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Research Topics & Ideas: Politics

100+ Politics-Related Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation or thesis. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a politics-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of politically-related research ideas across a range of disciplines, including political theory and philosophy, comparative politics, international relations, public administration and policy.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also, be sure to sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Politics-Related Topics

• Political theory and philosophy
• Comparative politics
• International relations
• Public administration
• Public policy
• Examples of politics-related dissertations

Topics & Ideas: Political Theory

• An analysis of the impact of feminism on political theory and the concept of citizenship in Saudi Arabia in the context of Vision 2030
• A comparative study of the political philosophies of Marxism and liberalism and their influence on modern politics
• An examination of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the relationship between individual freedom and collective responsibility in political philosophy
• A study of the impact of race and ethnicity on French political philosophy and the concept of justice
• An exploration of the role of religion in political theory and its impact on secular democracy in the Middle East
• A Review of Social contract theory, comparative analysis of the political philosophies of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
• A study of the concept of the common good in political philosophy and its relevance to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe
• An examination of the relationship between political power and the rule of law in developing African countries
• A study of the impact of postmodernism on political theory and the concept of truth, a case study of the US
• An exploration of the role of virtue in political philosophy and its impact on the assessment of moral character in political leaders

Topics & Ideas: Comparative Politics

• A comparative study of different models of federalism and their impact on democratic governance: A case Study of South American federalist states
• The impact of ethnic and religious diversity on political stability and democracy in developing countries, a review of literature from Africa
• An analysis of the role of civil society in promoting democratic change in autocratic regimes: A case study in Sweden
• A comparative examination of the impact of globalization on political institutions and processes in South America and Africa.
• A study of the factors that contribute to successful democratization in authoritarian regimes, a review of the role of Elite-driven democratization
• A comparison of the political and economic systems of China and India and their impact on social development
• The impact of corruption on political institutions and democracy in South East Asia, a critical review
• A comparative examination of the impact of majoritarian representation (winner-take-all) vs proportional representation on political representation and governance
• An exploration of Multi-party systems in democratic countries and their impact on minority representation and policy-making.
• A study of the factors that contribute to successful decentralization and regional autonomy, a case study of Spain

Topics & Ideas: International Relations

• A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of diplomacy and military force in resolving international conflicts in Central Africa.
• The impact of globalization on the sovereignty of nation-states and the changing nature of international politics, a review of the role of Multinational Corporations
• An examination of the role of international aid organizations in promoting peace, security, and development in the Middle East.
• A study of the impact of economic interdependence on the likelihood of conflict in international relations: A critical review of weaponized interdependence
• A comparative analysis of the foreign policies of the EU and the US and their impact on international stability in Africa
• An exploration of the relationship between international human rights and national sovereignty during the Covid 19 pandemic
• A study of the role of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO)s in international politics and their impact on state behaviour
• A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of international regimes in addressing global challenges such as climate change, arms control, and terrorism in Brazil
• An examination of the impact of the rise of BRICS on the international system and global governance
• A study of the role of ideology in shaping the foreign policies of states and the dynamics of international relations in the US

Tops & Ideas: Public Administration

• An analysis of the impact of digital technology on public administration and the delivery of public services in Estonia
• A review of models of public-private partnerships and their impact on the delivery of public services in Ghana
• An examination of the role of civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability of public administration in Papua New Guinea
• A study of the impact of environmentalism as a political ideology on public administration and policy implementation in Germany
• An exploration of the relationship between public administration and citizen engagement in the policy-making process, an exploration of gender identity concerns in schools
• A comparative analysis of the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration, decentralisation and pay and employment reform in developing countries
• A study of the role of collaborative leadership in public administration and its impact on organizational performance
• A systematic review of the challenges and opportunities related to diversity and inclusion in police services
• A study of the impact of corrupt public administration on economic development and regional growth in Eastern Europe
• An exploration of the relationship between public administration and civil rights and liberties, including issues related to privacy and surveillance, a case study in South Korea

Topics & Ideas: Public Policy

• An analysis of the impacts of public policy on income inequality and poverty reduction in South Sudan
• A comparative study of the effectiveness of legal and regulatory, economic and financial, and social and cultural instruments for addressing climate change in South Korea
• An examination of the role of interest groups in shaping public policy and the policy-making process regarding land-use claims
• A study of the impact of globalization on the development of public policies and programs for mitigating climate change in Singapore
• An exploration of the relationship between public policy and social justice in tertiary education in the UAE
• A comparative analysis of the impact of health policies for the management of diabetes on access to healthcare and health outcomes in developing countries
• Exploring the role of evidence-based policymaking in the design and implementation of public policies for the management of invasive invertebrates in Australia
• An examination of the challenges and opportunities of implementing educational dietary public policies in developing multicultural countries
• A study of the impact of public policies on urbanization and urban development in rural Indonesia
• An exploration of the role of media and public opinion in shaping public policy and the policy-making process in the transport industry of Malaysia

Examples: Politics Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a politics-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various politics-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• We, the Righteous Few: Immoral Actions of Fellow Partisans are Judged as Less Possible (Varnam, 2020)
• Civilizing the State: Civil Society and the Politics of Primary Public Health Care Provision in Urban Brazil (Gibson, 2012)
• Political regimes and minority language policies: evidence from Taiwan and southeast Asia (Wu, 2021)
• The Feminist Third Wave: Social Reproduction, Feminism as Class Struggle, and Contemporary Women’s Movements (Angulo, 2019)
• The Politics of Immigration under Authoritarianism (Joo, 2019)
• The politics of digital platforms: Sour Dictionary, activist subjectivities, and contemporary cultures of resistance (Okten, 2019)
• Vote choice and support for diverse candidates on the Boston City Council At-Large (Dolcimascolo, 2022)
• The city agenda: local governance and national influence in the policy agenda, 1900-2020 (Shannon, 2022)
• Turf wars: who supported measures to criminalize homelessness in Austin, Texas? (Bompiedi, 2021)
• Do BITs Cause Opposition Between Investor Rights and Environmental Protection? (Xiong, 2022)
• Revealed corruption and electoral accountability in Brazil: How politicians anticipate voting behavior (Diaz, 2021)
• Intersectional Solidarity: The Political Consequences of a Consciousness of Race, Gender and Sexuality (Crowder, 2020)
• The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Coalitional Representation of Latinxs in the U.S. House of Representatives (Munoz, 2019)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. In other words, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

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Research Methods for Public Policy

• Open Access
• First Online: 19 October 2022

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• Susan Mbula Kilonzo 3 &
• Ayobami Ojebode 4  

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This chapter examined the nature of public policy and role of policy analysis in the policy process. It examines a variety of research methods and their use in public policy engagements and analysis for evidence-informed policymaking. It explains qualitative methods, quantitative methods, multiple and mixed-method research. Other issues addressed include causal research in public policy, report writing and communication and related issues in public policy research.

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Qualitative Methods for Policy Analysis: Case Study Research Strategy

Perspectives on Policy Analysis: A Framework for Understanding and Design

Social Research and Public Policy: Some Cautionary Notes

Introduction.

As implied by the topic, this chapter focuses on research methods applied or applicable in public policy research. Though the overriding focus is on specific research methods, we deemed it necessary to preface these with a brief discussion of the nature of public policy research and the nature of policy-engaged research problem or question. These are then followed by the specific research approaches or traditions and methods as applied to public policy. Given that public policy research deals with issues that have important implications for the society, the mixed-method research is often preferred as a means of arriving at findings and conclusion concrete and reliable enough to serve as a basis for policy. For this reason, we devoted a section to mixing methods in public policy research. This chapter is thus divided into four sections:

Nature of public policy research

The policy-engaged research problem or question,

Specific public policy research approaches and methods, and

Mixing methods in public policy research.

In the first section, we focus on the definitive characteristics of the kind of research that supports or evokes public policy, especially the solution-orientation of such research. In the second section, we focus on what it means for research to be policy-engaged—which is different from being policy-relevant. We propose the nature and source of a good problem or question for policy-engaged research and its basic design. In the third section, we focus on the two broad traditions of research: qualitative and quantitative traditions, and the specific methods under these traditions. We explain how these methods are used in public policy research using both hypothetical and existing examples. In the last section, we discuss mixing research methods in public policy research, stressing the reasons for it and summing up the process of doing it.

Nature of Public Policy Research

Public policy research is one whose primary aim is to understand or explain social, political, economic, cultural and other issues that are significant to the society and which require the intervention or attention of policy actors. In providing an understanding of such issues, the research also presents itself as a trustable basis for the actions and interventions of these policy actors. It must, therefore, be a piece of research based on sound evidence, produced out of convincing rigour and woven from start to finish around a societal issue of concern.

In addition to being thorough and trustable, public policy research must also go beyond describing a problem or situation into engaging the how and why of things (Osifo 2015 : 149) for it to establish causality with reference to a given problem and the options of addressing such a problem. Descriptive studies do sometimes provide an important basis for policy; however, causal studies often interest and command the attention of policy actors more than descriptive ones do.

A good public policy research is sensitive to both the policy and political agenda. These two environments or elements determine action or inaction. Howlett ( 2012 : 451) argues for an approach that encourages absorption of research outputs at two levels: enhancing instrumental arguments about policy programme content and ensuring a deeper political engagement experience.

Though policy makers do not entirely depend on research to make decisions on policy options (Edwards 2004 ; UK Cabinet Office 2009 ), the role of research, and specifically field-based research, in public policy remains critical (Mead 2005 ; Young 2005 ). Since scholarly research competes with expert knowledge, domestic and international policy, stakeholder consultations and evaluation of previous policies, among other sources (UK Cabinet 1999), evidence generated from research that is meant to inform public policy needs a strong basis for argument on the problem under scrutiny, as well as a variety of policy options from field evidence.

Recent studies show that research in policymaking over the last four decades plays a less direct role than is often assumed and expected (Howlett 2012 ). Nevertheless, the role of research in public policy is not to be downplayed, and as Mead ( 2005 : 535) explains, field research is essential to realistic policy research that ties governmental action to good outcomes. However, we need to take cognizance of the fact that, as Tierney and Clemens ( 2011 ) argue, many of today’s most pressing policy issues are extraordinarily complex and will benefit from carefully conceived and analysed studies utilizing multiple methodological approaches. Public policy researchers should understand this complexity of policy problems. This complex web determines, to a great extent, what forms of research and/or research methods a researcher should consider.

Literature shows that in the history of public policy research, statistical evidence was very important (Mead 2005 ). Studies meant to inform policy were therefore mostly, if not always, survey-based (Mead 2005 ). Survey-based research, as Mead ( 2005 : 544) shows, is good at generating accurate depictions of the clientele served by a given policy. Social problems and their correlates can be clearly captured. Earlier approaches to policy research favoured output that could be generalized across settings that were validated and reliable. In those early approaches, quantitative research, especially survey, was given priority. Qualitative research did not so much move into policy arena and research evidence from qualitative studies did not seem to find a place in policy discussion tables (Tierney and Clemens 2011 : 59).

Over the years, survey-based approach has been criticized for its narrow economistic approach because social problems are complex. The argument is that survey-based policy research projects onto its subjects, the psychology assumed by the quantitative researcher. Simply put on its own, the approach lacks the ability to explain why and how complex social problems arise, and what public policies would best be suited to address them in their complexity. Surveys, for instance, may not give the full range of information required to account for the behaviours of the poor, needy and dependent persons in certain circumstances. These people, though challenged by certain economic factors, can survive in difficult circumstances, but the how and why of their survival would be beyond the easy reach of survey. Thus, as Mead ( 2005 ) argues, there is need for a more complex and robust approach that incorporates those factors that are beyond the statistics. We argue that for a public policy research to claim authenticity of findings that capture the attention of policy makers, and subsequently inform the policy process, an integration of research methods, that is, mixed-method design, is important.

Public policy research is meant to provide solutions to social and public problems that are in many ways complex. Establishing causes and effects of these problems run beyond analysis of existing policies. Mead ( 2013 ), for instance, argues:

[Where] texts in public policy devote attention to both policy analysis and political analysis; they fail to capture the intimate connection between them. The two subjects appear as separate worlds, when they are really two sides of the same coin. The texts do not consider that political constraints should really be part of policy argument or that the policy-making process can sharply limit what best policy means. And in research on public policy, there is even less sense of policy and politics shaping and reshaping each other. Typically, the usual division prevails where economists recommend best policy while political scientists explain what government does. (p. 393)

These views relate to the policy and politics dichotomy, and how political analysis is good in reshaping policy analysis (Mead 2013 : 392). While it is important to pay attention in public policy research to how these two influence each other, it is also important to pay careful attention to the stakeholders. Good research methods for public policy should engage stakeholders in the research process to enhance the use of the research findings and recommendations for effective policies. Besides the policy makers, policy actors include the public, which is always at the receiving end of the end products of public policy research are important. Consultations with them at most, if not all levels, help researchers to articulate policies that include their ideas or address their concerns (Oxman et al. 2009 ) and result in the good policy performance.

