Getting Started
Reference Works
Don't forget print sources! These reference works can give quick background and cross-references when you are starting your research.
The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy by ISBN: 0199269289Publication Date: 2006 (print), 2010 (online)
Encyclopedia of American Public Policy by Call Number: Widener Library Loker Reference Collection RR 3631.7ISBN: 1576070239Publication Date: 1999
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, 2d ed. by Call Number: Widener Library WID-LC JK9 .E525 2008xISBN: 1420052756Publication Date: 2008
Public Policy Research Guides
These research guides may also include useful resources. Guides from other schools may link to protected databases or local copies of print items. Check HOLLIS to see if we have access to a particular database.
Subject Specific Research Guides
Public policy research often overlaps with other disciplines. The following guides can provide a useful starting point for specific areas of research. If your subject isn't represented below, try googling your subject and the phrase (in quotes!) "research guide."
- Canadian Official Publications
- Comparative Education, Politics, and Power
- Energy: Government Agencies, Units, Plans, Stats, and Jobs
- Environmental Justice and Space, Place, & Identity
- Federal & State Legislative History
- Government: A Guide to Research Resources
- Great Britain: Guide to the Documents
- Guide to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Documents
- HUFPI Research Guide
- Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS)
- Law and Public Policy
- Law and Society
- League of Nations Documents
- Palestine in Government Documents
- President's Commission on the Status of Women
- Research Guide for CES Visiting Scholars
- Research Guide for Weatherhead Center Program Affiliates
- Soviet / Russian ephemera collection (late 1980s-1990s)
- The Theodore Roosevelt Collection: A Guide for Researchers
- U. S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports
- U.S. Congressional Publications
- U.S. Department of State Documents
- U.S. Presidential Documents
- UNESCO Documents
- Uniform Laws and Model Acts
- United Nations Documents
- United States Declassified Documents
Books & Articles
Search HOLLIS Classic
Search HOLLIS for books and articles
Useful subject terms include:
- Social Policy
- Public Policy (Law)
- Political Planning
Not at Harvard? Try searching WorldCat
Other Article Sources
- Business Source Complete (Harvard Login)A database of citations to, summaries and full text of articles from academic journals, magazines, and trade publications. Citations, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886 are included as well as current company, industry and region reports.
- ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)ERIC is an online digital library of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education.
- JSTORFull-text of more than 200 cross-disciplinary academic journals. Coverage begins with the first volume, but usually does not include the most recent 1 to 5 years
- HeinOnlineSearchable full-text access to law reviews
Coverage varies by title but generally starts with the first year of publication
May not include current year
- HOLLIS Library Catalog AHOLLIS is Harvard Library's catalog. Search HOLLIS for books, articles, media and more.
Find Public Policy Articles
- PAIS International (Harvard Login)PAIS International indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law, and health care, International in scope.
Current:1972-present
Archive: 1937-1976 - PolicyFile (Harvard Login)
Description: PolicyFile provides abstracts (more than half of the abstracts link to the full text documents) of domestic and international public policy issues. The public policy reports and studies are published by think tanks, university research programs, research organizations which include the OECD, IMF, World Bank, the Rand Corporation, and a number of federal agencies. - CIAO - Columbia International Affairs OnlineColumbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) is designed to be "a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs." CIAO provides access to a broad range of scholarly materials published from 1991 onwards, including "working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs [non-governmental organizations], foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals, and policy briefs."
- Proquest Government Periodicals Index (Harvard Login)Government Periodicals Index covers the publications of federal departments and agencies responsible for fundamental societal concerns: business, agriculture, national security, the environment and natural resources, health and safety, food and nutrition, transportation, and more.
- Policy CommonsDatabase for public policy, with more than 3 million reports, working papers, policy briefs, data sources, and media drawn from a directory of more than 21,000 IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and research centers.
Public Policy Journals
- Hein Online Law Journal Library: Advanced SearchIn the subject field, select Public Law and Policy to narrow your search to relevant journals. Note by selecting Public Law and Policy, you will be able to view a long list of policy-focused law journals.
- JSTOR Public Policy & AdministrationCollection of full-text journals relating to public policy. Coverage varies by title.
Legislation & Government Reports
Law and Legislation
- THOMASA resource created by the Library of Congress, THOMAS provides access to a wide range of legislative materials including public laws, pending bills, committee reports and hearings. It also provides access to the full text of legislation from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. This is a good resource for compiling legislative history materials.
