LibGuides: Sociology Resources: Policy Resources

What's A Policy?

"a law, regulation, procedure, administrative action, incentive, or voluntary practice of governments and other institutions. Policy decisions are frequently reflected in resource allocations."

As an example, you can learn more about the CDC's policy process.

The U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services' Office of Human Service Policy website provides examples of policy topic areas relevant to social work.

Also, see the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) website about Social Work Policy Research & Data. Organizations like NASW proposes public policy recommendations for consideration by the Executive branch and Congress.

Resources for Social Welfare Policy

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
CQ Researcher is a source for original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Founded in 1923, CQ Researcher is noted for its in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy. Each single-themed, 12,000-word report is researched and written by a seasoned journalist and provides an overview, pro-con debates, background and chronology, and assessment of the current situation.

CQ Researcher is a great database for background information on hot-button topics.

CQ Researcher Database Screenshot

CQ Researcher Tips:

After you search for a topic, use the Quick Filters box and select Content available to me. Then click on Apply Filter.

In CQ Researcher, use the Quick Filters box and select "Content available to me".

Look for the report's publication date. The report could contain outdated information.

CQ Researcher results list with two red arrows pointing out varying publication dates. One report was published in 2021 and the other in 2011.

Search for policies or a specific program using the following Think Tanks and Government Websites.

Think Tank Links:

Think Tank Directory Search
A Google Custom Search of more than 700 think tanks and research centers.
Brookings Institute
Rand Corporation
Social Work Policy Institute
Pew Research Center

Government Links:

USA.gov
It's like Google for the Government! Use this search engine to find government websites on your topic. Includes results from federal, state, and local government websites.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Health In All Policies Resource Center (CDC)
Social Services Programs (HHS)
Social Work Government Resources (Federal Depository Library Program LibGuide)
Compiled list of government websites from the Government Publishing Office (GPO).

CRS Reports

Written by the non-partisan Congressional Research Services, these reports provide a wealth of background and current information on legislation including how specific policies changed over time. You will find very useful information in CRS reports such as...

Legislative histories (i.e. how laws changed over time)

Citations for legislation, reports, websites, court cases, etc.

Data and graphics (i.e. charts, tables, figures) with listed sources (where they got the information).

You can browse by Legislative Subject Terms and Policy Areas:

Sociological Collection This link opens in a new window Sociological Collection is a comprehensive database covering information in all areas of sociology, including social behavior, human tendencies, interaction, relationships, community development, culture and social structure. This database provides complete full text for more than 500 important journals, including nearly 500 peer-reviewed titles, dating as far back as 1965.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window SocINDEX with Full Text is a comprehensive sociology research database featuring more than 2.1 million records with full text for more than 860 journals dating back to 1908. This database also includes full text for more than 830 books and monographs, and full text for over 16,800 conference papers.
Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window Political Science Complete provides full text for more than 520 journals, and indexing and abstracts for over 2,900 titles (including top-ranked scholarly journals). The database also features over 340 full-text reference books and monographs, and over 36,000 full-text conference papers, including those of the International Political Science Association.
Legal Collection This link opens in a new window Legal Collection is a collection of respected, scholarly peer-reviewed publications including law journals, documents, and case studies. This database is a source for information on current issues, studies, thoughts and trends of the legal world. Legal Collection offers full text for more than 300 law journals, providing information on topics such as criminal justice, international law, federal law, organized crime, medical, labor & human resource law, ethics, and the environment.
Gender Studies Database This link opens in a new window Gender Studies Database covers the full spectrum of gender-engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Several thousand links to full-text articles and documents on the Internet are available, including professional journals, conference papers, books, government reports, discussion and working papers, and theses & dissertations. Links also provide access to carefully selected and important websites. This database includes over 921,000 records with coverage from 1972 to the present.
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text contains more than 560,000 records selected from the most important sources within the discipline. Subject areas covered include: criminology; criminal justice; criminal law and procedure; corrections and prisons; police and policing; criminal investigation; forensic sciences and investigation; history of crime; substance abuse and addiction; probation and parole.

A-Z Database List
A list of all Kemp Library's databases.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni offers a content collection of more than 15,000 news, legal, and business sources, offering a valuable tool to help college students with their academic research projects.

How to Find Court Cases in Nexis Uni:

1. Use the Guided Search in Nexis Uni.

Select Cases ---> Choose Federal or State Cases ---> Type in keywords (either your topic or parties such as "Brown v. Board of Education") ---> Limit by Date (optional) ---> Click Search.

Nexi Uni Guided Search

2. Narrow the search results on the left side.

Narrow Results

3. Browse the narrowed results to find a case.

Court Case Result in Nexi Uni

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window Nexis Uni offers a content collection of more than 15,000 news, legal, and business sources, offering a valuable tool to help college students with their academic research projects.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 60 U.S. and international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 320 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, it offers television and radio news transcripts from major networks.

PRIMO Library Catalog

Two Ways to Use the Guided Search in Nexis Uni:

1) Search all news sources using keyword(s):

Select News ---> Type in keyword(s) ---> Limit by date if needed.

Guided Search News

2) Search by keywords within one specific publication:

Select "A Publication" ---> Type in keyword(s) ---> Type in Publication Title (i.e. New York Times, Washington

Post, etc.) and select a result from the dropdown list.

Sociology Resources

Handout for SOC 310

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