The Policy-Engaged Research Problem/Question

With reference to their level of policy engagement, public policy research in Africa can be categorized into three: public policy-appended research, commissioned policy research and public policy analysis. Public policy-appended research is the most common of the three. For most African researchers, there is a mandatory section of their article or thesis that presents policy recommendations. In that section, researchers attempt to point out how their research findings can be applied to real-life policy situations and consequently change those situations for the better. Efforts are made by experienced researchers to ensure a close fit between the recommendations and the findings that precede it in the article or thesis. As common as this genre of public policy research is, it is a flawed approach for many reasons. The approach treats policy not as the centre of the research but as an appendage. Put differently, the researcher decides her or his research problem and question and decides on the methods most suitable for this. At the conclusion of the research, she or he then turns to policy actors with recommendations. Since the research was not informed by a policy need or gap, it can hardly fit into the existing agenda and conversations among policy actors. It neither speaks the language of policy actors nor considers their priorities. The researcher would not have attempted to include policy actors at most, if not all, stages of the research, and as we will discuss shortly, there are consequences of not doing this. It also assumes that policy actors (i.e. policy makers, civil society and other stakeholders, including citizens) are on the lookout for policy recommendations from researchers and can wade through the different sections of the research to find these recommendations. As Oyedele, Atela and Ojebode ( 2017 ) opined, this is hardly so. The researcher’s research is her or his business, not that of the policy actors. As a result, policy actors do not access the tonnes of policy recommendations made by researchers.

Commissioned public policy research projects are initiated by government agencies and non-governmental organizations to address specific policy or implementation problem. The driving research question and the nature of the expected findings are articulated by the commissioning organization. A critical objection to this genre of public policy research is researcher’s autonomy on crucial fronts. To what extent can a researcher turn out findings that conflict with the political aspirations and public image of the funding government or its agency? How can the researcher be sure that his or her findings are not spun or twisted in favour of government? Therefore, while the findings and recommendations of this genre of public policy research are likely to be more easily accepted by policy actors than the findings of public policy-appended research, there is usually a cloud of doubt around its objectivity and integrity.

A third genre of public policy research deals with policy analysis . These studies take on an existing policy and subject its components to critical analysis often conjecturing whether it would produce expected results. They explore inconsistencies, systemic barriers and feasibility of a policy, and then draw conclusions as to why a policy works or does not. They may serve as formative or summative studies depending on when they are conducted in the life cycle of a policy. The challenge of this approach to public policy research has been that the researcher/analyst is basically tied to the outcomes of policies in existence—policies that he or she did not play a role in formulating.

The foregoing genres of public policy research are, at best, only partially policy-engaged. They may be policy-relevant, but they are not policy-engaged. So, the questions for us here are: What is policy-engaged research? How does it differ from policy analysis, commissioned public policy research and public policy-appended research? What is it that the other three misses out that policy-engaged research is good for? And how do we then design research in a way that the methods used are relevant in informing the public policymaking processes?

A policy-engaged piece of research derives its roots from the questions that are being asked in policy circles. As a response to current public policy issues, it is driven by a research question that explores, extends or clarifies a policy question or problem. Policy-engaged research therefore means bringing on board the stakeholders relevant in the development of a given public policy (Lemke and Harris-Wai 2015 ), whether their role is interest or influence. This means that there is an all-round way of understanding the problem that the policy is intended to solve and the politics surrounding the decision-making process.

It is important for a researcher to understand in policy-engaged research, is the need to tailor the research in a way that the policy options suggested are practical. This is because, a policy attempts to solve or prevent a problem, or scale up progress, and policy actors are interested in “what works”. In other words, they are keen about what causes an outcome or makes things happen. A piece of public policy research would, therefore, do well if it were causal, rather than descriptive.

There are two fundamental characteristics of a public policy research problem or question: First, it should explore cause, outcome, and/or causal mechanism in relation to an existing policy or a policy action it intends to propose. In exploring these, the researcher can tease out the specific factors that are responsible for a certain policy problem/issue (outcome) and have conclusive findings from which to confidently suggest specific points of intervention in a policy progression. For instance, if the researcher discovers that misinformation is the cause of vaccine rejection, then he or she knows better than to suggest increased procurement of vaccines but would rather suggest media campaigns or community meetings to increase citizens’ awareness of that vaccination. If, in exploring the mechanism between misinformation and rejection, she discovers that misinformation leads to cognitive dissonance which then leads citizens to seek clarification from traditional birth attendants who then counsels them to abstain from vaccination and whom they then obey by rejecting the vaccination, she is further equipped to make pointed suggestion on which point in the chain to focus intervention or “tweaking”. Public policy research without such causal information can easily become a shot in the dark.

Second, the public policy research problem should resonate with the questions that policy actors are asking as well as the questions that they should be asking. While it is important for the public policy research question to evolve from policy questions, it is also important to note that policy questions are sometimes wrong or inadequate. Put bluntly, policy actors sometimes do not ask the right questions. It is, therefore, important for the researcher to identify these policy questions and give them the needed redirection. Policy actors, for instance, may be asking if the gap between male and female children about access to education is narrowing or widening following the adoption of an affirmative action policy in favour of the girl child. Whereas this is an important question, it is not likely to reveal information that is specific enough to be a basis for the right adjustment of the policy. It is not only simply descriptive but also narrow and unworthy of much research. The researcher should push harder with questions of cause, outcome and causal mechanism about the male-female disparity in access to education in this case. Has the policy produced a narrowing of the gap? If not, why has it not? What skills or resources are lacking that account for this lack of narrowing? Or what historical, religious or cultural factors combine or act alone to ensure continuity of the gap despite the policy? The public policy research question may not be the exact one that policy actors are asking, but it is indeed a vital extension and reflection of the policy question.

When we have public policy research problems that are unrelated to the problems that policy actors have, the consequence can be predicted. We will come up with findings that may be scientifically sound but unattractive to policy actors. Such findings will have little or no uptake. This approach speaks to the disconnection which a vast amount of literature points out—the disconnection between researchers and policy makers (Edwards 2004 : 2; Young 2005 : 730–1; Saetren 2005 ). When we ask public policy research questions that are not causal, the consequence can as well be predicted—our findings will not be convincing or informing enough to move policy actors to targeted action. Ultimately, questions that are not in line with the policy makers, and non-causal questions, render our research simply as just another piece of research for its sake.

A research question largely dictates its own research design. The type of research question we advocate above implies an iterative approach that begins with policy actors and finally returns to them. It also implies a specific kind of methods. It is a back-and-forth movement that considers the concerns of the actors as the fulcrum. In addition to being iterative, the design is also causal. The stages given below may apply (Fig. 4.1 ).

Approach to designing policy research

The way in which research is designed determines the ability of the researcher to claim causal conclusions (Bachman 2007 ). This is important for it gives indication to policy makers on what influential factors lead to what outcomes. If this is not known, making relevant policy decisions is always not possible.

Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Public Policy Research

In this section, we explain the commonly used qualitative and quantitative research methods for public policy.

Qualitative Methods in Public Research

Briefly stated, qualitative methods aim at providing deeper perspectives, attitudes, perceptions and contextual insights that surround the issue under investigation as experienced and understood by those living through it. The outcome of qualitative methods is usually the verbalized thoughts and viewpoints of the subjects of investigation rather than numbers or statistics. The following are some of the research methods used in qualitative research. Note that each of these methods applies a wide range of tools to collect data.

Historical and Archival Research

Libraries and archives store historical information in many forms including diaries, pictures, documents, minutes and artefacts, among others. These mean that they might have been stored as primary or secondary data. Historical or archival information that can be considered as primary is that which was collected from the author or field and stored in its original form without undergoing any form of analysis and change. Such may include minutes, diaries, pictures, artefacts, personal memoirs, autobiographies and others of the same nature. Any historical information that has gone through any studies or analysis then becomes secondary data. These may include journals, books and magazines, among others.

When a researcher wants to use historical and archival data, the aim is to research on the past and already existing information. However, historical and archival research does not always mean deriving data from the archives. A policy researcher may design a historical study in which they endeavour to visit the field and collect data from knowledgeable individuals concerning a certain historical issue of policy concern. They may partly engage documents from archives or libraries to historicize, contextualize and corroborate the issue under research. It is also the nature of many parliamentary researchers to “mine” data from parliamentary libraries/archives, some of which contain data that is classified as primary data.

Historical data is important in public policy, for it helps researchers situate their arguments within existing narratives, contexts and prior solutions suggested for policy problems. Roche ( 2016 ) argues that making assumptions about the ease with which historical research can be done is misleading. He advises that knowledge of context and a sequential approach should be given ascendance in the researcher’s priority. The researcher should be aware of chronology of information to clearly provide a coherent picture of the policy issue at hand. This implies that the past information should be relatable to the most current. With the advent in technology, most data are now digitalized, and as such, it is easy to get information from the Internet.

Archives are used to store vital government records such as personal letters, diaries, minutes, logbooks, plans, maps, photographs, among others, that easily qualify to be analysed as primary data (Roche 2016 : 174). Roche ( 2016 : 183–4) notes the challenge of fragmentation and partial availability of archival documents. He further alludes to technical challenges of the clarity of some of archival data. He cites examples of materials that were handwritten a while back and which may be ineligible. Historical and archival research apply both desk-based methods and interview techniques of data collection. Photography can also be used.

Ethnographic Methods

Ethnographic approach to research studies communities in their natural setting to understand their activities, behaviour, attitudes, perspectives and opinions within their social surrounding (Brewer 2000 ). To do so, ethnography entails close association with the research communities and sometimes participation in their activities (Brewer 2000 : 17). In fact, the commonly used methods of data collection in ethnography are participant (and sometimes non-participant) observation. The former allows for the researcher to get involved in the activities of the communities, while the latter is designed for the researcher to observe from the periphery. As Brewer argues, it is this day-to-day involvement in people’s activities that enable the researcher to make sense of the social worldviews of the research participants.

Non-participant observation describes a research situation where a researcher does not take part in the processes, events or activities that he or she is observing but removes himself or herself from the happenings to critically observe from a distance. This has challenges especially if the observed become aware of intrusion and subsequently alter their behaviour (Hawthorne effect). Sometimes the researcher may structure the observations or decide to use unstructured observations. The two differ in the sense of planning on the observation activities. For the structured type, the researcher has in mind what they want to observe and as such have a list and indications of what they would like to see. Take, for instance, a study on access to water meant to contribute to a water policy. A researcher may choose to observe how (many) times is water served at certain water points; how many people queue for the water in each of these servings; and this is likely to tell the researcher whether the water points are enough or otherwise. In unstructured observation, the researcher gets into the field with a research idea but without the specifics of that nature of data they expect from the field. Qualitative interview methods such as oral interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) may apply where necessary during ethnography. Note taking is often applied as well.

Phenomenology

This method focuses on lived experiences of a given phenomenon by an individual or a group of individuals. Individuals can describe their views and opinions about the phenomenon in question (Johnson and Christensen 2014 ). Research on fertility issues can target women who either have or do not have children, depending on what the researcher wants to unearth, with individual women providing their lived experiences on the issue under investigation. Phenomenology is also applicable when writing biographies (an account of someone’s life written by someone else). Generally, life histories, personal testimonies and experiences are best collected through this method. This implies that oral in-depth interviews and desk-based methods of data collection are important in understanding the stories in question.

Narrative Method

A narrative is a story that structures human activity to give it some form of meaning (Elçi and Devran 2014 ). Research that applies the narrative method encourages the research participants to tell their stories around a certain issue. The researcher listens to the stories and uses them to make informed analysis on the issue at hand. A researcher concerned about experiences of people living in zones of conflicts may ask questions that elicit stories of the victims or perpetrators of violence and present these in narrative form. Researchers who use phenomenology method often apply use of narratives, but not always. Phenomenological research may not rely on story telling alone. A researcher may use desk-based method to gain perspectives of the target communities as well.

Case Studies

A case study is an intensive analysis of a small number of phenomena (events, actors, activities, processes, organizations, communities, among others) in each context. Though one can use a mix of qualitative or quantitative data within a case study, meaning that case studies can also take quantitative route, a case study is always a detailed analysis of the relationships between the contextual factors and a visible occurrence. Case studies are therefore considered when there is need for detailed information on the issue(s) under investigation. A single case study aims at providing details on the variables of interest. A comparative case study has two or more cases (what literature refers to as small-N) for the purpose of making comparative causal explanations. A researcher uses comparative case studies when they want to tease out the similarities and/or differences between or among the cases, usually for the purpose of explaining causation.

Action Research

Action research is problem-solution focused. It falls under the category of applied research and subsequently, uses practical approach to solve an immediate problem. In this case, the researcher works together with a community or practitioners to identify a challenging issue within the community that requires a possible solution. They formulate the problem together and design the research in a way that the aim is to work towards getting a solution to the problem. Once the data collected is analysed and recommendations given, a plan of action is drawn and applied to the problem that the research was designed for. The community (and researcher) reflects on the effectiveness of the solutions applied to take appropriate measures. In a nutshell, Huang ( 2010 : 99) explains that action research proceeds from a praxis of participation guided by practitioners’ concerns for practicality; it is inclusive of stakeholders’ ways of knowing and helps to build capacity for ongoing change efforts. This form of research requires money and time. As Huang ( 2010 ) notes, action research can take a qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method perspective. Various methods of data collection including oral interviews, surveys, community mapping, observation, among others, may be applied in action research.

