About public policy
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International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and AdministrationEdited by Jay Shafritz, this is Volume 1 of a 4 volume set.
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Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance
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ISBN: 9783030662523Publication Date: 2022
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Encyclopedia of leadership4 volume encyclopedia including biographies, case studies, leadership styles, situational factors, theories and concepts of leadership.
Public policy databases - best bets
Policy Commons provides links to millions of policy reports, briefs, analyses, and datasets from over 40,000 IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and global research organizations. Modules are cross searchable and include:
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Overton.io This link opens in a new windowDatabase containing policy documents, guidelines, think tank publications, and working papers.
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ProQuest Trends and PolicyProvides primary sources from US federal government including legislation, reports, debates, cases and statistics along with news articles all organized by topic or policy area and presented chronologically. Module areas include (all U.S. focused) Civil Rights, Civil Criminal Justice, Environment, Healthcare, Immigration, Taxes and the IRS
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CIAOFull text of conference proceedings, think tank articles, some journals, and working papers on international affairs.
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PAIS Index (Public Affairs Information Service)Contains references to nearly 2 million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, research and conference reports, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, etc. concerning public affairs and public policy worldwide.
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CQ ResearcherProvides bi-monthly reports with regard to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, technology, and the economy.
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PolicyMapOnline mapping and data tool. Includes15,000+ indicators used to understand communities, including demographics, income and spending, housing, lending activity, quality of life, economy, education, and health data.
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NBER Working Paper Series This link opens in a new windowView and download the full-text of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Papers.
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CGS - Policy ArchiveOlder (prior to 2011) documents produced by "think tanks" (non-profit research organizations) in the United States. From the Center for Governmental Studies, which closed in 2011.
NGOs, think tanks, research centers
Many non-profit organizations such as think tanks, advocacy groups, and research centers (collectively known as non-governmental organizations, or NGOs) produce policy research, analysis, and data.
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Utilize Policy Commons (which includes Global Think Tanks) or Overton to search for publications, as well as identify relevant think tanks or NGOs
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Berkely Library list of select think tanks
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Harvard Kennedy School Library's list of U.S. and non-U.S. think tanks
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University of Pennsylvania libraries guide to Public Policy Research Think Tanks; includes lists of top think tanks worldwide, and in specific policy areas (lists last updated in 2021)
Political bias and evaluation of think tanks
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State Policy Network supports a network of conservative think tanks in every U.S. state
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Evaluating think tanks (Harvard Kennedy School)
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Media Bias/Fact Check can be used to evaluate an organization's credibility (level of factual accuracy) as well as political leanings (includes various NGOs, in addition to news organizations); rates each organization separately for credibility as well as political bias
Following below is a small sample of some well-known NGOs
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American Enterprise InstituteConservative Washington, DC based public policy think tank.
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Brookings InstitutionLeft-leaning nonprofit public policy organization that conducts policy research and provides recommendations on policy change.
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Center for American ProgressLeft-leaning policy institute, with focus on government, economy, climate change, social justice and more.
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Center for Strategic and International StudiesBipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization & think tank analyzing global issues & policy.
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Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)Independent, non-partisan American think tank. Focus is on foreign policy and international relations.
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Heritage FoundationConservative American think tank focused on current policy issues. Authors of Project 2025.
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Pew Research CenterThe Pew Research Center is an independent, non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues.
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RAND CorporationThe RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis, including children and families, law, business, education, national security, energy, environment, population, aging, health, public safety, transportation, technology, international affairs and terrorism.
IGOs (International Government Organizations)
International government organizations (IGOs) are helpful sources of information on policy topics both in the U.S. and in other countries
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CIAOFull text of conference proceedings, think tank articles, some journals, and working papers on international affairs.
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PAIS: Public Affairs Information ServiceJournal articles, books, government docs, reports, international agency publications, etc. concerning public affairs worldwide. Search for "public opinion and [topic]" or "foreign public opinion and [topic]" for international polls. 1915-Present.
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OECD DataProvides various statistics for OECD member countries, related to energy, technology, trade, leading economic indicators, agriculture, education, health, and social expenditures
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OECD PublicationsProvides all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF).
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UN Digital LibraryProvides documents and publications, maps, images and sounds, voting data, and speech records of the United Nations. Replaces UNBISnet and serves as the new library catalog for the Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
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World Bank Documents and Reports (D&R)The World Bank's official documents and reports from 1946 to the present are available. All content is open to the public.
