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Using Congressional Archives to Enhance Research

Tue, September 8, 11:30am to 3:30pm MDT (11:30am to 3:30pm MDT), TBA

Session Submission Type: Pre-conference Short Course Half Day

Session Description

Description: Congressional archives contain a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data shedding light on voting behavior, congressional leadership, constituent sentiment, and more. These data have the potential to add detail to research, redress shortcomings in existing data, and generate new avenues of research. Despite their offerings, these resources continue to be an underused resource in legislative research, in part because political scientists receive little to no archival training. This course will provide an introduction to congressional collections and archival research, focusing on research design and archival research strategy. Funding sources, publishing opportunities, using digital archival records (e.g., email), and instruction with archival sources will also be discussed. The session will prepare participants for a research trip to the archives and provide participants with an understanding of:

1. how archives can enhance political science research.
2. the scope and structure of committee records.
3. the scope and structure of the personal papers of individual members of Congress.
4. how to work with archivists to enhance research productivity.
5. how to locate collections and use collection finding aids.
6. how to organize archival research during and after a trip.
7. how to locate potential funding resources to support research.
8. the potential benefits of research in born-digital archives.
9. the strengths and limitations of archival research.
10. how to use archival collections to enhance undergraduate and graduate instruction.

Instructors:
In addition to the presenters listed, the following instructors have been invited to participate:
Larry Evans, William and Mary
Dave Parker, Montana State
Doug Harris, Loyola University of Maryland
Scott Mieneke, Bucknell University

Sponsors:
Sponsorship for this short course is being sought from:
The Legislative Studies Section
The Dirksen Congressional Center
The Association of Centers for the Study of Congress
The Society of American Archivists Congressional Papers Section


Special instructions:
Register ahead of time to receive materials needed for the short course. Participants will need a laptop. Please fill out the following pre-workshop survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1p1KiaAKavmqPVGVokh-CKGZyLLrIJiAM0mruqhfCb_4/edit?ts=5efe45b6%5C

Who should attend:
Scholars interested in innovative data sources; those interested in improving their research by exploiting archival sources; those interested in expanding their knowledge of Congress and legislative process to improve their teaching. Highly recommended for graduate students!

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