Grounded Theory Research

A researcher may apply two approaches, inductive or deductive, to do research. The deductive approach means that one has a theoretical basis from where hypotheses can be formulated and tested. Inductive approach, on the other hand, is grounded or bottom-up. The researcher in this case starts by making observations that then provide him or her with patterns from where conclusions and theory can be drawn. Grounded research therefore moves from the point of poor or no theory up to where a researcher can deduce an informed hypothesis and towards theory building, all from the observations and analysis made from data. It is similar with other qualitative methods in the use of the various methods of data collection including oral interviews, observation and use of all forms of documents (Strauss and Corbin 1994 ).

Quantitative Methods in Public Policy Research

Quantitative research generates numerical data using such research instruments as the questionnaire, tests, code sheets for content analysis and similar other sources. The data is then subjected to mathematical or statistical analysis (Muijs 2004 ).

Literature divides quantitative research methods into two—experimental and non-experimental methods. Experimental methods are the quantitative approaches that are mainly concerned with manipulation situations with an aim of establishing cause and effect. Bachman ( 2007 : 151) argues that “the experimental design provides the most powerful design for testing causal hypotheses about the effect of a treatment or some other variable whose values can be manipulated by the researchers”. Experiments allow us to explain causality with some confidence because of the use of treatment and control. The basic and elementary type of experimental research involves setting up two groups (treatment and control groups) and introducing change to the treatment but nothing to the control. The effect of the change is measured in the differences in the behaviour or performance of the two groups after the treatment.

Experimental research has been criticized for their weakness in reflecting reality in that they take people out of their natural settings into a laboratory or pseudo-labs. Despite this, they can make important input to policymaking. For instance, micro-level policies on classroom instruction and curriculum have been largely influenced by experimental research.

Non-experimental methods do not manipulate. They are aimed and providing a descriptive picture of what is being studied. Non-experimental methods, as Muijs ( 2004 ) indicates, are more varied and may range from surveys to historical research, observations and analysis of existing data sets (applied quantitative methods). We will briefly look at the experimental and non-experimental quantitative research in the following sections.

Experimental Methods

The different types of experiments can range from randomized control trials (RCTs) to quasi-experiments, and sometimes, natural experiments.

Randomized Control Trials (RCTs)

In their simplest form, RCTs involve assigning individuals, groups, communities or settlements to experimental/treatment and control groups. The experimental group receives treatment—school feeding—while the control group receives no treatment (no school feeding). The difference in school attendance rates between these groups could then be attributed to the treatment, that is, school feeding. If statistics shows that attendance increases in the treatment group but stays the same or decreases in the control group, other things being equal, the researcher can make claims about school feeding causing increase in school attendance. Randomized control trials are expensive and are usually beyond the budget reach of most researchers. Public policy researchers therefore embark on other forms of experimental methods generally described as quasi-experimental methods.

Quasi-experiments

There is an unending controversy as to what constitutes a quasi-experiment. Given the little profit accruing from such a controversy, we would take a simple definition of that concept: any experiment that mimics as closely as possible the advantages of RCT (Muijs 2004 : 27). In quasi-experiments randomization is not possible (Muijs 2004 ). This makes it difficult to eliminate bias. The experimental group is already determined—they are the ones enjoying or experiencing the treatment of concern to the researcher. What the researcher does is to compare this group with another that is not experiencing the treatment. Often, the treatment is a government programme or some other kind of intervention out of the researcher’s control. Where it is possible to have another group to compare with, the researcher might work with data before treatment comparing that with data after treatment.

Take, for instance, the introduction of government-funded public examinations in some Nigerian prisons in 2019. Would the incidence of violence reduce in prisons because of this policy? A few years into the policy, a researcher might compare incidence of violence in Prison A where the policy is being implemented with Prison B where it is not being implemented. Or, where, for certain reasons that two-prison comparison is not possible, she might compare data on the incidence violence in Prison A before the policy with data on the incidence of violence in the same prison after the policy has been implemented.

Quasi-experiment templates consider space (spatial variation) and time (temporal variation) as important aspects that influence setting up of experimental research designs. Gerring ( 2007 ) and other scholars provide a variety of these templates. For instance, a researcher might be interested in explaining if and how a certain programme or policy, say a school feeding programme, increases students’ performance in national examinations. She can select two local government areas or sub-counties—one with a school feeding programme and the other without—and then compare school performances of students in both sub-counties and local government areas in national examination. It is important to ensure that the two cases (i.e. sub-counties or local government areas in this example) are similar in all other factors that might influence students’ performance in a national examination, the only difference being the presence of a school feeding programme in one and its absence in the other. The data can be collected by a variety of means—questionnaire, secondary data such as attendance registers, observation guide or any other that suits the research objective and question. A fruitful study of this type does not stop at showing that students in local government A where there is a school feeding programme perform better than their counterparts in local government B. That would be an interesting finding, but it leaves a lot unsaid. Rather, it should press on with an explanation of the causal mechanism—the pathway or trajectory by which the school feeding programme leads to better grades. This implies that what is largely categorized as quantitative study may require aspects of qualitative data to allow the researcher to get a complete picture of the issue under investigation.

Ojebode et al. ( 2016 ) attempted to explain the (in)effectiveness of community-based crime prevention practices in Ibadan, Nigeria. They selected two communities—one with a successful community-based crime prevention programme and another with a clearly unsuccessful one. These communities are similar in all the factors that matter to community-based crime prevention—population, ethnic mix, youth population, socio-economic status, and both have community-based crime prevention practices. Their puzzle was: why did the practice work so well in one community and fail so woefully in the other despite the similarities in these communities. Through different rounds of data collection and different instruments, their quantitative and qualitative analysis shows that the settlement patterns in the communities—dating several hundred years—perhaps explained the variation in the outcomes of the crime prevention practices.

Natural Experiments

Natural experiments take advantage of exogenous effect, that is, an intervention that is outside of the control of the researcher, which was also not intended to affect the outcome/dependent variable. The exogenous effect can be in the form of natural (such as a natural disaster), physical (like in the case of the colonial/government border) or historical event. They may also be a policy intervention. These were not intended for research or academic purposes. In other words, what becomes the treatment or causal factor happens through some “natural” occurrence or unplanned event. In some ways, these events may allow for observation of before and after they occurred. An example is Friedman et al. ( 2001 ) who carried out a kind of natural experiment during the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia. The researchers wanted to find out whether heavy traffic in the city was a cause of asthma in children. They made observations on how the city was organized during the 17 days of Olympics where the traffic rules changed. Small cars were forced onto alternative routes to leave main routes for mass transport, and this reduced traffic congestion on the major roads of the city. Through paediatric records (before and after Olympics), the study discovered 40% reduction in asthma attacks and emergency hospitalization. The researchers made a conclusion that traffic congestion contributes to paediatric asthma. This can be classified as a natural experiment, where the Olympics (manipulation/treatment) was not planned by the researcher and was exogenous (not related in any known way) to asthma. Such critically thought-out research can easily contribute to change in transport policies. Other studies, for instance, Daniel Posner’s on Chewas and Timbukas of Zambia and Malawi ( 2004 ), have used borders artificially created by colonial governments as boundaries of study groups. In his case, Posner shows how governments in two countries differently exploit similar ethnic compositions and the effect of this exploitation on inter-ethnic relations.

Non-experimental Quantitative Methods

Most quantitative researchers collect data using a standard questionnaire containing mostly close-ended questions. Some researchers may use a questerview, which combine both closed-ended and open-ended question. The latter is applicable when corroborative data or explanations to the closed-ended questions are needed. Survey questionnaires for this reason provide some standardized data that can be keyed into software for organization and analysis. The type of survey questionnaire depends on the nature of data that the researcher requires, the reach of the study population and ways in which the data is to be collected. One can decide to do telephone interviews, post the questionnaire, administer it online or have an ordinary written questionnaire.

Survey research considers a variety of factors including samples and sampling procedures, characteristics of the study population, among other issues. Surveys mainly apply probability sampling with an aim of giving all the elements a chance to be included in the study sample. This is the opposite of non-probability sampling those centres on purposive and convenient sampling. There are various sampling techniques in probability sampling, and these are available in various research methods books. Just to mention, some of the probability sampling approaches include simple random, stratified random, cluster, quota and multistage (see Muijs 2004 , 2011 ; Babbie 2004 ; Kothari 2004 ; Kumar 2011 ). For sample sizes, there are suggested formulas that researchers can apply for both finite and infinite populations.

Observational Studies

Observations are important for both qualitative and quantitative research. In quantitative research, observation is applied both as a research method and as a method of data collection. In qualitative research, observation is mostly categorized as a method of data collection and features in various research methods including ethnography, case study and action research. In quantitative studies, observational methods are important, for they enable a researcher to interact with the study environment and participants in a way that the questionnaire would not. Observational data for quantitative research is collected using standardized/structured observation schedules. A researcher can develop a descriptive observational record or a rating scale to help them collect observational data. This enables the researcher to observe and record the behaviour and activities in the selected study sites in a standardized way. Observations can also be made on existing reports within the institutions being studied, say for instance, school performance and statistical data collected from such reports (see Muijs 2004 ). In the end, the different methods may generate descriptive data of various types, that is, from open-ended and closed-ended descriptions. The selection of participants is also randomized to give all a chance to participate, and subsequently, those falling within the sample size are meant to represent the study population on which generalizations can be made.

Applied Quantitative Method

This method makes use of existing data sets. It applies analytical methods to facilitate description of data that has already been recorded and stored. Different research institutes store varied forms of data sets. These could be useful if a researcher is interested in analysing them with the purpose of achieving a certain research objective. For instance, one might be interested in understanding and describing the population growth trends. In such instances, one does not need to go to the field to collect fresh information when the national bureaux or offices of statistics have the data sets. All one needs is to get permission from relevant authorities to access such information. The challenge with using such data sets is that if they are erroneous in any way, then the errors are carried forth in the analysis. As Muijs ( 2004 ) indicates, the various quantitative research methods can be combined in a single study if this is necessary.

Mixed Methods in Public Policy Research

The advent of mixed-method research and the place that it currently occupies in social science research reinforce the arguments for the use of both traditions of qualitative and quantitative methods in public policy research. Statistics should be complemented and explained by meaning-making concepts, metaphors, symbols and descriptions from qualitative research to make sense of hard data. On the other hand, narratives on their own are not enough. Jones and McBeth ( 2010 : 330) show that despite the apparent power of stories in public policy, public policy studies have largely remained on the side-lines of the use narratives. The two scholars suggest the relevance of using a narrative policy framework as a methodological complement for positivists in the study of policy. Some scholars have also shown that for policy problems to be clearly defined, a narrative structure is needed. Narration, as Fischer ( 1998 ) and Stone ( 2002 : 138) explain, helps make sense of the socially constructed world that requires tangible solutions. Since qualitative approach may not be able to engage hypothesis testing to allow for replication and falsification (Jones and McBeth 2010 : 339), they should complement or be complemented by quantitative data.

Qualitative and quantitative methods have their own separate strengths. As noted above, qualitative research is about depth and qualitative is about breadth. This means, if a study requires both, then mixing the methods is important. Mixing methods therefore means a research problem requires both qualitative and quantitative data. Morse ( 1991 ) argued that triangulation of methods not only maximizes the strengths and minimizes those weaknesses of each approach, but also strengthens research results and contributes to theory and knowledge development.

Mixing research methods does not just imply mixing methods of data collection. A researcher must intentionally clarify which research methods (as discussed above) are applicable in their research to speak to qualitative and quantitative aspects, and by extension what methods of data collection will be used. Note that one research method may have many methods and tools data collection. If one is using ethnography, then participant observation, oral in-depth interviews, observations and focus group discussions are examples of applicable data collection methods. The various methods of data collection have their instruments/tools.

Mixing of methods entirely depends on the purpose for which the methods are mixed. This is determined by the research problem. Mixed research methods books provide a wide range of typologies of designing mixed-method research (see, for instance, Greene et al. 1989 ; Creswell and Clark 2011 ; Schoonenboom and Johnson 2017 ). Below is a simple illustration of the continuum for mixing methods (Fig. 4.2 ). A researcher can move from a purely quantitative or qualitative research method (A and E), towards integrating either quantitative (B) or qualitative (D) methods to the dominant method. A researcher can also design a fully mixed-method research (C). This is a simplified way of understanding how mixing can happen; there are other more complex typologies.

The mixed-method continuum. (Source: Teddlie and Yu 2007 : 84)

In public policy research, the mixing is important for various reasons. One might require results for complementary purpose, explanations to the statistical results, expansion of results from one domain (qualitative or quantitative) or confirmation of results. The dictates of mixing are found within the research problem and by extension research questions/objectives.

