Journalism & Public Relations
Guide co-created with Maria Roxana Cruz and Teresa Puente
State & National Research Sources
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CQ Researcher Congressional Researcher reports on social issues
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California Legislative Analyst's Office Nonpartisan analyses of state budget and reports on major issues.
Long Beach Background Resources
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Long Beach Press-Telegram Also in Newsbank database
Statistics and Polling Data
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California Election Statistics Data from the Office of the California Secretary of State
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California Quick Facts State level data from the U.S. Census Bureau
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Cal State Statistics Broad range of stats on Cal State students by campus and other variables.
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FBI Uniform Crime Reports The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program generates reliable statistics for use in law enforcement.
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U.S. Census QuickFacts is where you find basic demographic information on a community.
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U.S. Census Data Portal Official data portal of the U.S. Census Bureau
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USA.gov Provides links to myriad U.S. federal data sources.
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iPOLL U.S. sampling of registered voters on public opinions. Find aggregated question-level data and other survey data only at the national level.
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Statista Reports that provide an aggregate of a variety of data, mainly statistics. Search for data by industry, political issue, consumerism, companies or countries. The data reports provide sourcing information.
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Statistical Abstract of the United States A summary of statistics on the United States social, political, and economy. Majority of the data is over time. The data tables provide source information for further research.
Finding Academic Experts
Most colleges and universities have online databases of faculty experts. This Google search can help:
expert YOUR TOPIC site:.edu
Finding Advocates
Nonprofit organizations that advocate for an issue can be good sources of background and people to interview. But you still need to evaluate their credibility. Check the About section for their mission or their board of directors to see if they have prominent people serving.
Some search strategies:
- Google: Type in: expert YOUR TOPIC site:.org OR type in YOUR TOPIC advocacy group
- Global Newsstream: Check news articles on the topic and look for people interviewed.
- CQ Researcher: Long reports will include a Contacts section with organization names and websites and their perspective