PPY 710; Problem Identification and Agendas (Bernick): Library Guides

Good Resources for AGENDA SETTING. Overviews & background information, Look for articles written before the legislation was passed. Check the relevant year volumes of CQ library and Press sources to see who, what and why the legislation was introduced.  

Center for Strategic & International Studies
http://csis.org
An international policy institute, the CSIS focuses on a number of topics including defense and security, governance, technology and global trends.

Policy Archive
http://www.policyarchive.org
This collection of public policy research is gathered from sources such as the American Bar Association, the Brookings Institution, the Ford Foudnation, the Institute for Policy Studies, and others.

RAND Institute
http://www.rand.org
The RAND institute provides research in a variety of areas such as arts, civil justice, education, national security, public safety, and other areas.

Comparitive Agendas Project Data & Codebooks: United States

You can use Google to find statistics published by federal, state, and local agencies by adding site:.gov to your keywords, such as:

• "crime statistics" site:.gov
• "teen pregnancy statistics" site:.gov

Easy way to find government info:
After you type in your keywords on Google, then type, site:.gov 

• GAO Reports

  Website. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. The work of the GAO is done at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees or is mandated by pubic laws or committee reports. They also undertake research under the authority of the Comptroller General. They support congressional oversight by: (1) auditing agency operations to determine if federal funds are spent efficiently & effectively; (2) investigating allegations of illegal or improper activities; (3) reporting on how well government programs & policies are meeting objectives; (4) performing policy analyses and outlining options for congressional considerations; and (5) issuing legal decisions and opinions.
• Government Printing Office

  Use the advanced search to locate Publications printed byt he Government printing office.
• Committee on Ways and Means House of Representatives Green book

  the Green Book has become a valuable resource and standard reference on American social policy. It is widely used by Members of Congress and their staffs, analysts in congressional and administrative agencies, members of the media, scholars, and citizens interested in the Nation's social policy.
• GPO: Congressional Hearings

  A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law.
• GPO: Congressional Reports

  Congressional reports originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. There are two types of reports:
  House and Senate Reports: Reports of congressional committees concerning proposed legislation and/or contain findings on matters under investigation.
• U.S. House of Representatives Committees Home Page

  Find congressmen and committees in the House of representative. track current legislation in the house

USA.gov
Called the U.S. government's official web portal, this site allows usrs to search for information across all federal agencies, as well as at the local and state levels.

Congress.gov
This site, formerly known as Thomas.gov, from the Library of Congress provides legislative information including bill tracking, presidential nominations, the text of committee reports, and other information.

• Peterson Institute for International Economics. “Policy Briefs”
• UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. “Working Paper Series.”
• Many articles in the journal Foreign Affairs are policy papers.
• Oxfam International. “Policy & Research.”

Government document – Electronic version

Format:

Government Department (Year published). Document title (pub no). Retrieved from http://www.url.com

Example:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for schools (NIH Publication No. 02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi .nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asth_sch.pdf

What is RefWorks?

RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic software package that enables you to:

• Organize your research
• Create a bibliography in a variety of citation styles, including APA, MLA and Chicago
• Import references from many data sources
• Create bibliographies in different document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)
• Include citations while you write your paper

"New" RefWorks Instructions

• Proquest RefWorks guide
• New RefWorks tutorials (YouTube)
• RefWorks Citation Manager (Microsoft Word plugin)
• Write N Cite install links for Windows and Mac
• Using Write N Cite with Microsoft Word
• Migrating references from other applications to RefWorks