There is subtle blame game between bureaucrats and policy makers, on the one hand, and researchers, on the other hand, in Africa. While the latter accuse the former of not using the research they conduct, the former responds by claiming that many of the research do not speak to policy or societal issues and are thus not usable. They add that many of them are rendered in a language that is not accessible to non-academic actors. As a result, not a few policy decisions are based on political and other judgements rather than on sound research.

Our discussion so far suggests that the bureaucrats and policy makers may not be totally right in their accusation, but they are not totally wrong either. The preponderance of policy-appended research, and of solo-method research which offers little as a basis for policy, seems to justify their accusation. It is, therefore, important that public policy researchers weave their research around societal issues that are not only significant but also contemporary and topical, craft their design with the aim of policy engagement and stakeholder involvement, and adopt mixed methods as and when necessary, to provide findings and conclusion that command and compel policy actors’ attention.

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Kilonzo, S.M., Ojebode, A. (2023). Research Methods for Public Policy. In: Aiyede, E.R., Muganda, B. (eds) Public Policy and Research in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99724-3_4

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Policy on Immigration from the Southwest and Resulting Border Control Security Implications Amber Gottfried, Arpit Bawa, Russel Goff, Austin Grelle, and Marielynn Herrera

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Research Topics

Law and Public Policy

Getting started, books & articles, legislation & government reports, reports & working papers, news & current awareness, agencies, think tanks & advocacy groups, data sources, getting help, ready..set...go prepare for summer success.

This guide was originally prepared for the Law and Policy Research Sessio the  Ready... Set... Go! Prepare for Summer Success event.

Reference Works

Don't forget print sources! These reference works can give quick background and cross-references when you are starting your research.

• Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, 2d ed., edited by Evan M. Berman ; Jack Rabin, founding editor. (print) Widener WID-LC JK9 .E525 2008x
• Encyclopedia of American Public Policy/ Byron Jackson (print) Kennedy School Ref JK468.P64 J33 1999 Widener RR 3631.7
• The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy / edited by Michael Moran, Martin Rein and Robert E. Goodin (print) Kennedy School Reserve Lamont REFERENCE JA71 .O945 2006x Widener Harvard Depository H97 .O88 2006

Public Policy Research Guides

These research guides may also include useful resources.  Guides from other schools may link to protected databases or local copies of print items. Check HOLLIS to see if we have access to a particular database.

• Harvard Kennedy School Library & Knowledge Services: Public Policy
• Georgetown Law Library: Public Policy Research
• University of Massachusetts: Public Policy and Administration Research
• University at Albany: Public Administration and Policy

Subject Specific Research Guides

Public policy research often overlaps with other disciplines.  The following guides can provide a useful starting point for specific areas of research. If your subject isn't represented below, try googling your subject and the phrase (in quotes!) "research guide."

• Bankruptcy by Lisa Lilliott Rydin Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 313 views this year
• Regulation of Financial Institutions by Lisa Lilliott Rydin Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 1772 views this year
• Tax Law by Lisa Lilliott Rydin Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 1213 views this year
• Canadian Official Publications by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 348 views this year
• Energy: Government Agencies, Units, Plans, Stats, and Jobs by George Clark Last Updated Apr 29, 2024 230 views this year
• Environmental Justice and Space, Place, & Identity by George Clark Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 547 views this year
• Federal & State Legislative History by Mindy Kent Last Updated Apr 18, 2024 365 views this year
• Government: A Guide to Research Resources by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Feb 26, 2024 238 views this year
• Great Britain: Guide to the Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 303 views this year
• Guide to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 214 views this year
• HUFPI Research Guide by Susan Gilroy Last Updated Feb 29, 2024 263 views this year
• Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 305 views this year
• Law and Public Policy by Mindy Kent Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 394 views this year
• Law and Society by Harvard Law School Library Research Services Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 833 views this year
• League of Nations Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 137 views this year
• Palestine in Government Documents by George Clark Last Updated Apr 1, 2024 369 views this year
• President's Commission on the Status of Women by Jennifer Fauxsmith Last Updated Apr 17, 2024 751 views this year
• Research Guide for CES Visiting Scholars by Fred Burchsted Last Updated May 22, 2024 437 views this year
• Research Guide for Weatherhead Center Program Affiliates by Susan Gilroy Last Updated Aug 3, 2023 103 views this year
• Soviet / Russian ephemera collection (late 1980s-1990s) by Anna Rakityanskaya Last Updated Nov 14, 2023 362 views this year
• The Theodore Roosevelt Collection: A Guide for Researchers by Kate Donovan Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 305 views this year
• U. S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 300 views this year
• U.S. Congressional Publications by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 455 views this year
• U.S. Department of State Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated May 1, 2024 878 views this year
• U.S. Presidential Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 232 views this year
• UNESCO Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 172 views this year
• Uniform Laws and Model Acts by Deanna Barmakian Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 480 views this year
• United Nations Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Feb 23, 2023 364 views this year
• United States Declassified Documents by Hugh Truslow Last Updated Jan 20, 2023 324 views this year

Search HOLLIS Classic

Search HOLLIS+ for books and articles

Useful subject terms include:

• Social Policy
• Public Policy (Law)
• Political Planning

Not at Harvard? Try searching WorldCat

• WorldCat.org (OCLC) more... less... WorldCat is the largest library network in the world. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their free resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information. ##WorldCat's coverage is both deep and wide. You can search for popular books, music CDs and videos—all of the physical items you're used to getting from libraries. You can also link to many new kinds of digital content, such as downloadable audiobooks you can listen to on many portable MP3 players. You may additionally find authoritative research materials, such as documents and photos of local or historic significance; abstracts and full-text articles; and digital versions of rare items that aren't available to the public.

Other Article Sources

• Academic Search Premier (Harvard Login) more... less... Academic Search Premier (ASP) is a multi-disciplinary database that includes citations and abstracts from over 4,700 scholarly publications (journals, magazines and newspapers). Full text is available for more than 3,600 of the publications and is searchable.
• Business Source Complete (Harvard Login) A database of citations to, summaries and full text of articles from academic journals, magazines, and trade publications. Citations, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886 are included as well as current company, industry and region reports. more... less... The EBSCOhost Interface is optimized for searching articles. The Business Searching Interface facilitates searching other types of documents as well as articles. Business Source Complete is a database of citations to, summaries and full text of articles from academic journals, magazines, and trade publications. Citations, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886 are included as well as current company, industry and region reports.
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) ERIC is an online digital library of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education.
• JSTOR Full-text of more than 200 cross-disciplinary academic journals. Coverage begins with the first volume, but usually does not include the most recent 1 to 5 years more... less... Includes all titles in the JSTOR collection, excluding recent issues. JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a not-for-profit organization with a dual mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals, and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. For complete lists of titles and collections, please refer to http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html.
• HeinOnline Searchable full-text access to law reviews Coverage varies by title but generally starts with the first year of publication May not include current year more... less... http://heinonline.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/HOL/Help?topic=lucenesyntax
• HOLLIS Library Catalog HOLLIS is the catalog to all library materials at Harvard and thus a great central place to start your search. Use HOLLIS to find books, articles, databases, print and online journals, finding aids for archival materials, visual materials, and more.
• PubMed with full text more... less... Find it at Harvard
• HOLLIS Databases

Find Public Policy Articles

• PAIS International (Harvard Login) PAIS International indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law, and health care, International in scope. Current:1972-present Archive: 1937-1976 more... less... PAIS International indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law, and health care, International in scope, PAIS indexes publications in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The database is comprised of abstracts of thousands of journal articles, books, directories, conference proceedings, government documents and statistical yearbooks.
• PolicyFile (Harvard Login) Description: PolicyFile provides abstracts (more than half of the abstracts link to the full text documents) of domestic and international public policy issues. The public policy reports and studies are published by think tanks, university research programs, research organizations which include the OECD, IMF, World Bank, the Rand Corporation, and a number of federal agencies. more... less... PolicyFile provides abstracts (more than half of the abstracts link to the full text documents) of domestic and international public policy issues. The public policy reports and studies are published by think tanks, university research programs, research organizations which include the OECD, IMF, World Bank, the Rand Corporation, and a number of federal agencies. The database search engine allows users to search by title, author, subject, organization and keyword.

• Proquest Government Periodicals Index (Harvard Login) Government Periodicals Index covers the publications of federal departments and agencies responsible for fundamental societal concerns: business, agriculture, national security, the environment and natural resources, health and safety, food and nutrition, transportation, and more. more... less... ProQuest Government Periodicals Index provides indexing and links to full text articles from over 300 periodicals published by agencies and departments of the United States Federal government. The index provides detailed access by subject and author. ####Updated quarterly (March, June, Sept, and December), Government Periodicals Universe covers the publications of scores of federal departments and agencies responsible for fundamental societal concerns: business, agriculture, national security, the environment and natural resources, health and safety, food and nutrition, transportation, and more. With each update, the service adds approximately 2,500 articles that reflect the enormous diversity of federal interests.
• Policy Commons Database for public policy, with more than 3 million reports, working papers, policy briefs, data sources, and media drawn from a directory of more than 21,000 IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and research centers.

Public Policy Journals

• Harvard Law & Policy Review
• Stanford Law & Policy Review
• Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy
• Hein Online Law Journal Library: Advanced Search In the subject field, select Public Law and Policy to narrow your search to relevant journals. Note by selecting Public Law and Policy, you will be able to view a long list of policy-focused law journals.
• JSTOR Public Policy & Administration Collection of full-text journals relating to public policy. Coverage varies by title. more... less... JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a not-for-profit organization with a dual mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals, and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. For complete lists of titles and collections, please refer to http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html.
• Search HOLLIS for U.S. law & public policy journals

Law and Legislation

• THOMAS A resource created by the Library of Congress, THOMAS provides access to a wide range of legislative materials including public laws, pending bills, committee reports and hearings. It also provides access to the full text of legislation from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. This is a good resource for compiling legislative history materials.
• House and Senate Hearings, Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection, and Digital US Bills and Resolutions A major source of information about the members of Congress and their legislative activities and a primary resource for accessing the many publications of the U.S. Congress from 1789 to present
• LexisNexis State Capital Extensive access to state legislation, administrative law, and commentary more... less... LexisNexis State Capital provides access to the legislation and administrative law of all 50 states. Consult this resource to retrieve: the full text of bills, current state statutory codes and constitutions, adopted regulations as available in current state administrative codes or as initially published in state registers and proposed regulations as also located in recent state registers. Tracking reports of the status of current bills and proposed regulations are provided as well. Coverage of current legislative issues and developments by state newspapers of record and other publications is also offered by State Capital. In addition, current state legislative directory information and the Martindale-Hubbell Law Digest are included in this resource.
• Federal Legislative History (HLSL Research Guide) For more detailed links for finding legislative history, please consult our Federal Legislative History Research Guide

Congressional Research Reports

The Congressional Research Service provides background research for members of Congress.  CRS Reports are not automatically made public, so there is no single source for finding CRS Reports. Try these resources to locate CRS Reports on your issue.

• Every CRS Report Open access to selected public research reports produced by the Congressional Research Service
• Harvard Kennedy School: Research Guide to Congressional Research Service Reports

Government Research Reports and Analysis

• Proquest Government Periodicals Index (Harvard Login) more... less... ProQuest Government Periodicals Index provides indexing and links to full text articles from over 300 periodicals published by agencies and departments of the United States Federal government. The index provides detailed access by subject and author. ####Updated quarterly (March, June, Sept, and December), Government Periodicals Universe covers the publications of scores of federal departments and agencies responsible for fundamental societal concerns: business, agriculture, national security, the environment and natural resources, health and safety, food and nutrition, transportation, and more. With each update, the service adds approximately 2,500 articles that reflect the enormous diversity of federal interests.
• National Journal Group's Policy Central (Harvard Login) more... less... National Journal’s Policy Central is a collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy, including the National Journal with archives dating back to 1977; the Hotline, a daily briefing on U.S. politics; CongressDaily, a twice daily update on activity in the U.S. Congress; Technology Daily; Poll Track; Markup Reports; Ad Spotlight; and the Almanac of American Politics.
• CQ Press Electronic Library (Harvard Login) A comprehensive reference resource for research in U.S. politics, elections, government, and public policy. Includes CQ Weekly, the Washington Information Directory, Congressional, Federal, Judicial Staff Directories, CQ Researcher, the Congress Collection, Voting and Elections Collection, and more. more... less... A comprehensive reference resource for research in U.S. politics, elections, government, and public policy. Includes CQ Weekly, the Washington Information Directory, Congressional, Federal, Judicial Staff Directories, CQ Researcher, the Congress Collection, Voting and Elections Collection, and more.
• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Non-classified GAO reports are available online or via the GAO's iPhone app.

Working Papers

If you're looking for works in progress or articles that have been accepted, but not yet published, here are some places to search.

• SSRN: Social Science Research Network SSRN contains both full text and abstracts of forthcoming and scholarly working papers--as well as published articles--in a full range of social science disciplines: law, economics, management, negotiation, politics, etc.
• BePress BePress is another academic repository that contains both published and working papers.
• World Bank Policy Research Working Papers A collection of policy research working papers, policy research reports, and world development reports in the World Bank's Archives.
• Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Working Paper Series Index to HKS working papers on research in a number of areas related to public policy.

