Research Guides: POLS 315: Public Policymaking and Analysis (HC) [Spring 2013]: Background

Gathering Background Information

Congress and the nation
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Volumes cover one 4-year presidential term. Divided into chapters on various policy issues, e.g. economic policy, education policy, health & human services, etc. Each chapter opens with an introductory overview, followed by a chronology of legislative actions.

The following sources summarize political and legislative activities and provide a good overview of the national policy debate on specific issues. They provide an excellent resource for quickly and easily identifying relevant legislation, key players, terminology, and points of view and providing a brief summary of the historical context of the current debate on a policy issue.

When using these publications, make note of the titles and numbers of bills and public laws mentioned. To find how to obtain the related congressional reports, hearings, and other materials, see Finding Congressional Materials below.

Congressional Research Service Reports
The Congressional Research Service prepares policy reports for Congress on all issues under consideration for legislation. These reports are not all released to the public. Individual legislators may post pertinent reports online. The link above allows you to search a site where many CRS reports can be accessed full text.
IBM Center for the Business of Government
This center is concerned with bringing public management research into all levels of government operations. The site provides reports, magazine articles, and blogs as well as interviews with government administrators who have brought innovations to their agencies.
Mathematica Policy Research
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
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.
National Conference of State Legislatures
"The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues."
Political Information.com
This site organizes links for over five thousand political and policy web sources. It is useful because of its coverage of material prepared outside of colleges and universities.
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity
This organization is dedicated to non-partisan debate on policy issues involving poverty. The website includes research, data, background information and more.
State and local government (Washington, D.C.)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This annual brings together case studies grouped thematically into the sections Bureaucracies, Courts, Federalism, Governors, Legislatures, and Policy Challenges.