See also: Law and Legal Studies LibGuide, Public Policy and Administration LibGuide, Government Information LibGuide
First you must choose a topic. This could be something that's in the news right now, or something that interests you generally. Then write down as many keywords and synonyms you can think of that are associated with the topic. Explanatory sources like Wikipedia can help you identify keywords. By doing this, you can ensure that you will find the most relevant documents.
Discovery search (searches many databases that UMass subscribes to, but not Westlaw)
Public policy databases
Law and legal studies databases
USA.gov is a starting point for finding information about the federal government.