Grey Literature

"Grey Literature" refers to documents produced by entities that are not primarily publishers. It can include reports, memos, working papers and internal documents. These research guides give some good sources and tips for locating these types of materials. 

• Grey Literature Research Guide (University of Michigan)
• Grey Literature Research Guide (NYU)

Looking for a report written by a think tank, non-profit, or other NGO? The links below include tools that can help you search across think tank sites, find organizations by topic, and more.

If you know which organization you're looking for, you can of course go directly to an organization's website. If you have trouble finding something you think should exist on a specific site, remember it's easy to create a custom search engine with Google. For example, if you are looking for the recent Rand report Planning for an Aging Nation, you would type the following into the search box:

"Planning for an Aging Nation" site:rand.org

This will limit your search to just Rand's website. You can limit your search further to just results in PDF by running the following search:

"Planning for an Aging Nation" site:rand.org filetype:pdf

• UNC Think Tank Google Search This custom Google search engine allows you to search across 300 of the most important US and international think tanks.
• HKS Think Tanks Directory The Kennedy School Library's directory of think tanks covers US and International organizations.
• Think Tank Rankings (International Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania) Global directory of top think tanks by region, subject, and special achievement, i.e. most innovative proposals, best new think tank.
• NIRA - National Institute for Research Advancement (Japan, 2005) Directory A worldwide directory of think tanks that provides descriptions of the organizations' work, operating budgets, and officers.
• Master Government List of Federally Funded R&D Centers (National Science Foundation)

News Sources

• Nexis Uni (Harvard Key) Nexis Uni contains major newspapers and magazines with coverage for about the last 30 years.
• Proquest Historical Newspapers If you're looking for older news stories, Proquest may have it. Its coverage includes the New York Times, Washington Post, and WSJ, as well as several other major regional US and African American newspapers dating from the 19th-late 20th centuries.
• Widener Collection of Newspapers on Microfilm If you're in the Boston area, remember that Widener Library has a large collection of newspapers on microfilm including regional and local titles.
• Factiva Factiva is a database of over 8,000 business and news publications, most in full text. Sources are in 22 languages, date back as far as 1969, and include trade journals, newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, and others), media programs, and company and stock reports more... less... Factiva is a database of over 8,000 business and news publications, most in full text. Sources are in 22 languages, date back as far as 1969, and include trade journals, newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, and others), media programs, and company and stock reports. Find information on over 22,000 public and private companies including description, history, current stock quote, financial data, competitors, and the latest news on business activities. Search publications by title, industry, geographic locations, type, and language.
• National Journal Group's Policy Central (Harvard Login) National Journal’s Policy Central is a collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy, including the National Journal with archives dating back to 1977; the Hotline, a daily briefing on U.S. politics; CongressDaily, a twice daily update on activity in the U.S. Congress; Technology Daily; Poll Track; Markup Reports; Ad Spotlight; and the Almanac of American Politics. more... less... National Journal’s Policy Central is a collection of resources on U.S. politics and policy, including the National Journal with archives dating back to 1977; the Hotline, a daily briefing on U.S. politics; CongressDaily, a twice daily update on activity in the U.S. Congress; Technology Daily; Poll Track; Markup Reports; Ad Spotlight; and the Almanac of American Politics.

Current Awareness

If you're following an issue, there are a number of ways to keep up on developments. Lexis and Westlaw both have alerting services that will send you an email when there are new results for a search you've run. Some general academic databases listed in this guide also have alerting services. 

• Lexis alerts Set up a Lexis alert to be notified when new results are available for a search. You can set alerts in most database types and for new Shepard's results.
• Justia's BlawgSearch Find legal blogs in your research areas to follow, or search across the legal blogosphere. Either way you can subscribe to results with your favorite RSS reader.
• Google News Search news sites with Google and subscribe to the results.
• ABA Blawg Directory Browse by region to find local law blogs

U.S. Government Agencies

• Federal Agency Directory (Louisiana State University Library Online directory created as partnership between LSU and the Federal Library Depository Project
• Leadership Connect (Harvard Login) Leadership Directories, also known as Yellow Books, contain current contact information for the leaders of major U.S. government, business, professional and nonprofit organizations. more... less... Leadership Directories researches contact and biographical data for hundreds of thousands of thought leaders in America - with emails, phone numbers, addresses, and background information. It provides web-based directories with in-depth organization profiles and verified contact information from companies, government agencies, Congressional offices, law firms, news media outlets, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits.
• State and Local Government on the Web Links by state and subject.

International Agencies

• List on IGOs (Northwestern University) Comprehensive guide to Intergovernmental Organizations compiled by librarians at Northwestern Univerisity
• Duke Searchable NGO Database This is a selected searchable database of NGOs.
• International Organizations (United States Institute for Peace) Alphabetical list of international organizations.
• Yearbook of International Organizations Online Searchable database of approximately 63,000 international organizations. more... less... The Yearbook of International Organizations Online is a searchable database of approximately 63,000 international organizations. The information for each organization includes name, address, biographical information for company officers, history and aims, personnel and finances. All types of organizations are included such as formal structures, informal networks, professional bodies and recreational clubs.
• Worldwide NGO Directory

Think Tanks

Interest groups and associations.

• CQ Guide to Interest Groups and Lobbying in the U.S. Overview and analysis of interest groups and lobbying in American politics from the 18th century to the present.
• OpenSecrets Open Secrets tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy, and includes federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available
• Political Advocacy Groups: A Directory of United States Lobbyists Online directory of lobbying groups organized by subject.
• data.census.gov The U.S. Census Bureau’s online tool for accessing population, economic, geographic and housing information.
• Court Statistics Project The CSP collects and analyzes data relating to the work and caseloads of US courts.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States An authoritative and comprehensive summary of historical statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations, covering the years 1889-2011. Historical supplements include statistics from the colonial era through 1970.
• ICPSR The ICPSR, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. All ICPSR datasets at Harvard University are maintained by the IQSS Dataverse Network. (Harvard University ID and PIN required).
• The Supreme Court Database A the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1953 and 2008 terms. Examples include the identity of the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed, the parties to the suit, the legal provisions considered in the case, and the votes of the Justices.
• Proquest Statistical Insight (Harvard Login) indexes and abstracts of the statistical content of selected publications of U.S. federal and state agencies, non-governmental associations, commercial publishers, universities, and international, research and business organizations. more... less... Proquest Statistical Insight is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts the statistical content of selected United States government publications, state government publications, business and association publications, and intergovernmental publications. The abstracts may also contain a link to the full text of the table and/or a link to the agency's web site where the full text of the publication may be viewed and downloaded.
• Statistics Sources This resource indexes statistical resources alphabetically, topically and geographically, including international sources. It is available in print in the reference room at HA1 .S7.
• WDI Online (World Development Indicators) WDI (World Development Indicators) Online contains statistical data from the World Bank for almost 600 development indicators and time series data from 1960 for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. more... less... WDI (World Development Indicators) Online contains statistical data from the World Bank for almost 600 development indicators and time series data from 1960 for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. Results can be scaled, indexed against a particular year, viewed by percentage change, and charted. Data can be exported in Excel.

Public Opinion

• American National Election Studies ANES contains downloadable data sets for U.S. elections and public opinion from 1948 to the present.
• Gallup Analytics (Harvard Login) The Gallup Brain is a searchable record of more than 70 years of public opinion and includes answers to hundreds of thousands of questions, and responses from millions of people interviewed by The Gallup Poll since 1935. more... less... Fully searchable records of Daily U.S. Data - economic, well-being, and political data collected daily since 2008 of 1,000+ interviews; World Poll Data - economic, social, and well-being data collected annually since 2005 in 160+ countries, 1.5 million+ interviews worldwide; and Gallup Brain - historical Gallup trends on thousands of topics from the U.S. and world dating back to the 1930s.
• General Social Survey The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades.
• The Roper Center Public Opinion Archives The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is a leading archive of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The data held range from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented.
• Pew Research Center for People and the Press The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent, non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues.

Additional Data & Public Opinion Sources

• Databases for Statistical Research (Harvard Law School Library
• Harvard Library Data Research Guides
• Public Opinion Data Sources (Harvard Library)

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Public Policy Research Paper

View sample Public Policy Research Paper. Browse other research paper examples and check the list of political science  research paper topics for more inspiration. If you need a research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Also, chech our custom research proposal writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

I. Introduction

Academic writing, editing, proofreading, and problem solving services, get 10% off with 24start discount code, ii. public administration as a foundation for the study of public policy, iii. open-systems administration, iv. stages models of public policy, v. agenda setting, vi. policy formulation and adoption, vii. decision-making models and policy formulation and adoption, viii. implementation, ix. evaluation, x. alternative models in the study of public policy, xi. future directions.

Policy studies emerged as an important focus in political science in the 1970s. In 1969, David Easton (1969), president of the American Political Science Association, was frustrated with the trend in political science research to study narrow questions that lent themselves to the quantitative methods expected by the behavioral movement. Thus, he called for a postbehavioral revolution where political scientists would study the most important political problems of the day even when quantitative methodologies could not be employed. Easton’s call served as a catalyst for policy research that sought to explain and predict policy patterns as well as to evaluate the relative impact of various types of policy solutions.

This research paper discusses a variety of approaches to the study of public policy and shows how the public administration and public policy subfields are closely related and at times intertwined. At the time of Easton’s call for relevance, the public administration subfield had declined as a prominent subfield in the discipline. The behavioral movement had prevailed in expectations for quantitative research, and public administration had not moved toward a grand theory or wed itself to quantitative methods. However, it had gravitated toward more policy-relevant models and concepts that were important foundations for the emerging field of public policy.

One of the policy subfield’s great advantages for those interested in government and politics is its interdisciplinary and holistic focus. Research is broad ranging and borrows heavily from the work of neighboring subfields and other academic disciplines. This can be found in its use of ideas such as systems theory, plural and elite models, subsystems concepts, and decision-making research.

Over the last four decades, a number of strands of policy research have developed as the subfield has matured. This research paper uses the policy stages framework to organize most of the literature discussed. However, a few of the newer policy frameworks follow this discussion in the alternative models and future directions sections of this research paper.

Policy and administration studies have many areas of overlapping interest. Michael Nelson (1977) suggested that the popularity of policy studies was temporal and it was more a modified version of public administration than a new subfield. A close study shows that the two fields do have substantial overlap, and a review of public administration literature is important to one’s understanding of public policy.

American scholarly attention to public administration dates back to the late 1800s when Woodrow Wilson (1887) wrote his classic essay calling for the development of a career public service. An increase in the professionalism of government administration was necessary to meet the increasing quantity and complexity of government activities. He encouraged comparative study of administration and argued that since administration is distinct from politics, the United States could examine administrative practices of European monarchies without fear of undermining its democratic form of government.

Wilson’s work was written around the same time that the path-breaking German sociologist Max Weber conducted his seminal studies on bureaucracy. Weber (1946) and Wilson (1887) each posited principles of efficiency, centralized authority, hierarchical structures, educated workers, and application of expertise to administration. Weber saw the development of bureaucracy as a natural corollary to modern government and asserted that its rule-driven decisions supported the rule of law and egalitarian values of democracy. The classical model of administration was further developed by scholars who participated in the scientific management and principles schools of administration. Scholars such as Luther Gulick, Frederick Taylor, and Leonard White reinforced the view of bureaucracy as a rational, efficient, hierarchical machine. This paradigm contributed to the sense that administration and policy were conducted in separate spheres and that organizations were controlled by the administrator at the top of the organization’s hierarchy. A careful reading of the early scholars, especially Wilson and Weber, shows that they realized the line between policy and politics was not as distinct as later scholars’ attributions. Wilson (1887) discussed the need for public opinion to be a guide for administrators but also stated that administrators should have some discretionary authority. Weber (1946) cautioned that bureaucrats would use their wealth of information and knowledge to their advantage, observed that bureaucrats were likely to categorize specialized information as official secrets, and warned that an authoritative monarch would be powerless opposite an administrative expert.

By the mid-1900s, many administration scholars challenged the classical model and its primary attention to structure, formal rules, and hierarchy within a single organization. Instead, open-systems scholars discussed the influence of other systems on the political system and how changes in the environment required organizations to adapt. Philip Selznick (1949) in his study, TVA and the Grass Roots, revealed how significantly local grassroots organizations and interests can affect an agency implementing public policy. He showed how organizations have to consider threats from external organizations and interests. One strategy to lessen or neutralize the threat was co-optation. Organizations incorporated dissident parties either formally or informally into their decision-making structures. These representatives provided increased legitimacy by expanding the perspectives that made up the decision-making body. Ideally, the representative also communicated information favorably back to the external group. When necessary, agency officials changed policy requirements to reduce external hostility to their programs. Since these policy changes occurred without participation of elected officials, a more positive view of co-optation suggested that it increased the level of democratic participation at the local level. Selznick’s contributions to an understanding of the important role of external influences, implementation, and intergovernmental complexity have been significant contributions to the study of public policy.

