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Background Research
The resources listed below are designed to help give a broad overview of a topic, particularly public policy issues. Use these resources to select a topic, focus your topic, and learn more about they key issues and stakeholders on a particular issue.
- ProCon.orgProCon is a free website that provides professionally-researched pro and con arguments on major controversial issues. The site's mission is to "promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a primarily pro-con format." You may browse by topic or search the site.
- Policy Issues - U.S. Department of StateThe U.S. Department of State provides access to in-depth information on national public policy issues. Resources include topical information from a variety of government offices and bureaus, fact sheets, government reports, links to outside resources, press releases, and more. Browse by policy issue or search the site.
- WikipediaUse Wikipedia to gain a better understanding of a potential research topic and increase your background knowledge on a subject. Use the article's references to try and find more reputable information sources or to find scholars in the field whose work may offer more information. Always use caution when examining online articles and vet your sources carefully.
- BallotpediaA free online political encyclopedia. Ballotpedia seeks to provide free, nonpartisan information on American politics and elections. The organization's goal is "to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government."
- The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT)The Behavioral Insights Team is a British office tasked with using research to improve public policy in the UK. The organization's goals are to "make public services more cost-effective and easier for citizens to use; improve outcomes by introducing a more realistic model of human behaviour to policy; and wherever possible,
enable people to make ‘better choices for themselves."
The list of encyclopedias below is by no means a comprehensive list of the library's relevant encyclopedias. To find additional encyclopedic resources:
- Conduct a broad search in the library catalog. For example, search for "statistics" or "presidential elections."
- Use the search filters on the left-hand side of the screen to filter to "Reference Works."
- Remember click the "Include" button above Reference Works to update your search results.
Remember, encyclopedias are a great resource for reliable, factual information; trustworthy data and statistics; and general background research.
Atlas of American Politics, 1960-2000 by Call Number: REF G1201.F1 A8 2002ISBN: 9781568026657Publication Date: 2001-01-01
American Political Dictionary by Call Number: REF JK9 .P55 2002ISBN: 9780155068674Publication Date: 2001-04-18
Organizing Black America by Call Number: REF E185.5 .O74 2001ISBN: 9780815323099Publication Date: 2001-01-16
Handbook of Psychology, 12 Volume Set by Call Number: REF BF121 .H1955 2003ISBN: 9780471176695Publication Date: 2003-01-09
Encyclopedia of Psychology by Call Number: REF BF31 .E528 2000ISBN: 9781557981875Publication Date: 2000-03-16
The list of books below is by no means a comprehensive listing of the library's relevant book resources. Search the library catalog to find additional resources related to your topic.
Psychology Research and Public Policy by Call Number: BF76.5 .H68 1984ISBN: 9780275901264Publication Date: 1985-07-15
Reconsidering Sex Crimes and Offenders by Call Number: Electronic ResourceISBN: 9780313348570Publication Date: 2009-07-23
Devil Is in the Details: understanding the causes of policy specificity and ambiguity by ISBN: 9781438449241Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Mandatory Reporting Laws and the Identification of Severe Child Abuse and Neglect by Call Number: Ebook HV8079 .C46ISBN: 9789401796859Publication Date: 2015-03-17
Nursing Policy Research: turning evidence-based research into health policy by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2009
Women and Poverty: psychology, public policy, and social justice by Call Number: Electronic ResourceISBN: 9781118378762Publication Date: 2013-09-18
Sex Offender Laws Second Edition : Failed Policies, New Directions by Call Number: Electronic ResourceISBN: 9780826196712Publication Date: 2014-07-01
In addition to the electronic resources listed below, Bortz Library also receives print editions of the Wall Street Journal, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Farmville Herald.
- AllSidesAllSides is a non-partisan, crowd-sourced resource that strives to reveal the bias of current news outlets, issues, and reports. Using its bias rating system, AllSides quickly provides readers with a general sense of the political leanings of various sources.
- Factiva14,000 authoritative sources including the exclusive combination of The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Dow Jones and Reuters newswires and the Associated Press, as well as Reuters Fundamentals, and D&B company profiles. Recommended for finding news, and Economics and Business research.
- New York Times Site License - nytimes.com This link opens in a new windowTo activate your account, click on the link above and either log-in to your existing NY Times account or set up a new account using your hsc.edu email. After that, you will be able to access nytimes.com from anywhere, including from the NYT app. Your account will need to be reactivated every year in this way to maintain access.