Useful Web Sites for Research

Media outlets

You can find a range of news stories on all areas of politics at the Lexis-Nexis web site, which is available through the Davidson College Library at http://www.davidson.edu/administrative/library/refer/govern.htm.  For brief summaries of the network evening news from 1968 to today, go to the Television News Archive at Vanderbilt University.

A range of organizations and sites follow and analyze the coverage provided by various news outlets.  These organizations include 

• Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting

• Accuracy in Media, Media Research Center

• The Project for Excellence in Journalism

• Mediawatch

Demographic information

To find economic and demographic statistics on individual states and congressional districts, turn to the web site of the Census Bureau

Political information

Extensive information on Congress and its members is available at the web sites for the two congressional chambers, www.house.gov and www.senate.gov

For data on campaign spending in any federal election, visit the web site of the Center for Responsive Politics (www.crp.org) 

Information on candidates' political positions is available at www.vote-smart.org

To learn about the two parties' efforts to win congressional elections, you can visit their congressional campaign committees' web sites:

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (House Democrats)

• National Republican Congressional Committee (House Republicans)

• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (Senate Democrats)

• National Republican Senatorial Committee (Senate Republicans)