Why use government sources?
Government resources are a gateway to reliable information such as:
- Legislation, guidelines, and regulations that impact industry
- Statistics
- Publicly available data
- Useful for market research
- Reports and whitepapers from agencies
- Resources to help support small businesses
- Patent information
- Public company financial filings
- Tax information
In addition, this information is free and available to everyone while many business focused resources are subscription based or may be very expensive for a small business or individual.
Recommended Government Sites
- Bureau of Economic Analysis"BEA's economic statistics, which provide a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the U.S. economy, are key ingredients in critical decisions affecting monetary policy, tax and budget projections, and business investment plans."
- Bureau of Labor StatisticsShares information on labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy, including the Consumer Price Index and Consumer Expenditure Survey.
- Export.govGateway to resources about exporting products from the U.S.
- Government Information - UCLA Anderson School of ManagementU.S. and California government information resources, categorized by type of business information need. Some resources are available to UCLA students only, but this page provides a convenient breakdown of what information an agency is likely to provide.
- U.S. Data and StatisticsBreaks down what type of statistics are provided by each agency.
Shortcuts and Tips for Basic Google Searches
Search sites or specific domains with site:
Shakespeare site:.edu
Shakespeare site:folger.edu
Note: Do not leave any spaces between site: and the search term
Use quotation marks to search for phrases or specific words
“to be or not to be”
"Shakespeare"
Type OR between terms if you want to find either word
Hamlet OR Macbeth
Use a minus sign to exclude words
Macbeth –Shakespeare
Advanced Search
Use Advanced Search to limit your search by Language, Region, last update, Domain or site, Terms, SafeSearch, Reading level, File type, Usage rights and more.
Find Advanced Search under “Settings”
Limit Results by Publication Date
Search for pages published during a specific time period using “Tools”
Web Searching Tips
For more search tips:
- Refine Web SearchesTips for improving your search from Google.