Research Resources

Resources for Research in Public Policy

Listed below are frequently used online sources of information on public policy topics. Be aware that there may be other resources, including print materials that are relevant for your particular information needs. For more help and guidance, contact Sallie Harlan, Research Assistance Librarian, at 756-2403. sharlan@calpoly.edu Finding Articles

The following indexes and databases may help you find newspaper, news magazine and/or scholarly journal articles on public policy topics.

Scholarly Article Resources

• Academic Search Elite - Provides access to popular magazines and core journals in many fields, including public policy. To search for more scholarly articles, use the "peer-reviewed/refereed journals" limit function.
• Expanded Academic ASAP - Provides access to popular magazines and core journals in many fields, including public policy. To search for more scholarly articles, use the "peer-reviewed/refereed journals" limit function.
• JSTOR - Provides online articles from older issues (volume 1 through the last 3-5 years) of core journals in education, economics, political science, sociology and population studies.
• Project Muse - Provides the full text of recent issues from selected politics and policy studies journals .
• Sociological Abstracts - Provides indexes and abstracts for publications in sociology, criminology, demography, education, law and penology, race relations, and urban studies.

News magazine/newspaper article and policy brief resources

• California Newspapers - Provides online articles from regional papers and major dailies in the state of California , including the Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News.
• CIAO - This is a comprehensive source for international affairs. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 on, including policy briefs from public policy institutes and organizations.
• CQ Researcher - Provides weekly articles on topics related to current events and public affairs.
• Ethnic Newswatch - Provides access to news publications from the ethnic, minority and native press.
• Lexis Nexis Academic Universe - Provides access to legal and news resources, including law review articles, federal and state case law reports, newspaper and news magazine articles.
• ProQuest Newsstand - This is a business database that provides access to nearly 500 U.S. and international newspapers.
• RAND California - Provides information, research reports and statistics on the California economy and public policy issues.

Finding Books To find books on your topic, use the online catalogs below.

• Use POLYCAT to find books owned by Kennedy Library.
• Use LINK+ to search for books owned by twelve CSU libraries as well as other academic libraries. Items can be requested online; they take about 3 days to arrive at our checkout desk and you are notified by email of their arrival.
• Use MELVYL to search for books, etc. owned by the University of California libraries. You can request items listed in Melvyl (and not owned by Cal Poly) by filling out an Interlibrary Loan form .
• Use WORLDCAT to search for books, etc. owned by libraries worldwide. You can request items listed in WorldCAT (and not owned by Cal Poly) by filling out an Interlibrary Loan form .

• Lexis Nexis Academic Universe Select "Legal Research" at the main menu.
• GPO Access
• Findlaw
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet

• American Enterprise Institute
• American Political Science Association Policy Section
• Brookings Institution
• The Cato Institute
• Institute of Governmental Studies
• National Center for Policy Analysis
• The National Center for Public Policy Research
• The Policy Action Network
• Progressive Policy Institute
• The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)
• The Urban Institute

Websites by Topic

• CSU Sacramento's Public Policy and Administration Website

• APA Style - There are four links at this page that will provide instructions and examples on citing electronic sources: electronic media and URLs, general forms for electronic references, reference examples for electronic source materials, and citations in text of electronic material.
• American Political Science Association (APSA) Style - This page from St. Mary's University Louis J. Blume Library provides numerous guidelines and examples for documenting electronic sources.

Government Web Sites

• Federal
• US House of Representatives
• US Senate
• Executive Branch
• FedWorld : Access to more than 50 U.S. government agencies.
• The White House
• Podesta : Government Information and Research Links
• State
• California State Government Page
• California State Assembly
• California State Senate
• California Department of Finance Demographic Data
• Superior Court of California
• Legislative Analysts Office
• Directory of State, County, and City Government Websites
• California Budget Project
• California Court
• California Secretary of State
• Local
• SLO County Government Page
• SLO City Government Page

Government Information Gateways

University of Michigan Government Information Site is a central reference and referral point for government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international.

FirstGov.gov is the "U.S. government's official web portal" with links to all federal agency pages; executive, judicial and legislative branch pages; and state government, local government and tribal government information.

Multinational Organizations

United Nations

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The European Union

The Electronic Embassy: Connecting foreign embassies and international resources found around the world. Currently includes a directory of all embassies in Washington D. C.

Government Publications

GPO Access provides free access to the official published version of Federal Government products and publications

GPO Monthly indexes U.S. government publications from all agencies.

Statistics Resources

Budget of the United State Government

Census of the United States

Statistical Abstract of the United States

California Budget

California Statistical Abstract

Field Poll (California)

County and City Data Book

• Cable News Network (CNN)
News stories on current political issues, often with the full-text of relevant documents.

• C-SPAN On-Line
Navigate their links to find solid information related to politics and government.

• The Gallup Organization
Track the latest Polls and surveys related to politics and government.

• National Public Radio Online
Download a copy of the RealAudio software, and listen to the day's news online.

• The U.S. National Debt Clock --- US and World Population Clocks
If you reload the page every few seconds, you'll be amazed by the pace of the increase!

• CapWeb: Political and Public Policy News