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How Do I Find Government Publications?

Foreign Government Publications

Government overview

Congress / Legislation

Court Decisions

Publications

  • MetaLib Search
    federated search engine that searches multiple U.S. Federal government databases
  • GPO Monthly Catalog mcmaster use only 
    a monthly catalog of publications from the U.S. Government Printing Office
  • Federal Register online
    contains the daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of the Federal Government from 1994 - present

Federal Reserve

  • FedWorld.gov 
    access to U.S. Government web sites, documents, databases and other information products
  • Federal Election Commission 
    a single point of access to services, campaigns, news releases, and reports regarding current and past Federal elections
  • GovDoc Major Databases 
    a portal to government-sponsored databases created by various units of the United States government
  • State and Local Government on the Net 
    a directory of official state, county, and city government websites including links to cities, counties, and state agencies

Government overview

Parliament / Legislation

National Archives

Government overview

  • Foreign Governments 
    a list of links to Foreign Governments by Northwestern University Library

  • Foreign Government Resources on the Web 
    a list of links to foreign government information on the Web as well as information on country background, biographies of officials, foreign policy, human rights, national symbols, constitutions, laws, treaties, embassies, foreign news sources, demographic statistics, economics, health, etc.

  • Governments on the WWW: Table of Contents 
    a database of governmental institutions on the World Wide Web: parliaments, ministries, offices, law courts, embassies, city councils, public broadcasting corporations, central banks, multi-governmental institutions, etc.

  • Official Websites by Country

Useful Links

Statistical Sources
mcmaster access only = may be accessed by currently registered students, staff and faculty at McMaster
public access = accessible by everyone

Canada

  • Statistics Canada's website  public access
    this site provides economic, social and census data (free and for fee) plus daily analysis of statistical releases
  • CANSIM mcmaster access only
    Time series statistics ranging from social to economic aspects of Canadian life
  • Free Statistics Canada's Publications  public access
    Full text access to a variety of publications listed by subject and date
  • Free Statistics Canada's Studies, Research Papers and Technical Papers  public access
    Full text access to a variety of studies, research and technical papers listed by subject, author and date
  • Historical Statistics of Canada public access
    Statistical tables on the social, economic and institutional conditions of Canada from 1867 to the mid 1970s
  • Census of Canada (2011, 2006, 2001 and 1996)  public access
    Describing characteristics of Canada's people, dwellings and agricultural operations
  • National Household Survey 2011  public access
    Between May and August 2011, Statistics Canada conducted the National Household Survey (NHS) for the first time. This voluntary, self-administered survey was introduced as a replacement for the long census questionnaire, more widely known as Census Form 2B.

    The NHS is designed to collect social and economic data about the Canadian population. The objective of the NHS is to provide data for small geographic areas and small population groups.

  • 2006 Census Aboriginal Population Profile  public access
    Aboriginal identity population where the population is above 250 people
  • Canadian Census Analyser mcmaster access only
    provides access to aggregate Canadian Census Data, including access to 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, 1981, 1976 and 1971 Individual Microdata Files
  • Annual demographic statistics  public access
    Estimated Canadian demographic statistics annually from 1971 to 2005.
  • Canadian Statistics - Summary Tables  public access
    These summary tables provide an overview of statistical information on Canada's people, economy and governments
  • GDSourcing.com  public access
    This site will help you to locate FREE data on-line and assist Canadian entrepreneurs in assessing their market potential, competition, and industry performance.
  • OECDiLibrary mcmaster access only
    OECDiLibrary delivers OECD publications and databases online. You will be able to access statistical databases and build your own tables, in real time using latest available statistics, online. You don't need any special software to use the service and you can export tables to Excel, Beyond 20/20 and in .csv formats.

Canadian Print Resources

United States

  • FedStats  public access
    access to statistics and information produced by more than 100 U.S. Federal Government agencies
  • FastStats  public access
    Provided by National Center for Health Statistics. FastStats site provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance and is organized alphabetically. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics  public access
    The principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics
  • U.S. Census Bureau  public access
    Provides demographic information and analysis through on-line access to data, publications, products, and programs
  • United States Historical Census Data Browser (1790- 1960)  public access
    Access to extensive collections of numeric and geospatial data files and computing facilities and software for data manipulation, research, and instruction; and a suite of Internet-accessible data extraction tools
  • American Factfinder  public access
    A source for population, housing, economic and geographic data from Census 2000, the 1990 Decennial Census, the 1997 Economic Census, the American Community Survey, and the Population Estimates Program
  • OECDiLibrary mcmaster access only
    OECDiLibrary delivers OECD publications and databases online. You will be able to access statistical databases and build your own tables, in real time using latest available statistics, online. No special software needed and you can export tables to Excel, Beyond 20/20 and in .csv formats.

U.S. Print Resources

United Kingdom

U.K. Print Resources

International

  • International Data Base  public access
    a computerized data bank containing statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for 227 countries and areas of the world
  • OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web  public access
    a directory of Web sites containing social, economic, and general data, arranged alphabetically by country, by region, and by topic
  • United Nations Statistics Division  public access
    a statistical database of world statistics compiled from international sources in the fields of international merchandise trade, national accounts, demography and population, social indicators, and industry
  • UNCTADstat  public access
    a database searchable by International merchandise trade, trade in services, export and import structure by product and by regions of origin and destination, foreign direct investment, international financial data, national accounts, and more
  • UNdata  public access
    a searchable database of general and specific populations, also includes country profiles, assumptions, definitions of regions, and a glossary
  • OECDiLibrary mcmaster access only
    SourceOECD delivers OECD publications and databases online. You will be able to access statistical databases and build your own tables, in real time using latest available statistics, online. You don't need any special software to use the service and you can export tables to Excel, Beyond 20/20 and in .csv formats.

International Print Resources

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