- House and Senate Hearings, Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection, and Digital US Bills and ResolutionsA major source of information about the members of Congress and their legislative activities and a primary resource for accessing the many publications of the U.S. Congress from 1789 to present
- LexisNexis State CapitalExtensive access to state legislation, administrative law, and commentary
- Federal Legislative History (HLSL Research Guide)For more detailed links for finding legislative history, please consult our Federal Legislative History Research Guide
Congressional Research Reports
The Congressional Research Service provides background research for members of Congress. CRS Reports are not automatically made public, so there is no single source for finding CRS Reports. Try these resources to locate CRS Reports on your issue.
- Every CRS ReportOpen access to selected public research reports produced by the Congressional Research Service
Government Research Reports and Analysis
- CQ Press Electronic Library (Harvard Login)A comprehensive reference resource for research in U.S. politics, elections, government, and public policy. Includes CQ Weekly, the Washington Information Directory, Congressional, Federal, Judicial Staff Directories, CQ Researcher, the Congress Collection, Voting and Elections Collection, and more.
- Homeland Security Digital LibraryThe Homeland Security Digital Library collection provides easy access to U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as specialized resources, such as dissertations, reports and position papers from universities, research institutions, think tanks and U.S. local and state agencies as well as international governments.
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Non-classified GAO reports are available online or via the GAO's iPhone app.
Reports & Working Papers
Working Papers
If you're looking for works in progress or articles that have been accepted, but not yet published, here are some places to search.
- SSRN: Social Science Research NetworkSSRN contains both full text and abstracts of forthcoming and scholarly working papers--as well as published articles--in a full range of social science disciplines: law, economics, management, negotiation, politics, etc.
- BePressBePress is another academic repository that contains both published and working papers.
- World Bank Policy Research Working PapersA collection of policy research working papers, policy research reports, and world development reports in the World Bank's Archives.
- Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Working Paper SeriesIndex to HKS working papers on research in a number of areas related to public policy.
Grey Literature
"Grey Literature" refers to documents produced by entities that are not primarily publishers. It can include reports, memos, working papers and internal documents. These research guides give some good sources and tips for locating these types of materials.
Reports
Looking for a report written by a think tank, non-profit, or other NGO? The links below include tools that can help you search across think tank sites, find organizations by topic, and more.
If you know which organization you're looking for, you can of course go directly to an organization's website. If you have trouble finding something you think should exist on a specific site, remember it's easy to create a custom search engine with Google. For example, if you are looking for the recent Rand report Planning for an Aging Nation, you would type the following into the search box:
"Planning for an Aging Nation" site:rand.org
This will limit your search to just Rand's website. You can limit your search further to just results in PDF by running the following search:
"Planning for an Aging Nation" site:rand.org filetype:pdf
- UNC Think Tank Google SearchThis custom Google search engine allows you to search across 300 of the most important US and international think tanks.
- HKS Think Tanks DirectoryThe Kennedy School Library's directory of think tanks covers US and International organizations.
- Think Tank Rankings (International Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania)Global directory of top think tanks by region, subject, and special achievement, i.e. most innovative proposals, best new think tank.
- NIRA - National Institute for Research Advancement (Japan, 2005) DirectoryA worldwide directory of think tanks that provides descriptions of the organizations' work, operating budgets, and officers.
News & Current Awareness
News Sources
- Nexis Uni (Harvard Key)Nexis Uni contains major newspapers and magazines with coverage for about the last 30 years.
- Proquest Historical NewspapersIf you're looking for older news stories, Proquest may have it. Its coverage includes the New York Times, Washington Post, and WSJ, as well as several other major regional US and African American newspapers dating from the 19th-late 20th centuries.
- Widener Collection of Newspapers on MicrofilmIf you're in the Boston area, remember that Widener Library has a large collection of newspapers on microfilm including regional and local titles.
- FactivaFactiva is a database of over 8,000 business and news publications, most in full text. Sources are in 22 languages, date back as far as 1969, and include trade journals, newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, and others), media programs, and company and stock reports
- National Journal Group's Policy Central (Harvard Login)National Journal’s Policy Central is a collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy, including the National Journal with archives dating back to 1977; the Hotline, a daily briefing on U.S. politics; CongressDaily, a twice daily update on activity in the U.S. Congress; Technology Daily; Poll Track; Markup Reports; Ad Spotlight; and the Almanac of American Politics.
