General Resources - Public Policy - Research Starters - LibGuides at St. John Fisher University

Getting Started

The resources listed and demoed on this page are places you can start your information gathering. They include library subscriptions and freely available website. Depending on your topic or public policy issue, you may need to look at more than one of these resources to find relevant information.

Resources to Consult

AllSides - Topics & Issues
From the website: Use AllSides for the latest news across the political spectrum on any political topic or issues.
Center for American Progress
From the website: "independent, nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action."
The Century Foundation
From the website: The Century Foundation is a progressive, independent think tank that conducts research, develops solutions, and drives policy change to make people’s lives better. We pursue economic, racial, gender, and disability equity in education, health care, and work, and promote U.S. foreign policy that fosters international cooperation, peace, and security. Note this link opens in a new tab.
National Education Policy Center
From the website: The mission of the National Education Policy Center is to produce and disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window
Scholarly and popular resources on current political and social issues (NOVELNY)
Opposing Viewpoints in Context is an online resource addressing current social and political issues. Scholarly and popular resources, statistics, legislative histories and primary sources are organized to provide multiple perspectives on contemporary issues. This database is an excellent starting point for student research that will aid in the analysis of a broad variety of research questions.

Pew Research
From the website: "nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world."
ProCon.org
Freely available website offering non-biased information on a variety of pro-con debatable issues.
RAND Corporation
From the website: " research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest"

Opposing Viewpoints

Opposing Viewpoints is a database available through the Library. There are all types of resources in this database, including news articles, peer reviewed papers, and more. Take a look at the mini-video tutorials below to learn more about searching Opposing Viewpoints.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window
Scholarly and popular resources on current political and social issues (NOVELNY)
Opposing Viewpoints in Context is an online resource addressing current social and political issues. Scholarly and popular resources, statistics, legislative histories and primary sources are organized to provide multiple perspectives on contemporary issues. This database is an excellent starting point for student research that will aid in the analysis of a broad variety of research questions.

Brief Database Overview

This short, narration-free video, will highlight a few of the features available when searching Opposing Viewpoints. Descriptive captions are available.

Basic Search

This video demos a basic search on antiracist education. Notice that in the demo search uses what's known as "wildcard" searching. Where you replace a single character with an exclamation point. This is particular syntax for this database. This video has no narrative audio, descriptive captions are available.

Topic Finder

This video will demo how to use the Topic Find feature to explore additional related areas of research. This video has no narrative audio, descriptive captions are available.

ProCon.org Overview

ProCon.org is a freely available website, managed by Britannica. The site offers nonpartisan information about a variety of topics, including the pros and cons for debatable issues. Each issue includes a list of resources consulted to built the pro/con arguments. You can refer to the mini-video tutorials below to learn more about how to search and access ProCon.org.

ProCon.org

Brief Overview of Website

The video below will quickly inform you about the tools available when searching ProCon.org. This video has no narrative audio, descriptive captions are available.

Search Issues

Watch the video below to see how to find an issue by category or topic. You will also see how to access the references used to create the pro/con argument. This video has no narrative audio, descriptive captions are available.