If you're looking to conduct legal research, you're likely going to need to access government documents. This includes looking at information about:

• laws
• regulations
• court decisions
• and legislative history at various levels

As you are looking for legislative publications, whether it's from the congressional, judicial, or executive branch, it will be helpful to keep some terms in mind to ensure you're looking in the right place depending on what you need:

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal government.

Congressional Hearings: Primarily transcripts, including statements and discussion, of hearings before House and Senate committees.   

Congressional Record: Official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.  It is published daily when Congress is in session.

Congressional Reports: Include Senate, House, and Executive reports.  Includes the texts of reports submitted by individuals or committees, sometimes including dissenting views.  Generally relates to bills, resolutions, or treaties under consideration.  

Federal Register: The official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential documents.

Statutes at Large: Permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.

U.S. Code: “The law of the land.”  The general and permanent laws of the United States, divided by broad subjects into 50 titles.

For more in-depth information and resources on legal research and accessing legislative documents, the Law Library of Congress is a great resource.