What's On This Page?
For security studies see this guide.
Finding Background Information
- Bureau of International Labor Affairs Knowledge PortalCatalogs the project listings, project resources, and findings of many bureau-funded or bureau-sponsored projects working on international labor issues. Most of them are focused more specifically on child labor, human trafficking, and forced labor. For each project you can read about the project, read its findings, and browse documents and other resources associated with that project.
- Congressional Research Service Reports (US govt)CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress.
- CQ AlmanacProvides original analysis and data on major legislation and political dates during each Congressional session back to 1945. Available online through 2015. Newer editions in paper at JK 1 .C66.
- CQ Researcher PlusProvides CQ Researcher reports that explore a single "hot" issue in the news each week, including political, social, medical, international, educational, environmental, technological and economical issues. Full text available.
- Government Acountability Office (GAO)An independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
Try Google!
Public policy resources from think tanks, research institutes, etc., may be available online for free. To find them in Google, try the phrase "policy brief" in your search.
- For example: health insurance "policy brief"
If you limit your search to a domain such as gov, edu, or org, you will make your search even more specific.
- For example health insurance "policy brief" site:org
Finding Policy Papers
- Annenberg Public Policy CenterThe Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania has been the premier communication policy center in the country since its founding in 1993. By conducting and releasing research, staging conferences and hosting policy discussions, its scholars have addressed the role of communication in politics, adolescent behavior, child development, health care, civics and mental health, among other important arenas.
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)A bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to providing strategic insights and policy solutions to help decision makers chart a course toward a better world.
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)International politics and related fields, including security studies, global finance, diplomatic practice, humanitarian law, global governance, development studies, and environmental studies. Includes working papers, policy briefs, and current analysis and commentary, as well as scholarly journal articles, e-books, and videos. Economist Intelligence Unit supplies comprehensive country surveys, including in-depth political and economic data and detailed maps.
- Congressional Budget Office (CBO)The CBO provides nonpartisan analysis of proposed legislation for members of Congress.
- Federation of American ScientistsContains reports, issue briefs and other publications on national and international security issues connected to applied science and technology.
- Homeland Security Digital Library (US govt)The nation’s premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. The HSDL is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
- Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) at Yale UniversityISPS advances interdisciplinary research in the social sciences that aims to shape public policy and inform democratic deliberation. NOTE: "Check for Full Text" is not available in this database; you must search the Local Catalog for the title of the journal to see if we own it.
- OurEnergyPolicy.Org Resource LibraryMission is to facilitate substantive, responsible dialogue on energy policy issues, and provide this dialogue as a resource for the American people, policymakers, and the media.
- PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International (Proquest)Public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. References to or full text of journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, statistical directories, grey literature, and more.
- Policy Commons (limited version; requires registration)Reports, blogposts, working papers, articles, and more—are harvested daily and weekly from thousands of IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and research organizations from around the world. NOTE: premium content not available.
- RAND CorporationSearch research briefs and other policy-oriented publications. The majority of publicly available research documents published since 1998 are available as free eBook downloads or hard-copy purchase.
- Rand, Science & Technology ReportsSci/Tech division of RAND.