CRS Reports are produced by the Congressional Research Service, the public policy arm of Congress and are heavily researched and written by experts in the field on legislative issues. The reports are available fulltext from 1916 to the present and the easiest way to search for and access them is via the Congressional Publications database (see the link below). One can also search the CRS site: crsreports.congress.gov
From the Congressional Research Service Homepage:
"The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.
CRS is well-known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has 24/7 access to the nation’s best thinking."
Note: There might not be a CRS Report on every topic, but it is worth your while to check and see if there is!
Follow these steps:
1. Document Types
Either search All Content Types or de-select and choose CRS Reports
If you search All Content Types, you will have the opportunity to limit the content type within results.
2. Keep the search field to: All fields except full text
3. Enter Search Terms = keywords.
Place phrases in quotes. Using quotations marks means that the database will search for the entire phrase, not the individual words.
Use * for truncation
When you put an asterisk at the end of a search term it searches for words with any possible ending.
some examples:
"gun control"
"gun control" and "boyfriend loophole"
"gun control" and "background check"
"student loan*" and forgive*
"family leave"
Limit your search in google to specific types of documents:.
Enter your keywords and then add:
site:gov
for documents produced by all types of government. Federal, state, local and government-sponsored research.
"affirmative action" site:gov
site:org
for documents produced by organizations and associations
"prison reform" site:org
site:edu
for documents produced by educational entities
"student loan*" site:edu