The CQ Researcher explores a single "hot" issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports.

Every 12,000-word report is written by an experienced journalist and features comments from experts, lawmakers and citizens on all sides of every issue. Numerous charts, graphs and sidebar articles - plus a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts - round out each report.

The CQ Researcher web site offers online access to issues dating back to October 25, 1991. PDF files are available for full issues dating back to January 1996; for issues published since January 2001, PDF files are in color.

Every CQ Researcher contains the same elements. Each provides an overview of the topic, then poses several key questions. The answers to these questions are never conclusive because the issues are so controversial. Instead, the answers highlight the range of opinions among experts.

Every CQ Researcher also incorporates a "Background" section, which provides a history of the issue, including important government actions and court decisions. Under the headings “Current Situation” and "Outlook," readers are given a snapshot of the issue at the time of publication and a sense of what might happen in the near future.

In the "Pro/Con" section of each CQ Researcher, there is a pro/con feature by two experts providing opposing answers to a relevant question.

Finally, each CQ Researcher has sidebars on matters related to the main issue, a chronology of key events, and an annotated bibliography that explains the usefulness of each source.

To achieve a well-rounded perspective, each selection also incorporates the voices of participants in the thick of the policy process: lobby organizations, nonprofits, think tanks, academia and government.

An issue of the CQ Researcher, once published, is not updated. It stands as a cohesive, coherent expose on a particular topic at a given point in time. The CQ Researcher articles on this Web site are reproduced as they appeared when first published. However, The CQ Researcher often revisits issues as developments dictate.

Covers: 1991 - present

Updated: weekly

Media: on-line

Produced by: Congressional Quarterly Inc