In addition, the open-systems model encouraged thinking about organizations as organisms rather than human machines. Thus, to understand organizations, scholars need to study both formal and informal elements rather than rely on the overwhelming emphasis that the classical model places on formal structures. Chester Barnard (1938) posited that executives and scholars must seek to understand an organization’s people, customs, myths, and values as much as the organization’s structure and rules.

The open-systems model of administration continues to contribute to policy scholarship. It helps to show that policies are not self-implementing and that the administrative variable has an independent impact on the effectiveness of programs. Policy scholars are still coming to terms with the nexus of formal and informal elements of the policy process, and the institutional and constructivist scholars are currently building on the insights of Barnard and others.

As the public policy subfield was developing, it relied heavily on case studies that permitted holistic examination of a single policy. These case studies suggested important generalizations about the policy process that extended the focus of policy scholars to include the examination of the political and administrative processes that preceded and followed formal adoption of policy. Very early in the subfield, a stages heuristic became the dominant model. The stages model typically identified agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, and policy evaluation as the sequential processes of the model (Anderson, 1975; Jones, 1970). Theoretical case studies of the stages contributed to increased understanding of the policy process, especially in the areas of agenda setting, implementation, and evaluation, which had previously received less attention from political scientists than policy formulation and adoption. As useful as the stages heuristic was in organizing the policy subfield, it fell prey to intense criticism for a variety of reasons: no causal theory, insufficient research guidance, too little multistage research, insufficient hypothesis generation, imprecise prediction, and too much linearity (Sabatier, 1991). However, it should be noted that even the scholars who were most closely associated with developing the model clearly indicated that the stages often were not distinct in actual practice and their order and characteristics could be quite varied (Anderson; Jones).

More than four decades later, the stages heuristic continues to anchor a substantial amount of policy research. The processes involved in getting the attention of the government, building coalitions of support, navigating the formal processes of policy adoption, crafting implementation, and modifying the policy over time continue to be essential elements of policy study even for those who are employing other, newer approaches.

Studies of agenda setting have tried to discern why some issues are given serious attention by government and others are not. Even among those that do receive serious attention, the question arises as to why some issues move quickly to reach agenda status and others take much longer. Thus, policy scholars sought to delineate the circumstances that make it more or less likely for a problem to be recognized and attended to by public officials.

Cobb and Elder (1975) observed the variation in the ability of groups to gain access to public officials and argued that this access influenced whether an issue was elevated to the formal agenda of a governmental entity. By the time public policy became a serious subfield, the importance of differential access to public officials had already been explored by the work of Schattschneider (1960). His work drew attention to the uneven participation in governmental decisions. His findings, that business interests and upper classes dominated public policy participation, flew in the face of the traditional pluralists’ claims of policy openness. It also elevated examination of how governmental leaders moved some issues onto the agenda and blocked others. Two years later, another pivotal study added to this point by developing the concept of “nondecisions” and arguing that the blocking of certain issues from advancing onto the agenda is an important type of policy power that needs to be studied even if it is difficult to observe (Bachrach & Baratz, 1962). Bachrach and Baratz assert that disadvantaged groups are less likely to demand change when existing policies benefit widely accepted and powerful interests.

How a problem is defined affects whether and how public officials address it. Schattschneider (1960) was a very early voice in discussing this dimension of the policy process in his delineation of public versus private problems. To gain legitimacy and thereby earn a spot on the agenda, issues needed to be defined as public problems. When issues were judged to be inappropriate for governmental attention, there was little chance that the issue would move beyond a private issue (Eyestone, 1978). Problem-definition research also placed perception and belief systems within the study of policy. Symbolic interactionists in sociology made the foundational contribution to this approach, arguing that human beings act on the basis of meanings they attach to things rather than on factual, objective definitions. This emphasis has found new energy in work by Stone (1988) and more recent scholars using the constructivist approach (Schneider & Sidney, 2009).

The multiple streams model articulated by Kingdon (1984) is sometimes given status as an independent approach to policy studies. It examines three separate streams of activity: problems, policies, and politics. These three dimensions of the policy process progress relatively independently of one another but occasionally couple, usually as a result of a policy entrepreneur who senses the opportunity to connect a problem with a policy proposal. When the political timing is right, the entrepreneur will push the coupled problem and solution through the policy window. Speed is important since the policy window of opportunity usually does not stay open long. Thus, agenda setting is intimately tied to an available solution and a political opportunity. This model is an excellent example of how public administration has contributed to the policy subfield since it is an adaptation of the so-called garbage can model advanced by three public administration scholars in their analysis of organizational processes and choice (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972).

Kingdon (1984) heightened the importance of politically capable individuals who he termed policy entrepreneurs. Policy entrepreneurs are opportunists who take advantage of crises or unanticipated events to push their policy proposals. Or they might take advantage of existing coalitions and work to soften up key policy communities. Another strategy is to modify the definition of the problem in order to take advantage of potential support to successfully push the proposal through the window. Ultimately, the entrepreneur is most successful when he or she is able to take advantage of political events or the national mood to promote a good idea that is technically feasible, consistent with core values, fiscally tolerable, and politically acceptable. However, there are many instances where issues fail to achieve or retain agenda status. Reasons for this include financial cost, lack of acceptance by the public or policy elites, opposition of powerful interests, and dominance of other issues (Kingdon).

Policy formulation focuses on the drafting and consideration of proposals by an attentive policy community while policy adoption refers to the passage of the proposal through the formal institutions that have the authority to adopt the policy. This part of the larger policy cycle received the most scholarly attention prior to the development of the policy subfield. It is closely associated with the institutions of government and is typically considered the key decision in the policy process.

In the multiple streams model, it is evident that the first three stages of the policy cycle—agenda setting, formulation, and adoption—take place more or less concurrently. Policy formulation itself focuses on the cognitive analysis and politics of designing a statute or other type of policy decision. The issue of rationality was a major focus of administration scholars in the middle of the 20th century. However, the debate between those arguing for rationality and against it continues. Today, rational choice theorists argue that a rational choice model is the best heuristic for studying, understanding, and predicting the outcomes of policy participants (Ostrom, 2007). The competing view is that scholars need to analyze language and political calculation to better understand the formulation and adoption processes (Allison, 1971; Halperin, 1974; Kingdon, 1984; Schneider & Sidney, 2009; Stone, 1988).

Many models incorporate both rational and political elements. Perhaps this is because the process itself incorporates both rational and political elements. Using a bounded rationality approach, policy analysts develop policy options, predict impacts, and oversee evaluation studies. But on the other side of the equation, political brokers approach the political landscape strategically, using data and analysis as well as other tactics to secure majorities at each stage in the adoption process.

One of the areas of greatest interest to policy scholars is the advocacy and policy design role of executive-legislative-interest group networks. Early scholars of political science advanced a number of models related to interest groups. One of the most noteworthy was David Truman (1951), who concluded that significant interests would organize to influence policies of concern to them. According to Truman and other pluralists, government’s role was often one of facilitating and legitimating group compromise. In addition, pluralists suggested that executive agencies often participated in the bargaining, protecting their interests similar to any other group.

Additional models of executive-legislative-interest group relations preceded the development of the policy subfield and more have been created since. All of these models include groups inside and outside of government and portray coalition formation organizing around a specific policy interest. Numerous terms have been assigned to these models, including iron triangles, subgovernments, policy subsystems, issue networks, policy monopolies, and advocacy coalitions. Each of these versions of policy communities assumes the importance of relationships among actors interested in the policy issue. These models are not exclusively used in the American political context. They have been broadly applied to research in multiple political systems by scholars in many disciplines. In the context of the United States, however, these policy communities thrive in part as a result of the decentralized and fragmented structure of its political institutions. Given the inability of the president and Congress as a whole to be informed and active participants on all issues, those issues that are not receiving widespread public attention and news coverage tend to be left to communities of people who have a deep interest in the specialized policy area.

In the 1960s, these communities were thought to be very stable relationships. In several case studies, the relationships were analyzed to be so stable that they were referred to as iron triangles (Cater, 1959). This conveys a pejorative view of the activity largely because the relationships among the governmental entities in the triangle and the interest groups were characterized as closed. New interests who wanted to communicate a competing set of demands and proposals were not acknowledged. Freeman (1955), in his studies of Indian affairs, showed how these policy subsystems brought stability to a policy area by bridging the executive and legislative branches with key interest groups. Each of these entities needed good relationships with the other two to enhance the likelihood of advancing its institutional and policy goals. This mutual dependence meant that once the subsystem emerged, its accommodations became the basis for determining which issues were placed on the agenda and which ones were not. These patterns of accommodation could be broken up by changes in committee leadership, widespread media attention to an issue in the policy area, or presidential interest. Once the visible interest in the policy topic waned, the subsystem political dynamic was likely to reemerge.

Hugh Heclo (1978) viewed the relationship between policy and administration as a vitally important one, especially as the role of government grew. He suggested that in the search for iron triangles, scholars sought to discover an exceptionally powerful and autonomous executive-legislative-interest group cluster of actors who dominated policy making by policy area. In the process, he believed that policy scholars ignored the more open and more commonly existing webs of people he referred to as issue networks. Issue networks are composed of those who are knowledgeable about the issue in terms of substantive knowledge as well as the history of its policy twists and turns. Policy knowledge is more heavily emphasized in this model, and it is the primary means through which additional participants can join this fluid web of relationships. In addition to being more fluid and episodic than subgovernments, issue networks, as shared-knowledge groups, have more points of view and conflicts than the iron triangle and subsystem frameworks. As aspects of the policy debate change, so do participants in the network. Thus, iron triangles and subsystems may still exist in some policy areas at some points in time, but the more typical pattern is one of a looser, increasingly complex kaleidoscope of policy (Heclo, 1978; Meier, 1985; Sabatier, 1991). For administrators and legislators, it provides a less stable and less predictable arrangement but one that permits greater maneuverability as well since these skilled politicians have the potential to split, expand, and recombine the many segments of the issue network. The irony of the issue network is that, when compared with iron triangles, it expands the number of participants involved, thereby making policymakers contend with more conflict among multiple points of view. It also accepts that involvement in the policy process is contingent on a greater understanding of the increased complexities of the policy area. Heclo (1978) suggests that this pattern of knowledge-based participation may actually increase the cynicism of the general public as the gap between activists and the public expands.

Heclo’s (1978) work was a pivotal change in the subfield’s orientation toward the nature and behavior of policy participants. Since Heclo, numerous scholars have articulated a variety of more diverse webs of policy participants, from Meier’s (1985) regulatory subsystem to Sabatier’s (1988) advocacy coalition framework. In the final analysis, though, whether one uses a looser, more episodic network or a more centralized and stable subsystem, the general public has virtually no role in any of the models. Given the level of specialized learning necessary to truly engage in the conversation among participants in the policy process, the general public’s role is minimal unless the issue somehow ignites widespread interest.

In the early literature on decision making, rationality was elevated to a normative standard. Operations research during World War II contributed to an expectation for clear, measureable objectives, extensive research, and, ideally, evaluation of choices based on evidence. The rational-comprehensive model that emerged ideally required the clarification and prioritizing of objectives, followed by identifying a comprehensive range of options for achieving the ranked objectives, analyzing the capacity of each option to maximize ranked objectives, and choosing the alternative that best achieves the objective at the least cost. This model has continued to retain its normative appeal, but scholars have repeatedly shown that actual decisions are not made this way. Lindblom (1959) argued that the model breaks down in its first step since people find it exceedingly difficult to agree on the relative priorities of values and goals. In the public realm, policymakers must wrestle with conflicting values among the various participants involved. Even the thinking of a single participant often includes conflicting and unresolved priorities among values. Thus, these values are not usually clarified and rank ordered prior to designing a policy. Therefore, policies often embody conflicting values. Lindblom suggested that most policy is made following a process of successive limited comparisons. Analysis is truncated to a few feasible alternatives that are incrementally different from existing practice, and choice is made based on which option receives consensual support. Pluralistic preferences and bargaining processes fit the incremental model well. Furthermore, this model can be expanded to a more intentional and strategic process for achieving substantial change since it is usually easier to achieve several successive incremental changes in policy over several years rather than attempting to secure support for major change in the first instance.

One of the most important contributors to the theories of decision making is Nobel prize winner Herbert Simon (1957). He argued that there are many reasons that rational-comprehensive models are not possible. First, information is lacking and people are not likely to be able to identify all possible alternatives. Second, the ability to accurately predict the outcomes of the many possible alternative choices is unlikely. And third, humans do not have the cognitive capacity to know and remember all that is required by the comprehensive model. Given these limitations, human beings accept what Simon terms satisficing. Under this approach to decision making, it is only necessary to find a solution that meets goals at an acceptable level rather than an optimal level.

