access to all publicly available documents from the three branches of the federal government.
- What’s included? The site curates multiple searchable collections of government documents available in multiple file formats.
- GPO Advanced Search
- Why search here? This database can locate and retrieve data on government publications, with links to the documents’ full text.
- What’s included? This database contains over 600,000 records for documents from all branches of the federal government.
- GreenFILE
- Why search here? GreenFILE contains a wide range of publications on environmental issues, including agriculture.
- What’s included? The database contains peer-reviewed publications, government documents, and popular works, including citations and abstracts for over a million records and the full text of over 15,000.
- Military & Government Collection
- Why search here? This collection contains peer-reviewed journals and magazines related to law enforcement, the military, and government. It is particularly useful for criminal justice, political science, public administration, and social work.
- What’s included? The database contains almost 300 full-text periodicals and indexing for almost 500.
Oklahoma State Information
- Data.ok.gov
- Why search here? Data.ok.gov is the online catalog of government-generated datasets for the State of Oklahoma, ranging from state employee payrolls to groundwater assessments.
- What’s included? All publicly available datasets from the Oklahoma State Government are included, as required by law.
- Oklahoma Digital Prairie
- Why search here? The Digital Prairie is an online resource managed by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. It includes a digital archives and a research service. The archives is a vital resource for studying the history of Oklahoma.
- What’s included? The research service on the Digital Prairie features databases from EBSCO that are less exhaustive than the resources available at NWOSU. The digital archives, however, contains several unique collections on Oklahoman history.
eBooks
- Directory of Open Access Books
- Why search here? The Directory of Open Access Books contains freely available, peer-reviewed academic eBooks on a variety of subjects.
- What’s included? The Directory’s content is eclectic and covers a wide range of academic subjects.
- eBook Academic Collection
- Why search here? This database contains most of the library’s academic eBooks. It is also searchable through our catalog system.
- What’s included? This collection contains over 240,000 eBooks covering a wide range of academic subjects.
- eBook Collection
- Why search here? This is EBSCO’s eBook portal, which has its own unique interface. This collection is also searchable through our catalog system.
- What’s included? All of the eBooks we receive from EBSCO are included here.
- MAS Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference book collection supplements MAS Complete. Although intended for high school students, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Over 370 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
- MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference collection supplements MasterFILE Complete. Although intended for public libraries, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Almost 780 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
Programs at NWOSU
These links will take you to official NWOSU university pages.
- School of Arts & Sciences
The departments within the school offer a total of fifteen majors and twenty minors at the undergraduate level and a master of arts in American studies at the graduate level.
- Department of Social Sciences
The Department of Social Sciences is a multi-disciplinary department consisting of degree programs in criminal justice (law enforcement and corrections), global studies, history, political science, public administration, social science education, and sociology.
- Criminal Justice—Law Enforcement & Corrections
Under the Department of Social Sciences in the School of Arts & Sciences, the Criminal Justice major has two tracks, one focusing on law enforcement and one on corrections.
- History & Global Studies
The History degree program is a generalist program that provides coursework to students wishing to pursue study in American history and European history. The Global Studies degree program was designed to prepare students for exciting careers in global business and government service.
- Political Science & Public Administration
The Department of Social Sciences under the School of Arts & Sciences offers a major in Political Science and a minor in Public Administration, both designed to prepare students for government service.