There are many ways to get ideas for a research topic and to learn a bit more about the context/background of a topic you find interesting.
One way is to look at your TEXTBOOK -- is there a chapter you find interesting? If so, look at the citations in that chapter and track those down to learn more.
Or browse and search through some news, blogs and websites that have a politics/policy focus. Some good ones, with a more political-sciencey bent are listed below OR check out this website that recommends political blogs (based on their popularity).
Google Scholar will link to some--not all--of the online resources to which the University Libraries subscribes. Use the "Check full text @ UNM" link to see if the resource is available through a UNM subscription. It may also be helpful to look up the journal or citation through UNM eJournals tool.
Don't forget to search the LIBRARY CATALOG (the search box in the middle of the library's home page) to help you find books, videos, articles related to your topic.
Find a good article on your topic and then FOLLOW ITS CITATIONS! That is, look at its bibliography to see who the author cited and try to find some of those articles AND track who has cited this article using the CITED BY feature in many databases to find some of those articles. One good article can lead you to many!