Governments (local, state, and national) and their various departments, bureaus, and agencies need to collect information to make informed policy decisions. Oftentimes, they hire contractors to research for them. In the US, a lot of information collected this way is made available to the public because it was funded by taxpayers.
To search for government websites through Google, use site:.gov followed by any keywords. Quotation marks can also be used to keep two or more words together, in that order, in the results list.
Site colon period gov space steelworker space quotation mark steel industry quotation mark space quotation mark I am a quotation mark. Do not leave a space between site, colon, and the website address.
Links from Walden University's Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services.
Government websites change according to who the current elected or appointed official is, new policy and legislation, and changing social and internet norms. The End of Term Web Archive has saved government websites at the end of presidential administrations since 2008. The Wayback Machine can show you how specific websites have changed over time.
As previously mentioned, a lot of government reports are created by independent contractors who may be individual researchers, corporations, or universities. Look to see if the people who were involved in the data collection or writing of the report are named. It may be as vague as the name of a department or committee. This will still give you an idea of the original intent behind the data collection and use.
Consider the context of the information about your community or equity issue. What was happening nationally or globally at the time? What were the mainstream social and political norms? Knowing this background information can explain what data was being collected and its intended use. For example, the US Census questions reflect the priorities of the national government. The original 1790 Census specifically asked about "free white males over age sixteen," but did not include any questions about the age of other population groups to gauge our nation's military potential. In 1930, the Census included a question asking if the household owned a "Radio set." This was the first time a question about consumer goods was added to the Census, showing the government's interest in radio as a means of mass communication.
These are examples of citations for an online encyclopedia article. If you are looking for an example of a website citation, look at the Community Voices or Stakeholders and Allies examples.
“Ironworkers.” Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 18 Apr. 2025. www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/structural-iron-and-steel-workers.htm. Accessed 11 June 2025.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2025, April 18) Ironworkers. In Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved June 11, 2025 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/structural-iron-and-steel-workers.htm