Research Guides: POLS 293: Public Policymaking and Analysis (HC): Background Information

Background Information

Sara Jaranek, Kindergarteners enjoy tacos, grapes and salad in West Salem, WI, 2011 (Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC2.0) The National School Lunch program was signed by President Truman in 1946. The breakfast program was authorized by Congress in 1975.

Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are a particularly useful resource when doing research. They address the issues involved in a specific question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles for greater understanding.

A few examples are listed below. Search in both the Annual Reviews and Oxford Bibliographies Online to find literature reviews that address your political questions.

Annual Reviews
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Articles provide a detailed overview of specific issues in political science and the debates among scholars. They are written for researchers. Relevant examples include:
"Better Government, Better Science: The Promise of and Challenges Facing the Evidence-Informed Policy Movement" Annual Review of Political Science, 2019
"Categorical Inequality: Schools As Sorting Machines" Annual Review of Sociology 2017
"Coding the Ideological Direction and Content of Policies" Annual Review of Political Science 2017
"Media and Policy Making in the Digital Age" Annual Review of Political Science 2022
"Public Opinion and Criminal Justice Policy: Theory and Research" Annual Review of Criminology 2019
"Resetting Policies to End Family Homelessness" Annual Review of Public Health 2020
Oxford Bibliographies Online
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Annotated bibliographies on specific topics in all fields of study written by scholars in the field. This section is updated with new entries twice a year. Examples of essays relevant for this class include:
"Educational Policy and Race"
"Immigration Politics and Policy in the United States"
"LGBT Politics in the United States"
"Mass Incarceration and US Politics"
"Policy Feedback"
"Policy Responsiveness to Public Opinion"
"The Politics of Parenthood: Attitudes, Behavior, Policy, and Theory"

Encyclopedias and Handbooks

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Researcher
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Original reporting and analysis on issues in the news, focusing on the economy, education, the environment, health, international affairs, social trends, and technology. Published weekly, 1991-present.

Oxford Handbook of American Political History
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Chapter length overviews of many key issues including third parties, voting rights, the role of money in politics and drug and alcohol policies.
Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups
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Thirty chapters critically assess the major contributions to the literature on political parties and interest groups. Published in 2010.
Oxford handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy
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Includes many essay-length pieces on specific aspects of the topic. Larger categories addressed include policy developments, government's role in policy, non-state actors, and ways to analyze policy.
Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy
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Essays address different populations groups (elderly, the poor, differently abled and workers and families) as well as policy lenses and outcomes. Available online.
Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States
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Fifty five essays by researchers address issues of importance.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
A peer-reviewed, open-access encyclopedia started by the Stanford University Philosophy Department in 1997. The encyclopedia consists of extended articles in all areas of philosophy. Entries are created and updated by experts in the field, and each contains extensive bibliographic references. Entries for some subject areas are still under development. Examples of entries include:
"Affirmative Action"
"Critical Philosophy of Race"
"Justice, Inequality, and Health"