Use one or more of the following sources to identify a policy issue of current interest and begin to get a sense of the public debate surrounding it. Make note of specific events and legislation, key legislators and other interested parties (think tanks, advocacy groups, etc.), as well as such important publications as major studies, reports and position papers.

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.

Tri-College Collections

Use the Tripod Library Catalog to look for books and government publications on public policy owned by Haverford, Swarthmore, and Bryn Mawr.

The following suggested subject searches are only a sampling of possibilities. To find materials on a topic not listed below, try doing a keyword search in the Tripod Library Catalog to find relevant materials and then using the subject headings assigned to those materials to find more.

Sample Searches: Using Subject and Keyword Searches

Subject Search  firearms law and legislation united states

Subject Search gun control

Subject Search financial crises united states

Subject Search financial institutions law and legislation united states

Keyword Search health* reform*

Keyword Search national health insurance


Beyond the Tri-College Libraries

WorldCat

A good first place to look for materials not owned by the Tri-College Libraries, this combined library catalog contains more than 41 million records describing items owned by libraries around the world.


E-Z Borrow, Interlibrary Loan, and Article Delivery

Use the E-Z Borrow, Interlibrary Loan, and Article Delivery forms on Tripod to request items that are not available in Tripod. For books start with E-Z Borrow; if the title you need is not in E Z Borrow ask for it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  Article Delivery will deliver digital copies of journal articles that you have requested.

Journal articles and similar periodical publications provide current information on policy issues. The following indexes are key sources for finding periodical literature.

Good Starting Points

Discipline-specific Indexes

These indexes are particularly good for accessing the scholarly literature of specific disciplines, i.e., articles written by economists, lawyers, sociologists, etc.

For economics, use EconLit.

For education, ERIC  or Education Index.

For healthcare, PubMed.

For social issues, use Social Work Abstracts (access on Bryn Mawr's campus ) or Sociological Abstracts.

For law, use Lexis-Nexis Academic (choose "Legal" from the main menu on the left).

Full-text News Sources

Access World News
Access World News provides the full-text of articles published in many newspapers including The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1981 and the Philadelphia Daily News since 1978. It also contains articles from many other regional U.S. newspapers as well as papers from other countries. It is a particularly useful source of information about public policy issues on the state and local levels.


Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the U.S. ethnic, minority and native press. A rich collection of articles, editorials, columns, reviews, etc. provide a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints -- the other sides of the stories.


LexisNexis Academic
Lexis-Nexis Universe provides full-text access to information in a wide range of subject areas from a variety of sources: news articles and newswires from both US and non-US sources, magazine and journal articles, and television and radio transcripts.  Includes such major newspapers as the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Even if a bill does not become law, the Congressional debate surrounding it and the publications which are produced, especially hearings, can be very useful sources of information for policy analysis of an issue.

Searching by Subject

You can identify Congressional materials relevant to a particular issue by searching by keyword in Lexis Nexis Congressional. On the Basic Search screen enter search terms. You can also do keyword searching limited to the various types of Congressional publications (e.g. bills, hearings, reports, laws, etc.).

Given both the volume of congressional activity and the fact that narrowing a search is difficult since most major public policy issues are dealt with in some way in almost every Congress, it is easier to use background sources to identify more precise search terms, i.e., specific bill, law or report numbers, specific legislators, individual witnesses at hearings, etc.

Using a Bill or Law

First, use one of the Congressional Quarterly publications (see Gathering Background Information) to identify the titles and numbers of specific bills and/or public laws relating to an issue.

Then use these numbers or titles to search for related hearings, reports and other materials:

Public Laws

Use the P.L. number, e.g., P.L. 105-89, or title, e.g., Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, to search the Legislative Histories section of Lexis Nexis Congressional (access via Tripod; choose "CIS Index" from the main menu). A legislative history provides a list of all Congressional publications associated with the debate and passage of a public law. Please note: Legislative histories are available for laws passed from 1970 onwards; those starting in 1984 are more complete.

Bills

If a bill did not become law, use the bill number, e.g., S. 254, or title, e.g. Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999, to search for a bill tracking report on Lexis Nexis Congressional (access via Tripod; choose "Bills" from the main menu). A bill tracking report provides a summary of the bill and all Congressional activity associated with it as well as a list of the related publications. Please note: Bill tracking reports are available for bills introduced in the 101st Congress or later (1989 or later).

For doing primary research or finding certain kinds of material, the most efficient way of tracking down information may be to contact an organization which focuses on a specific issue or a person who has published on a topic, works in a government agency, corporation or trade association, or otherwise has access to specialized information.

Statistics and demographic information often play a key role in policy analysis. A vast and complex array of statistical information is available online and in the print collections of libraries. Before attempting to use the more specific and complicated statistical sources, it is good to check one of the statistical compilations published regularly by both the government and commercial publishers. Compilations are especially good for finding a single statistic, e.g., the number of elementary school children in the U.S., the ten most populated cities in the United States, the percentage of the U.S. population which is of Hispanic origin, etc.

Compilations in Specific Areas of Interest

Business Statistics of the United States

County and City Data Book

Digest of Educational Statistics

Energy Information Administration 

Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics

State and Metropolitan Area Data Book 

Statistics  (University of Michigan)

                Treats government sources for 23 different topics including health and economics