SW 520 Social Welfare Policy: Home

In this guide

This guide is focused on the various resources useful for your social policy research:

Identify Social Problem & Historical Context: Reference resources for getting background information on the issue.
Data & Statistics: What is the extent of the problem? Find statistics to inform your analysis.
Media & Public Opinion: What do people think about the policy? What is the media reporting about the policy?
Policy & Advocacy Groups: Who is arguing for the policy? Who is arguing against it? Explore perspectives on both sides.
Federal Laws & Regulations: Resources for finding full text of federal laws and regulations, historical and current.
State/Local Laws & Regulations: Resources for finding text of state law and administrative rules.
Agency Implementation: The agency or office that is responsible for a policy will have a lot of valuable information (programs, grants, statistics, cost).
Evaluation & Research Articles: What is the impact of the policy? What does the research say? Search for scholarly articles on the social issue or the effects of the policy.
Identify & Challenge Disinformation: Guide about fake news, confirmation bias, and impact on civil society.
How to Cite Policy Resources: Write citations for public laws and other government documents.

Research Tips:

Think like a detective. Identifying the specifics about a policy, such as the formal and informal titles, bill or law number, and key individuals and groups that pushed for the policy can be helpful as you look for information across many different types of information sources.
If you are researching a newly enacted policy, it is unlikely that the impact has been assessed yet. Typically, research on the impact of a policy will take at least two years to appear. In this case, look for similar policies enacted in other jurisdictions that can reasonably provide useful information about how a policy will unfold.
Be flexible. Policy research involves using many different types of resources and websites, all with their own specific ways of searching.
Use CTRL + F to find your topic in lengthy online documents.