A research firm focused on public well being in the areas of education, family support, health, and labor. Many of its reports are available for you to use on the company's web site.
Other companies providing research services to the United States government also make many of their reports available to the public. See Westat, MDRC, and RTI International as examples.
Extensive resources including policy briefs, reviews of reports and topical resources.
PolicyFile
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to abstracts and full-text articles on public policy research and analysis from think tanks, university research programs, research organizations and publishers. Much better results than searching Google.
SSRN makes recent research in the social sciences available quickly. You can find working papers and pre-publication journal articles available full text. This is a good place to find very recent material. Use the Advanced Search option.
U.S. Government Documents
Congressional Record
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This publication records what members have said on the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives since 1873. They also on occasion have the texts of documents read into the record. This is an important online source for finding debate and for finding members' explanations for their political actions.
Congressional Research Service Reports
The Congressional Research Service prepares policy reports for Congress on all issues under consideration for legislation. Beginning in 2018, these reports have been released to the public. See CRS Reports from congress.gov for these recent and updated reports. Work is being done to add earlier reports.
Prior to 2018, Individual legislators made selected reports available. Check OpenCRS and UNT Digital Library: Congressional Research Service Reports for copies of these reports organized by topic areas.
This link allows you to search GAO reports, testimonies, and the full web site. As an investigative arm for Congress, GAO monitors compliance and accountability within government agencies, industry and business, and the public sector.
ProQuest Congressional
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Provides daily updated information on the U.S. legislature, including full text of bills starting in 1989, public laws starting in 1988, committee reports starting in 1990, House and Senate documents starting in 1995, Congressional Record starting in 1985, Federal Register starting in 1980, National Journal starting in 1977 and other government information.
Finding Statistics
Statistics and demographic information often play a key role in political analysis. An array of statistical information is available, mostly online. The sources below offer good starting points.
Includes annual reports as well as the Digest of Education Statistics and other information compiled by the federal government.
Go to the banner at the top of the page to filter resources by education level, so that you can directly access the Common Core of Data and other resources pertinent for primary and secondary schools.
Nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history.
Data.gov provides access through a searchable catalog to U.S. government data. The broad range of topic areas reflects the mandate of U.S. government agencies to capture data in their varied areas of responsibility.
Find demographic, social and economic data compiled by the U. S. Census Bureau. Includes tables, maps and data visualizations.
Historical statistics of the United States
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Contains more than 37,000 annual time series of quantitative historical information covering population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations. Covers the colonial period to the present.
PolicyMap includes a range of indicators from the census tract level through the state level about communities. The ability to combine income and education levels along with demographic and quality of life measures allows for identification and interpretations of neighborhoods.
Social Explorer
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Offers access to reports and interactive maps for the U.S. Census (1790-present), World Development Indicators (1960-2013), and Eurostat (European Union data), among others. A project of Queens College, sponsored by the New York Times and the National Science Foundation.