Current Awareness
If you're following an issue, there are a number of ways to keep up on developments. Lexis and Westlaw both have alerting services that will send you an email when there are new results for a search you've run. Some general academic databases listed in this guide also have alerting services.
- Lexis alertsSet up a Lexis alert to be notified when new results are available for a search. You can set alerts in most database types and for new Shepard's results.
- Justia's BlawgSearchFind legal blogs in your research areas to follow, or search across the legal blogosphere. Either way you can subscribe to results with your favorite RSS reader.
- Google NewsSearch news sites with Google and subscribe to the results.
- ABA Blawg DirectoryBrowse by region to find local law blogs
Agencies, Think Tanks & Advocacy Groups
U.S. Government Agencies
- Federal Agency Directory (Louisiana State University LibraryOnline directory created as partnership between LSU and the Federal Library Depository Project
- CQ Press Electronic Library (Harvard Login)A comprehensive reference resource for research in U.S. politics, elections, government, and public policy. Includes CQ Weekly, the Washington Information Directory, Congressional, Federal, Judicial Staff Directories, CQ Researcher, the Congress Collection, Voting and Elections Collection, and more.
- Leadership Connect (Harvard Login)Leadership Directories, also known as Yellow Books, contain current contact information for the leaders of major U.S. government, business, professional and nonprofit organizations.
- State and Local Government on the WebLinks by state and subject.
International Agencies
- List on IGOs (Northwestern University)Comprehensive guide to Intergovernmental Organizations compiled by librarians at Northwestern Univerisity
- Duke Searchable NGO DatabaseThis is a selected searchable database of NGOs.
- International Organizations (United States Institute for Peace)Alphabetical list of international organizations.
- Yearbook of International Organizations OnlineSearchable database of approximately 63,000 international organizations.
Think Tanks
- HKS Think Tanks DirectoryThe Kennedy School Library's directory of think tanks covers US and International organizations.
- Think Tank Rankings (International Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania)Global directory of top think tanks by region, subject, and special achievement, i.e. most innovative proposals, best new think tank.
- UNC Think Tank Google SearchThis custom Google search engine allows you to search across 300 of the most important US and international think tanks.
- NIRA - National Institute for Research Advancement (Japan, 2005) DirectoryA worldwide directory of think tanks that provides descriptions of the organizations' work, operating budgets, and officers.
Interest Groups and Associations
- CQ Guide to Interest Groups and Lobbying in the U.S.Overview and analysis of interest groups and lobbying in American politics from the 18th century to the present.
- OpenSecretsOpen Secrets tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy, and includes federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available
- Political Advocacy Groups: A Directory of United States LobbyistsOnline directory of lobbying groups organized by subject.
Data Sources
Data Sources
- data.census.govThe U.S. Census Bureau’s online tool for accessing population, economic, geographic and housing information.
- Court Statistics ProjectThe CSP collects and analyzes data relating to the work and caseloads of US courts.
- Statistical Abstract of the United StatesAn authoritative and comprehensive summary of historical statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations, covering the years 1889-2011. Historical supplements include statistics from the colonial era through 1970.
- ICPSRThe ICPSR, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. All ICPSR datasets at Harvard University are maintained by the IQSS Dataverse Network. (Harvard University ID and PIN required).
- The Supreme Court DatabaseA the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1953 and 2008 terms. Examples include the identity of the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed, the parties to the suit, the legal provisions considered in the case, and the votes of the Justices.
- Proquest Statistical Insight (Harvard Login)indexes and abstracts of the statistical content of selected publications of U.S. federal and state agencies, non-governmental associations, commercial publishers, universities, and international, research and business organizations.
- Statistics SourcesThis resource indexes statistical resources alphabetically, topically and geographically, including international sources. It is available in print in the reference room at HA1 .S7.
- WDI Online (World Development Indicators)WDI (World Development Indicators) Online contains statistical data from the World Bank for almost 600 development indicators and time series data from 1960 for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators.
Public Opinion
- American National Election StudiesANES contains downloadable data sets for U.S. elections and public opinion from 1948 to the present.
- Gallup Analytics (Harvard Login)The Gallup Brain is a searchable record of more than 70 years of public opinion and includes answers to hundreds of thousands of questions, and responses from millions of people interviewed by The Gallup Poll since 1935.
- General Social SurveyThe GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades.
- The Roper Center Public Opinion ArchivesThe Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is a leading archive of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The data held range from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented.
- Pew Research Center for People and the PressThe Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent, non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues.
Additional Data & Public Opinion Sources
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