Graham Allison’s (1971) classic work analyzing the Cuban missile crisis shows how three different models of decision making each lead to very different explanations of the crisis. His rational actor model can be compared to Simon’s bounded rationality model in that the goal is to choose the alternative that advances the national interest. The rational actor model assumes that nations function as centralized unitary actors where policy choices are made to maximize the national interest. Allison uses chess analogies to emphasize the strategic elements of the choice equation. Thus, the language of the model is of an optimizing effort, but the model recognizes the knowledge limitations and additional uncertainties that constrain choice. The advantages of this model are that it is simplified and stabilizes dramatically the information one needs to make choices. Morton Halperin (1974) emphasizes that given the number of bureaucratic departments and bureaucrats involved in decision making, it is difficult to confirm the unitary actor assumption of the model. The rational actor model assumes that all policymakers agree on the interpretation of the national interest. Halperin argued that this level of unity on what constitutes the national interest is rare in American history. One period followed World War II when the emergence of the cold war and the fear of communism solidified views of the national interest. This type of consensus also emerged for a short period after September 11, 2001.

Allison’s (1971) second model examines governmental decision making as a function of the output of organizations. The organizational process model, which borrows heavily from public administration literature, argues that organizations serve as the primary actors in governmental decision making. Given their hierarchy and centralization, each organization functions in a unified manner alongside other organizations. Under this model, analysts need to consider the outputs of multiple organizations. These outputs are the result of standard operating procedures, and organizational choices are in line with Lindblom’s model of incrementalism. The best predictor for what organizations will produce in the future is to examine the status quo. Importantly, organizational decisions and behaviors are influenced by existing routines and values of the organization.

The third model Allison (1971) advanced was the bureaucratic politics or governmental politics model. This model is probably the one most closely attributed to Allison since it was the most original of the three. Under the governmental politics model, there are numerous individual participants who influence governmental choices and behaviors. Government decisions are more resultants rather than choices since decisions are a combination of actions by numerous participants in the process. Many of the participants become part of the process as a result of an organizational affiliation that they have, and they often take actions based on the values and objectives of their organization using the action channels their organizations provide them. As each of the participants takes actions advancing their personal and organizational interests, they may be involved in overt bargaining with other participants. Equally often, though, participants are inclined to take the actions permitted by their position in the system. The governmental decision is really the interaction and summation of all of these independent decisions rather than coordinated intention. Obviously, this model of decision making is not based on a single set of organizational or national values. Pluralistic values and actions dominate the process.

Just as public administration scholarship was important to the understanding of agenda setting, it also plays a central role in formulation and adoption processes. Both the subsystem and network approaches and the decision-making approaches rely heavily on public administration literature and concepts. The level of bureaucratic participation in policy making becomes even more the focus of policy making in the implementation of public policy.

Implementation includes the administrative activities that convert a statute or other authoritative policy into a functioning program. Traditionally, implementation was characterized as a simple process of following the directives in the statute, administrative rule, executive order, or court ruling. Since early studies assumed that this took place without much delay or discrepancy from the policy’s intent, relatively little attention was paid to this process prior to the emergence of public policy as a subfield.

One study that stands out for being well ahead of the development of the policy subfield was sociologist Phillip Selznick’s (1949) study of the Tennessee Valley Authority. This case study is one of the few studies that provided guidance to the complexity of implementation and the degree to which the contours of a policy could be significantly altered based on the decisions of implementers. Since his study focused on organizations as organic systems that adapt to their external environment, his findings created an awareness of how external forces cause policies adopted in Washington to be altered in the field. Selznick showed how organizations were dependent on local support and how local opposition from powerful groups generated adaptations in policy.

Selznick’s (1949) study also challenged the traditional top-down view of implementation. Under the traditional top-down framework, bureaucrats function as instruments of the policymakers and respond to the command and control of those above them in a process similar to hierarchical lines of authority in a bureaucratic organization. However, scholars soon realized that implementation processes were much more complex and evolutionary than initially thought. Numerous studies showed that implementation was not faithful to the original plan for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, statutes and other formal policies often did not communicate with 100% clarity. There were gaps, overlaps, and contradictions. Thus, even if a bureaucrat was willing to function as a Weberian machine, it was typically the case that bureaucrats had to make significant decisions throughout the process of designing implementation. Even Woodrow Wilson (1887), whose work contributed to the policy–administration dichotomy framework, realized that all administrators operated with some discretion. Although the policy–administration dichotomy was successfully characterized by the public administration literature as unrealistic, policy scholars assumed the concept in their top-down implementation models until sufficient implementation case studies accumulated to convince most that the paradigm was inaccurate. Although there are still a variety of approaches to the study of implementation, most would agree that statutes are altered at least to some extent in the process of implementation. Policies are not self-implementing.

Another complexity in the implementation process that affects whether implemented programs align with statutes is that many national programs are carried out at the state and local levels, which dramatically increases the number of policy actors involved. This increase in the number of decision points creates huge difficulties for timely implementation and necessary communication and coordination. Pressman and Wildvasky (1973) masterfully show that as the number of participants and decision points increase, the likelihood of accurate implementation declines. Two-way interaction models were a reaction to the inadequacies of the top-down models. Bardach (1977) and Lipsky (1979) posit that statutes and other authoritative decisions made by policy-makers interact with decisions of implementers to create the actual policy. As implementers work through the issues of how to carry out the statute, they make choices that modify the policy. In addition, “street level” bureaucrats make use of discretionary authority as they engage in the day-to-day work of public policy. Accepting that implementation is an interactive process rather than a command and control hierarchy dictated by legislators focuses attention on the distance between a policy as originally designed or passed and the policy as implemented.

Majone and Wildavsky (1984) take the interactive model one step further in their work “Implementation as Evolution.” It posits that having the implementing agency modify the original policy design may actually produce beneficial results relative to the original goals of the statute. For example, if the original statute makes assumptions about cause and effect that are inaccurate, then having implementing bureaucrats modify the policy through implementation strategies would be a positive step as long as the changes they are making are in line with a commitment to the objectives and impacts the policy was supposed to produce. Both the implementation as evolution and the other two-way interaction approaches make it obvious how important it is to have agencies that are committed to the policy objectives.

Building on the work of all of these scholars, Mazmanian and Sabatier (1983) develop a synthetic conceptual framework to guide implementation studies as part of the larger policy process. They assert that it is necessary to examine the statute or other formal policy statement to assess its clarity of objectives, accuracy of causal assumptions, and effectiveness of decision rules provided to the implementing agencies. In addition, the researcher must appraise the sufficiency of financial resources, the specificity of the authority relationships, and formal access by outsiders. Variables beyond the statute and outside the implementing agency are also emphasized, including socioeconomic conditions, media attention, public and constituency group support, enthusiasm of higher level public authorities, and the commitment and skill of agency leaders. In addition to internal and external variables, there is also a recognition that implementation success is affected by the difficulty of the problem and the degree of change being sought.

Given the potential for significant adjustments to policy to occur as a result of implementation decisions, a diachronic approach of studying policies over a decade or more is recommended. Without a long-term view, the ability to understand the evolution of policy as it occurs in implementation will be incomplete.

Most stage models of public policy end with evaluation, the systematic assessment of the policy’s impact. Importantly, policies need to be examined for both intended and unintended consequences. Evaluations are completed by the implementers themselves and by external policy analysts. Internal evaluations conducted by the implementing agency have the benefit of getting those who work with the policy on a day-to-day basis to recognize problems and propose solutions. Evaluations by outside analysts tend to bring external perspectives to the process and may possess increased legitimacy from the perspective of elected officials. One trend in the last several decades is for more ideologically affiliated think tanks to publish external policy analyses. These are usually provided with a particular point of view and thus do not necessarily offer the benefits of other external evaluations.

Distinctions should also be made between the evaluation of policy outputs and policy outcomes. Analysis of outputs draws attention to whether the administrative processes are in place through such measures as number and types of clients served. Outcomes refer to whether the policy is achieving desired results on policy goals as well as other unintended impacts.

For policy scholars, impact and outcome studies have received more interest than output studies. Scholars have also sought to understand how policy analysis leads to revisions, transformation, or termination of policies by elected officials. As could be seen in the previous discussion of implementation, revision of policy is often ongoing from the beginning of implementation decisions. However, most stage models have viewed evaluation as isolated from implementation and as more associated with the judgments of policy-impact recommendations for policy revisions. There is a tendency for this stage to look something like the feedback loop of the political systems model.

Systematic policy analysis grew as an important part of the policy process during the 1960s as government attempted to apply economic theory to policy making. Cost–benefit analysis, operations research, and various program performance measures incorporated in budgeting processes were primary tools of the effort. Thus, this part of the policy process is most closely associated with rational models of decision making. It was not unusual for program evaluation and periodic reporting to be statutorily required to assist in legislative oversight and budgeting processes. As the national government expanded the number of large domestic programs, along with detailed prescriptions and administration, collected evidence mounted that the programs were not achieving their lofty goals. Accountability continues as a common refrain today, but the capacity to systematically evaluate programs and to redesign them with effective performance measures has not been as easy or as successful as hoped. Once again, it is possible to see the tension between expectations for rational decision making as the vehicle for better policies and the reality that suggests there are significant human and organizational limitations to rationality. Even when systematic analysis is required, the uncertainty surrounding appropriate measures and the interpretation of results make evaluation as much politics as science.

Deborah Stone (1988), one of the leading critics of rational models of public policy, advanced a concept she termed policy paradox. She argued that politicians typically have dual goals: policy objectives and political objectives. Furthermore, she observed that analysis itself is political since it is rife with framing, definitions, and interpretations. Political participants frequently articulate an argument that on its face appears linear and rational but on closer examination appears constructed to achieve a political purpose. She offered the concept of political reasoning, rather than rational decision making, to understand the struggles of policy communities competing over which ideas, policy definitions, and corresponding solutions will prevail.

A closely related facet of the evaluation literature is the attention given to the use of knowledge generated through policy analysis. Generally, scholars have concluded that knowledge is not the most important dimension of policy decisions. Politics and the limitations of human and organizational capacity intervene (Simon, 1957). Even when decision makers seek information to help make policy, it is frequently questioned, interpreted in different ways, expensive, and incomplete. Although many write very pessimistically about the lack of use of policy knowledge, Carol Weiss (1977) argued that policy knowledge has been successfully used to identify problems, reconsider policy strategies, and provide an enlightenment function. Through the enlightenment process, information accumulates and causes policymakers to redefine the problem, retroactively make sense of why programs did not succeed, or readjust policy objectives to more realistic levels. Finally, policy knowledge is more likely to be used when it is timely and when participants see strategic benefit in doing so.

In 1991, Paul Sabatier criticized the stages heuristic and challenged the field to develop better models. Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1993) put forward an alternative heuristic referred to as the advocacy coalition framework. They suggested that the stages model is too simplistic given the number of participants, institutions, and influences in the policy process. In their more complex model, they incorporate governmental and nongovernmental institutions, external conditions and events, and the multiples webs of these entities that align or compete with each other to influence policy. Furthermore, whereas the stages heuristic signals that policy follows a linear process, the advocacy coalition framework sees policies as nonlinear and rarely terminating. Multiple policies affecting the policy domain overlap and affect one another, as do policy implementations at multiple levels of government. Researchers who study a policy arena for several decades will observe policy adaptations and eventually significant change. This occurs because of learning on the part of the participant coalitions that may compete over preferences based on different resources and belief systems. However, the advocacy coalition framework posits that the most substantial changes in policy are more likely to come from external events and conditions than from policy learning. To be able to witness this, scholars must be prepared to follow a policy area for several decades since advocacy coalitions tend to be relatively stable. Some scholars (Lester & Stewart, 2000) see the advocacy coalition framework as a development within evaluation research that could be incorporated within the stages model, but Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1993) claim that the model provides an important and enhanced alternative model.

Another model of note is the punctuated-equilibrium framework (Baumgartner & Jones, 1993). This model is similar to the advocacy coalition model in terms of the need to look at policy over long periods of time since most policy follows incremental change and relatively stable patterns over many years before incurring major change. Major punctuations occur in the context of changed beliefs among the policy community and often a new venue for implementation. Once implemented, equilibrium is reestablished, and the policy arena goes back to a lengthy period of stability. The punctuated-equilibrium model also draws attention to the importance of institutions since they tend to help ingrain the results of the dominant coalition and to resist pressures for change.

Elinor Ostrom (2007) and many others articulate a preference for a model of institutional rational choice. This model builds on the discipline’s traditional emphasis on institutional structures and rules. Ostrom argued that institutions should be defined as rules, norms, and strategies that characterize entities with repeated processes. Rules dictate who has advantages in the pursuit of policy preferences and frequently determine who the major players are in the policy. This model also examines the hierarchical ordering of rules. Thus, constitutional rules influence options for players at other levels of policy choice all the way down to the operational, day-to-day decisions of policy actors. Rules can take the form of formal, written provisions or can be norms based on shared understandings by participants or guides that individuals develop to direct their own behaviors. These working rules help to provide stability in the midst of uncertainty. Once the study of levels and types of rules is achieved, the researcher can make probabilistic predictions using rational choice analysis. This model brings attention back to the formal versus informal distinction that was made by administration scholars many decades earlier.