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World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR)The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is the Bank’s official open-access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
All journal articles published by WB will be available after the publisher's embargo. All contents are open to the public.
Researching Policy in other Countries
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PAIS Index (Public Affairs Information Service)Contains references to nearly 2 million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, research and conference reports, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, etc. concerning public affairs and public policy worldwide.
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CIAOFull text of conference proceedings, think tank articles, some journals, and working papers on international affairs.
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Index to Foreign Legal PeriodicalsIndexes 450 legal periodicals published outside the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain since 1985. Covers international law (public and private), comparative law, and municipal law.
Academic Databases (journal articles and more)
The library offers hundreds of subject or disciplinary databases that may be helpful when researching a policy issue. For example: Your topic is affordable housing. History, sociology, or urban planning databases may all be relevant.
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Public Affairs Index This link opens in a new window
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PAIS: Public Affairs Information ServiceOver 450,000 journal articles, books, and other documents covering public affairs worldwide. Coverage begins in 1972. Printed version collection is in the Graduate Library stacks as Z 7163 .P98. U-M users only.
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Political Science CompletePSC provides indexing and abstracts for 2900 journals,and full-text articles for 500 top-ranked scholarly journals. Also includes reference works and professional conference papers. Its coverage consists of topics such as law and legislation, comparative politics, political theory, international relations, humanitarian issues, and non-governmental organizations.
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The CEPR Discussion paper SeriesMajor Topics of this journal are development economics, economic history, financial economics, industrial organization, international macroeconomics, international trade and regional economics, labor economics, and public economics. U-M users only.
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EconLitEconLit contains abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, books, working papers, etc. in the field of economics, published from 1969 to the present. Limited to authorized U-M users.
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Social Science Research Network This link opens in a new windowA repository of research in the areas of accounting, economics, Latin America, and legal scholarship.
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Google Scholar (with MGet It Links)The Google Scholar search engine that searches for scholarly documents, with the added feature of MGet IT links from University of Michigan.
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Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the international literature in sociology and related disciplines. Covers 1800+ journals, back to 1952.
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JSTORProvides full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences and science.
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Project MUSEFull-text access to over 100 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics published by Johns Hopkins University Press and other university presses (Duke, Hawaii, Indiana, MIT, Penn State, etc.).
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Public Administration AbstractsJournal and magazine index of areas related to public administration, including public administration research, theory, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. U-M User Only.
Public Policy Journals
These subscription journals are accessible to U-M users only
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Climate PolicyFocuses on topics with regard to environmental policy, climate change, rural development, and economic models.
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GovernanceFocuses on topics related to executive politics, public policy, administration, and the organization of state. It also emphasizes international or comparative approach to public policy and administration.
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Journal of European Social PolicyPublish articles quarterly on all aspects of social policy in Europe, including ageing, pensions, and social security, poverty and social exclusion, education, training and labor market policies, family policies, health and social care services, gender, migration, privatization and Europeanization.
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Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM)Focused on topics with regard to policy analysis, public management, economics, policy research, program evaluation, policy making, and public management reform.
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Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART)Serves as a bridge between public administration and public management scholarship on the one hand and public policy studies on the other. Its multidisciplinary aim is to advance the organizational, administrative, and policy sciences as they apply to government and governance.
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Journal of Public PolicyInterdisciplinary, global focus.
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Journal of Social IssuesFocuses on a single topic-recent issues, for example, have addressed poverty, housing and health; privacy as a social and psychological concern; youth and violence; and the impact social class on education.
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Journal of Social PolicyFocuses on articles which seek to contribute to debates on the future direction of social policy, to present new empirical data, to advance theories, or to analyse issues in the making and implementation of social policies.
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Philosophy and Public AffairsFocuses on philosophical discussion of substantive legal, social, and political problems.
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Policy Studies JournalFocuses on the theoretically and empirically grounded research on policy process and policy analysis.
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Politics & Society (P&S)Focuses on the theory of the state, class analysis, politics of gender, methodological individualism and rational choice, and the future of capitalism and socialism
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Public AdministrationFocuses on public administration, public policy and public management. A high percentage of articles are sourced from the enlarging Europe and cover all aspects of West and East European public administration.
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Public Administration Review (PAR)Bi-monthly professional journal. Focuses on public administration, including the public sector and public sector management. Articles identify and analyze current trends, and provide a factual basis for decision making.
Last Updated: Nov 4, 2025 2:56 PM
Subjects: Government, Politics & Law, Social Sciences