PLCY 581: Research Design for Public Policy: Home
Scholarly Articles
Is the article scholarly?
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Ulrichs Web OnlineUlrich's Periodicals Directory is a bibliographic database providing detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on serials published throughout the world.
Databases & Journals
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Academic Search PremierFind information on academic areas of business, social sciences, humanities, general academic, general science, education and multi-cultural topics; resource provides access to major popular and scholarly journals with many full-text articles.
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ERICProduced by the Educational Resource Information Center, ERIC provides indexing and abstracting for journal and report literature (1966 to the present) in education and related disciplines.
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GenderWatchFull-text collection of international journals, magazines, newsletters, regional publications, special reports and conference proceedings devoted to women's and gender issues.
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Google ScholarEnables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
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PAIS IndexA bibliographic index to the literature of public policy, social policy, and the social sciences in general. Includes full-text articles.
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PubMedDatabase of biomedical literature from the National Library of Medicine covering journal articles about medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, biology and public health from 1950 to the present; multiple mobile apps available, provides access to MEDLINE, etc. Includes links to full text of UNC-CH's electronic journal subscriptions.
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Sociological AbstractsDatabase covering over 2500 journals in sociology, both theoretical and applied, and related disciplines including anthropology, economics, education, medicine, community development, philosophy, demography, political science, and social psychology. Articles in 30 different languages from about 55 countries.
Policies & Policy Analysis
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Google Think Tank Search EngineCustomized Google search of 700 of the most important US and international think tanks. Think tanks are institutions affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and businesses that generate public policy research and analysis.
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National Conference of State LegislaturesFind state policies by issue area.
Government information
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Congress.govProvides access to legislative information, including the full text of the Congressional Record, a directory of congressional committees and members of Congress, the weekly floor schedule for the House, and a schedule of daily committee hearings.
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ProQuest CongressionalComprehensive source of current and historical U.S. Congressional material, including bills, testimony, reports, documents, selected prints, the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code, Federal Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations.
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White House - PrioritiesLink to White House/President's stand on policy issues.
Example think tanks
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American Institutes for Research"AIR’s mission is to conduct and apply the best behavioral and social science research and evaluation towards improving people's lives, with a special emphasis on the disadvantaged."
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Brookings Institution"Nonprofit public policy organization. Our mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level."
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Council on Foreign RelationsContains daily briefs, background and analysis.
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The National Bureau of Economic ResearchPrivate, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works.
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RAND Publication DatabasePapers and reports on topics of current public policy interest, including criminal justice, education, health, national security and international affairs, energy, environment, and science and technology. Contains indexing records for all of RAND's publicly available documents, many with links to full text reports.
Find Policies
Research Design
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SAGE Research MethodsResearch methods toolset designed to help researchers develop research projects, understand or identify particular methods, conduct research and write up their findings; library of more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos including Sages Little Green Book and Little Blue Book series focusing on quantitative and qualitative methods
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Concept MappingBrainstorming technique that helps you visualize your topic, narrow it down, and think about the relationships between your concepts. Print and video tutorial from Appalachian State University Library, plus an interactive concept mapping tool.
Finding Data - Strategies
- Define the specific elements of your question: time, geography and subject matter.
- Consider what organizations might pay for data collection on your topic.
- government (international, national, state, local...)
- trade associations
- non-profits
- academe (directly from a researcher or indirectly from a repository)
- Read the literature for possible sources, but beware that sources noted in articles may not be openly available.
- Will data be costly in terms of money or time to obtain? Do you have the requisite knowledge to manipulate it?
- Cite your data to make them easier for others to find. See more below about how to format data citations.
Understanding Data
- Read the technical documentation!
- Consider the purpose for which data were collected, and their limitations.
- Ask the experts (both about finding and understanding data).
Potential Sources
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Centers for Disease ControlPremiere source of U.S. health data, including behavioral risk factors like smoking and social issues with public health implications like teen pregnancy.
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Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) from World Resources InstituteA set of comprehensive and comparable greenhouse gas inventories, together with other climate-relevant indicators. CAIT has been used to analyze a wide range of climate-related data questions and help support policy decision making and discussions under the Climate Convention and in other forums.
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Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial Edition"This definitive reference work contains more than 37,000 annual time series of quantitative historical information covering virtually every quantifiable dimension of American history: population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations, all from the earliest times to the present." Essays place the data into historical context, and the data can be downloaded in Excel or CVS. (Source: Vendor website)
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ICPSRThe Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is the world's largest archive of computer readable social science data. ICPSR provides Web access to data files and documentation for use with statistical software, such as SAS, SPSS, and Stata. The ICPSR data holdings contains more than 500,000 files that cover a wide range of social science areas such as population, economics, education, health, social and political behavior, social and political attitudes, history, crime, aging, and substance abuse. Individual registration and adherence to responsible use statement are required.
Note: Off-campus access available if individual's account is created on campus or while authenticated. -
International Historical StatisticsExtensive resource for countries' historical statistics across many subject areas.
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National Center for Education StatisticsExcellent source of education data from pre-K to post-graduate.
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NationMaster.comCommercial site (has ads) but cites its sources and is often useful for sub-country level data.
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Social ExplorerProvides web-based access to United States Census data from 1790 to the present, and to other U.S. and international data, with the ability to make tables and interactive maps easily or export data for analysis. Data include the most commonly used variables and geographies.
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StatistaContains statistics, infographics, industry and market research reports and publicly-available data for over 25 countries. There is a special focus on digital markets as well as emerging industries and social trends. Collections of statistics can be downloaded in Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF.
Note: UNC Chapel Hill currently has full access to Statista with the exception of the Global Consumer Survey and Market Studies. -
Statistical Abstract of the United StatesCites its sources. Rich historical data as well as current events.
Citing Data
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How to Cite DataThis guide provides guidance on how to construct a citation for data. Doing so is important to acknowledge the work of others if the data is not your own but, even if it is your own, to enable others to find (and perhaps re-use) your data.
Writing & Citing
Writing
UNC Writing Center Offers online consultations. Check out their tips on writing a policy brief, literature reviews and conciseness.
What Makes a Good Research Question? Handout from Duke University's (yes, Duke) Thompson Writing Program Writing Studio. Has good guidelines for and examples of research questions in the social sciences, but much applies to the humanities as well.
Citing
APA Citations - UNC Library Guide and Purdue OWL
Social Sciences Librarian
orcid.org/0000-0003-2533-582XData Librarian
Michele Hayslett
Contact:
Subjects
Data Management
Numeric Data
Census Data
Locating Data
If you would like to request we acquire data, please carefully read the guidelines at http://library.unc.edu/data/purchase/.
Website
Data Management
Numeric Data
Census Data
Locating Data
If you would like to request we acquire data, please carefully read the guidelines at http://library.unc.edu/data/purchase/.
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