For in-depth recommendations on public policy research...
...check out this public policy research guide.
General resources for public policy research
- PAIS International Covers journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more related to "the realm of public policy."
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) Provides access to scholarly research in international affairs published from 1991 to present. Includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, journal articles, book chapters, case studies, and policy briefs.
- PolicyArchive (Center for Governmental Studies) PolicyArchive is a digital archive of public policy research that includes summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material from think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research. Search by topic, author, funding agency, and more.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Indexes major journals in political science that cover such topics as political institutions, processes, and behavior; international law and politics; public policy; public administration; political theory; and political economics.
Strategies for effective Googling
Many fantastic public policy resources--in particular, policy briefs from think tanks, NGOs, and research institutes--can be found online. Here are a few tips for more efficient, effective Google searches:
Include the phrase "policy brief" in your search. (Keep the quotation marks around "policy brief" to find this exact phrase.)
Use a site: search. This will limit your search to a broad domain (e.g., .org sites, .edu sites, .gov sites) or to a specific website (e.g., http://www.urban.org).
If you're not sure which think tank, NGO, or agency might have issued policy papers on your topic, try a search engine that's powered by Google but limited to a select group of sites.
- Think Tank Search (Harvard Kennedy School): A directory of U.S. and international think tanks, as well as a custom Google search of more than 250 think tank websites.
- Intergovernmental Organization Search Engine: Searches across hundreds of IGO websites.
- Non-governmental Organization Search Engine: Searches across over a thousand NGO websites.
Your librarians
Janene Batten - Nursing Librarian, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Gwyneth Crowley - Librarian for Economics, Psychology, Government docs, Statistics & data Science, Marx Science and Social Science Library
Kaitlin Throgmorton - Data Librarian for the Health Sciences, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library