HIED 752/852: Law in Higher Education

ProQuest Congressional is a database that contains full text for U.S. Congressional publications, bills, legislative histories, laws, etc. The ODU Library has purchased the following retrospective collections, Committee Prints (1830-present), Congressional Research Service Reports (1916-present), Congressional Hearings (1824-Present), and Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection (1789-present). The database also includes House and Senate Unpublished Hearings, Part A (1973-1979).

ProQuest Congressional contains thousands of resources. Here are some tips for navigating the database: 

• If you aren't sure what you want to search, or you need background information on a subject, browse the "Topic Pages" from the homepage, or find the Topic Pages here.
• If you need background information on a policy issue, or want to see nonpartisan research an analysis on public policy, search the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports from the homepage.
• Congressional contains a citation search. Search using citations to find bills, public laws, statutes at large, public resolution, US code, and more by selecting, "Search for a Citation" from the homepage.

Keywords, or search terms, are the words we use to find information in library resources. They convey the main concepts of your topic. You can enter keywords into ProQuest Congressional's search bar from the database homepage.

Effective keywords are short and specific, and can be combined to focus a search.

Examples of effective keywords could be words like, "Public opinion," "funding," "public education." 

Examples of ineffective keywords could be full sentences such as, "What is the impact of a lack of funding on public schools?" or vague words like "effects" or "influences."

If you are unsure what keywords might be the most effective for your topic, consider these What, Who, How questions: 

• What words do you associate with your topic?
• What fields of study would be interested i it?
• Who are the people involved in your topic?
• Who creates it? Who is affected by it? Who does or does not benefit from it?
• How does this impact broader society? 
• How does this impact those who aren't directly involved?

For advice on how to combine keywords, see the "ProQuest Congressional Search Syntax" link at the bottom of this box.