- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- F&W ECOL 515: Natural Resources Policy (Spring 2021)
- Government information
F&W ECOL 515: Natural Resources Policy (Spring 2021) : Government information
Welcome to the weird, wonderful world of government information!
Government information is great because...
- You see YOUR government at work
- Government publications are primary sources
- You get to participate (sometimes) in creating government information
Government information can be complicated, because
- Most government publications are NOT written for the general public
- Most government publications are the results of government processes, many of which are complicated and drawn out
The more you know about government processes, the easier government information is to work with. If you feel overwhelmed at times, you're not alone! Often, even government specialists need to look at reference materials, or brush up on their civics to find certain publications. And it can take specialists a while to find or understand specific materials.
How the federal government is organized
How laws and regulations differ
Reading citations to government publications
Citing government publications
The "Citing Government Publications" section of the U.S. Government Publications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Guide links to general guides to citing government information, as well to resources about citing government information using APA, MLA, Turabian, and Chicago styles.