Policy Research
Obtain Background
- What is policy research?
- Process of conducting research on, or analysis of, a fundamental social problem in order to provide policymakers with pragmatic, action-oriented recommendations for alleviating the problem. (Majchrzak, A., Methods for Policy Research, 1984)
Nagelkerk, J. M. (1991). Leadership through policy research, Journal of Nursing Administration, 21(5): 20-24. 
Policy Research and Qualitative Methods (PowerPoint presentation)
- Is policy research appropriate for your topic?
- Public Service Clinics: http://evans.washington.edu/research/public-service-clinics
- Does the study address a social problem?
- Is the study practical and feasible?
- Can it be used to guide decision-making or enforce actions?
- Are there stakeholders?
- Public Service Clinics: http://evans.washington.edu/research/public-service-clinics
- Can you identify policy tools/mechanisms? ( Majchrzak, Table 2.1: Policy Mechanism,1984)
- Example: Legislative tools: bills, acts (codes), reports, hearings, calendars, daily journals, press releases, public opinion, speeches
Identify Process: Use Primary Sources
- Know structure of government
- Civics 101: Law Research for the Health Professional: http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/lawresearch.html
- For background on the laws of other countries (secondary sources)
- Legal systems of the world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_systems_of_the_world - Separation of powers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers - CIA World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
(or watch YouTube video)
- Civics 102: Legislative Advocacy: http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/legislative/
- Example: Washington State Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature
- Bill search: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/
- Hearings: State Archives: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/leg_history.aspx
- Hearings: TVW: http://www.tvw.org/archives/media.cfm
- Example: US Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/links/
- Bill search: http://thomas.loc.gov
- Hearings: Congressional: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/chearings/index.html
- Hearings: C-SPAN: http://www.cspan.org/resources/congress.asp
- Example: Courts (Case law):
- Washington State Court transcripts: http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/index.cfm?fa=newsinfo.displayContent&theFile=content/accessToCourtRecords
- US Supreme Court transcripts: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/oral_arguments.html
Find Secondary Sources
- Databases
- CINAHL Plus
- LegalTrac : index to law reviews and legal news
- Lexis-Nexis : full-text database for legal information
- Nursing Reference Center : evidence based point-of-care nursing reference including legal cases
- PAIS : Public Affairs Information Service
- CINAHL Plus
- Search terms: economic policy, health plicy, law, legislation, public policy, rights, social policy
- Journals
Perform Sample Searches
- Community-based approaches for obesity prevention
Community interventions: A brief overview and their application to the obesity epidemic Policy tools for the childhood obesity epidemic An Act relating to a strategic plan to decrease obesity ratesTVW: Do advance search under “Obesity”
- Policy exercise
Finding Data Sources
- considerations of obtaining existing data:
- what kinds of research have been done in this area and what kinds of data might have been captured
- what organizations might have taken on this kind of research and have strong public service agendas or public accountability
- Examples:
- International/Global Data: The World Bank, Research Data Sets
- Philanthropic Organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Survey & Data Sets (US)
- Governmental Organizations: CDC Data & Statistics
- Social Researchers: Internet for Social Research Methods: Research and Data Sources (UK)
- Academic Organizations: ESDS Qualidata, University of Essex
- Examples:
- if funding or special access is available, what commercial sources will provide data
- Examples:
- Counseling and Psychotherapy Transcripts, Client Narratives, and Reference Works (formerly Primary Sources in Counseling and Psychology) - counselling transcripts
- In the First Person http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/index.shtml - Oral History
- search strategies
- suggestions for search terms:
- oral histories, art, autobiographies, transcripts, primary sources, public records, special collections, manuscripts, digital collections, art/media collections,"Interviews as Topic"[Mesh], data archives
- marketing/business research:
- Moisander, Johanna and Valtonen, Anu. Qualitative marketing research: a cultural approach, Sage Publications, CA, 2006.
- Qualitative Market Research (Journal)
- suggestions for search terms:
- Other Non-Traditional Sources
- Wikipedia
- Open Directory
- Internet Movie Database (IMDB), ex. documentaries, biographies
- virtual contacts/sources, ex. Second Life, blogs, YouTube videos, surveillance cameras
- networking
- professional, social contacts
Other Help Pages
Government websites:
Health Policy, Business, and Law Databases on HealthLinks
Revised Feb 2, 2009 (with special thanks to Leilani St. Anna for her valuable input)
Angela Lee, MSW, MLS
Information Management Librarian
leea@u.washington.edu
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/liaisons/lee/
Janet G. Schnall, MS, AHIP
Information Management Librarian
Library Liaison to the School of Nursing, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Ophthalmology, and Multicultural Affairs
schnall@u.washington.edu
healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/liaisons/schnall/
Joanne Rich, MLIS, BS (Pharm)
Information Management Librarian
jrich@u.washington.edu
healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/liaisons/rich/
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/liaisons/schnall/nmeth582/part2.html