Social Work: Government, Think Tanks & Advocacy Group Reports
Gray Literature in Social Work
A portion of the literature that you will find in Social Work is made up of reports, white papers, and more. These materials are referred to as gray literature because they are not commercially published. Rather, this literature is published by non-profits, research agencies, governments, etc. It can be helpful to supplement your searches by looking at institutional and agency web sites, and by searching databases containing citations to working papers.
Search across Federal and State Websites
- USA.govThe USA.gov website allows you to search multiple federal and state agency website and reports.
National Research and Advocacy Groups
Here are a few selected national think tanks/research institutes that work in areas relevant to social welfare:
- Annie E. Casey Foundation (neutral)
- Cato Institute (conservative leaning)
- Center for American Progress (liberal leaning)
- Center for Responsive Politics (neutral)
- Center for the Study of Social Policy (liberal leaning)
- Heritage Foundation (conservative leaning)
- Pew Research Center (neutral)
- RAND Corporation (neutral)
- Urban Institute (liberal leaning)
Think Tank Search & Policy Commons
Think tanks are institutions or organizations that are affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and businesses that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity. (Harvard Kennedy School, Library & Knowledge Services)
Policy Commons searches across millions of think tank and government agency reports, and is a bit more international in scope than Think Tank Search.
Searching both is highly recommended.
- Think Tank SearchThink Tank Search is a custom Google search of over 690 think tank websites.
- Policy CommonsProvides indexed access to government grey literature and reports from national and international governmental agencies.
- Policy Commons CitiesContains reports generated by local government agencies, civic organizations, and metropolitan and regional planning agencies for major cities in the United States and Canada.
National Research and Advocacy Groups
Here are a few selected national think tanks/research institutes that work in areas relevant to social welfare:
- Annie E. Casey Foundation (neutral)
- Cato Institute (conservative leaning)
- Center for American Progress (liberal leaning)
- Center for Responsive Politics (neutral)
- Center for the Study of Social Policy (liberal leaning)
- Heritage Foundation (conservative leaning)
- Pew Research Center (neutral)
- RAND Corporation (neutral)
- Urban Institute (liberal leaning)