This is the second in a four part blog series spotlighting Congressional Quarterly Magazine.
On CQ magazine online, you can search by topic, page number, committee, “exact phrases or words,” bill number, byline or reporter and by Boolean full-text and date searches. Detailed flood votes dating back to August 1983 are easily retrieved.
Below, the red boxes indicate where the search box and the advanced search button are located on the homepage.
How do I find what I am looking for on CQ Magazine?
This website is designed to provide you with multiple points of access to the information that you want. On the right hand navigation bar, you can use the following options:
- You can select a topic from the current issue located in the center of the page
- You can view votes from the last 10 days by selecting “Latest Votes” which is the third tab at the top of the page
- You can search “Articles” or “Search Floor Votes” located on the
- You can browse by issue date or by topic
Below, the red box indicates where the search features are located on the right side navigation bar.
Should I browse or search?
It depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for general information on a common or broad topic—such as Energy or Defense-you might want to begin with a browse of the topical list. If you do not find what you want, then turn to the Search option.
On the other hand, if your interest is more specific—for example, congressional debate related to employee drug testing or a particular endangered species, such as the spotted owl–you might want to begin with a search.
At the top of the advanced search page, you can view Search Tips to assist you in searching through the material on the CQ Magazine website.
Below is a view of the Search Tips page.
Advanced Search
The advanced search tool allows you to search by words or phrases, topic, bill number, date range, committees, page number, and byline. Additionally, you can can sort your results by relevancy, date, and alphabetic by title.
Below is a view of the Advanced Search feature.
Access to the CQ Magazine is available through the Texas Tech Law Library website under the Electronic Databases tab.
The Reporter 