One must ask whether any of the models will rise to a position of dominance in the near future. Given that scholars agree that the policy process is complex and patterns of human behavior are varied, the search for a dominant, robust, parsimonious model is unlikely to be successful. This effort is also exacerbated by the number of contributing disciplines to the subfield. Frustration over this situation is also likely to continue. Perhaps Kenneth Meier (2009) captures it best when he complains that there are so many models, their ability to guide research is analogous to the interstate highway system’s ability to guide a vacation. A more positive point of view may come from the realization that there is a lot of overlap among the various models. For example, the advocacy coalition framework, stages framework, punctuated equilibria model, and the institutional rational choice model all describe the importance of institutional structures, political brokers, external influences, and shared meanings.

Looking at policy processes more holistically and studying policies over the long term to incorporate evolution and change are recent trends in policy research that are likely to continue in the future. The role of beliefs and the processes leading to shared meanings also appear to be increasing in importance (Schneider & Ingram, 1997). It remains to be seen whether future studies integrate policy and public administration models. The literature of the two subfields has numerous parallels. Very few policies can be implemented without the significant involvement of an administrative system. The fact that the same policy can produce such different results across different implementing subunits (e.g., states, counties, or schools) suggests that agencies and individuals make a huge difference. Leadership styles and administrative cultures may offer vital insight to explaining the variation (Hicklin & Godwin, 2009; Robichau & Lynn, 2009).

Given the large number of models and participating disciplines, the methodologies employed in the subfield will continue to range from qualitative to quantitative. The quantitative methods employed in large-N comparative studies and some evaluation studies are likely to continue, as are the more qualitative methods of case studies and language analysis approaches. This is not necessarily a negative. As Easton (1969) argued in his call for a postbehavioral revolution, the important objective is to be relevant even if it means sacrificing the quantitative methods called for in the behavioral movement. Thus, a mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures is likely to continue to characterize the policy subfield.

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• Eyestone, R. (1978). From social issues to public policy. New York: Wiley.
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• Gulick, L., & Urwick, L. (Eds). (1937). Papers on the science of administration. New York: Institute of Public Administration.
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• Heclo, H. (1978). Issue networks and the executive establishment. In A. King (Ed.), The new American political system (pp. 87-124). Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.
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Top 20: Public Policy Topics

This list comprises, in no particular order, the topics on the mind of faculty, staff, and students as we finish up 2019 and head into a new decade and the 2020 elections. Many experts at Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy experts weighed in on these topics this year. 

Michigan leaders worried about possible effects of next recession “While no one knows when the next recession will hit or how bad it will be, the economic growth clock is ticking.” – Thomas Ivacko, associate director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

Stevenson debunks five myths about the Fed in Washington Post “When we look at the data, we are not seeing how inflation and unemployment move in response to market forces; instead, we are seeing the Fed actively trying to keep inflation near its 2 percent target. So the relationship now reflects the Fed either undershooting or overshooting its rate.”  – Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy; professor of economics

10% Happier: Stevenson and Wolfers talk wealth inequality and redistribution on NewsHour

“Rich people are happier than poor people, and that’s true all the way along economic distribution.” – Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy; professor of economics

“Increases in income keep making you happier, but they’re making you happier at a decreasing rate.” – Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy; professor of economics

Wolfers’ take on Trump’s tariffs “The United States is still less protectionist than it has been throughout most of its history or than most nations are today.” – Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy; professor of economics

Environment

Democratic presidential candidates’ climate change proposals may be unrealistic, says Rabe “What this would look like, and how this would work, probably hasn’t been talked about at the dinner table in most communities. What we don’t know is whether the nominee will stay the course and keep the plan, or hedge and dial back.” – Barry Rabe, Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; professor of environmental policy; professor of political science; professor of the environment

Utilities have little financial incentive to plug methane leaks “The overwhelming lesson we’ve taken from doing this research is that the price regulations we’ve relied on in the natural gas distribution sector are out of date, given our current understanding of methane’s role in climate change.” – Catherine Hausman, assistant professor of public policy

Alternative Energy

Sarah Mills work featured on This is Michigan “Wind turbines fit better in some communities than others. It depends on what their development goals are.” – Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

Artificial Intelligence

Parthasarathy talks algorithms place in the criminal justice system “Technology is not neutral. Even when we think about how data is collected and stored and how we measure things, even that in and of itself has a bias.” – Shobita Parthasarathy, professor and director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are major risk in elections, warns Ford School PhD “Malware seeks to steal, block or alter data. It’s the kind of code used to steal your passwords or credit card numbers. And it can also steal your vote.” – Ford School doctoral student Nadiya Kostyuk and Kenneth Geers, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council

Driverless Vehicles

Ford’s Robert Hampshire forecasts the future of autonomous vehicles Given the approximation that “autonomous vehicles averaged one disengagement [emergency scenario] every 5,000 miles…you’d need around 50,000 to 100,000 employees, distributed city by city. A network like that could operate as a subscription service, or it could be a government entity, similar to today’s air traffic control system.” – Robert Hampshire, associate professor of public policy and a research associate professor in both the U-M Transportation Research Institute’s (UMTRI) Human Factors group and Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS)

Current Political Environment

Axelrod talks “don’t fall into the zero-sum trap” and other lessons on podcast “The biggest lesson for me is don’t fall into the zero-sum trap. Whenever we think of things as a rivalry or a competition, we tend to immediately fall into the simple-minded thinking that it’s a zero-sum game…it’s usually opportunities that are mutually advantageous that are overlooked if you take that approach.” – Robert Axelrod, member of the National Academy of Sciences and former MacArthur Prize Fellow,  Walgreen Professor for the Study of Human Understanding at the University of Michigan. Axelrod has appointments in the Department of Political Science and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

National Debt

Lowering national debt is as easy as 1, 2, $4.95 billion! “The longer we wait to do so, the more burden the current generation will have to take on compared to the baby boomer generation.” – Tyler Evilsizer, Deputy Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) and guest speaker at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Immigration

Withdrawing from the Flores Agreement could keep immigration lawyers in dark, Vieux says “We’re going to see a lot more people detained for longer periods of time in facilities that are not licensed, and significant physical- and mental-health ramifications for the children that we serve.” – Hardy Vieux (MPP/JD ’97), Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and vice president, legal at Human Rights First

Health Care

Iovan and Lantz discuss their latest research on super-utilizers “There are two major reasons behind the drive to reduce emergency care use. First, the emergency department is not the best place to receive primary care. Super-utilizers use the ED for a number of reasons other than having a medical emergency.” – Paula Lantz, associate dean for Academic Affairs; professor of Public Policy, James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy

“Many studies of super-utilizers find that health care use and costs go down the year after the intervention. However, a big problem is that we see this even without an intervention. This is in part because the people in the ‘super-utilizer’ group change somewhat from year to year.”- Samantha Iovan, staff at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

“We really want to stress the importance of conducting more high-quality evaluation research in this area. These patients certainly have many medical and social needs that have to be addressed, but the current research literature does not provide the evidence to support claims that super-utilizer interventions that are spreading across health care systems are actual working.” – Mahshid Abir, Department of Emergency Medicine at U-M Medical School

Shaefer warns of Medicaid work requirement risks “This should include the highest-quality experimental or quasi-experimental testing of employment, health outcomes and economic impact. Doing so would set Michigan apart in its commitment to really understanding the full impact of work requirements.” – H. Luke Shaefer, PhD, director of Poverty Solutions at U-M, and associate professor at the University of Michigan, School of Social Work, and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Marianne Udow-Phillips, executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation

Ivacko discusses opioid interventions on Michigan Radio “If they don’t have someone to turn to or a helping hand in these difficult times, it’s just that much harder for them to try to take a step forward.” – Thomas Ivacko, associate director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

Levitsky warns of consequences from marijuana legalization in Michigan “Keeping marijuana products away from vulnerable youth will require more vigilance and state and local intervention than when marijuana was banned.” – Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice at the Ford School, and Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)

Ivacko makes sense of the recreational marijuana ‘haze’ If a chief of police or county sheriff feels it’s important to follow federal law, and a county administrator or a city mayor feels it’s important to follow state law, well, that’s a tough place to be for public officials. And so, opting out, you know, is a way to avoid those kinds of challenges.” – Thomas Ivacko, associate director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

National Security

Ali proposes a commission to fight domestic terror “Our country still faces the possibility of additional attacks that will raise the same questions about why the government is not doing more to stop the violence.” – Javed Ali, a Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Josh Kirshner, former special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

Scott Atran et al look at cognitive triggers for extremist violence through brain scans “In this new effort, we sought to learn more about what goes on in the minds of people who have expressed a willingness to die for a cause that is based on sacred values—in this case, sympathizers of an Al-Qaeda associate called Lashkar-et Taiba.” – Scott Atran, adjunct research professor

Pilkauskas finds Earned Income Tax Credit helps low-income moms live on their own “The rule of thumb is that it is generally good to pay less than 30% of your income in rent—but in our study, half of mothers paid more than 50% of their earnings on rent. Increasing the EITC by $1,000 reduced severe housing cost burdens by 5 percentage points.” – Natasha Pilkaukas, assistant professor of public policy

Poverty Solutions & CLOSUP new report find local officials believe many Michigan residents struggle to make ends meet “Economic recovery across Michigan in the wake of the Great Recession has been uneven.  Despite a very low unemployment rate, this survey finds poverty and economic hardship are widespread and common challenges exist in all kinds of communities.” – Tom Ivacko, associate director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy

Natasha Pilkaukas’ research on three-generation household receives Michigan Minds spotlight “I’m really interested in thinking about what we can do to help children thrive. Who is in the household matters for kids.” – Natasha Pilkaukas, assistant professor of public policy

Higher Education

Dynarski’s work on school day SAT testing cited in Inside Higher Ed analysis of the 2019 test results “Universal testing alone will not get disadvantaged students into college. But it produces small, discernible increases in college attendance, especially at four-year colleges.” – Susan Dynarski, a professor of public policy, education and economics

Seefeldt offers insight on student debt trends on Michigan Radio “So while [these students] may be qualifying for financial aid, financial aid has not kept pace with rising college costs. So you have students who have more need, but the types of grants and aid we can give them is just not there.” – Kristin Seefeldt, professor of public policy and social work

Jason Owen-Smith warns of “serious risks” when universities cater to an industry “I think a narrow focus that closely aligns university work with near-term business needs is perilous.” – Jason Owen-Smith, professor of sociology and public policy

Alternative Transportation

Hampshire receives National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator grant Robert Hampshire, associate professor of public policy at the Ford School and associate research professor at Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), was awarded a $948,182 grant by the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator (C-Accel) to study how all Americans’ quality of life and economic prosperity can be improved by recent transportation innovations like ridesourcing and driverless vehicles.

K-12 Education

More harm than good? Professor Brian Jacob criticizes the continued turnover of accountability systems for Michigan schools I think we need more stability in the political and policy environment…to allow the people on the ground to focus on the actual work at hand.” – Brian Jacob, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy; professor of public policy; professor of economics; professor of education

Infrastructure

Leiser and Mills contribute to resources for new Michigan Lead and Copper Rule “As part of a project led by the University of Michigan’s Water Center and funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation, we have explored some of the challenges associated with financing LSL replacement under the revised Lead and Copper Rule.” – Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Stephanie Leiser, lecturer at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Who makes the call? Thacher and Gillooly advocate for 911 operator training “There is a lot of ambiguity on the part of callers, and it would rarely be appropriate to criminally punish them, because there are just so many judgment calls.” – David Thacher, associate professor of public policy and urban planning

“Operators need agency support to train them on how to handle such callers, and protocols about when calls can be appropriately rejected so as to reduce operators’ liability.” – Jessica Gillooly, PhD student

Voter Turnout and Election Reform

Yusuf Neggers discusses latest research with VoxDev “We might think that these information constraints are particularly important in rural areas where you have lower literacy rates and probably lower penetration from radio, television, newspapers, that might otherwise provide information.” – Yusuf Neggers, an assistant professor of public policy

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Guide to Public Policy Research

This Guide is a link to resources for research into public policy debates.  The subpages listed to the side are intended to link to different resources necessary for understanding different aspects of public policy.

News Resources - This page has links to national and local news resources, useful for finding opinion pieces on policies as well as reporting on political developments.

Law Resources - This page has links to laws on the national, state and local levels as well as court decisions.

Policy Debate Resources - This page has information on legislative debates, information on think tanks, lobbyists and public opinion.

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• CQ : Congressional Quarterly Researcher Provides snapshots of current affairs. Single-themed reports are researched and written by experienced observers from a range of viewpoints. From 1923 to present. more... less... CQ Researcher Reports are published 44 times per year and cover political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Each 13,000-word CQ Researcher report is a unique work, investigated and written by a seasoned journalist.
• Policy Commons Policy Commons provides almost 2.5 million fulltext think-tank, agency, and city publications, including policy reports, administrative documents, books, project and campaign documents, working papers and discussion papers, journal articles, press releases, briefs, and brochures.
• Nexis Uni New version of Lexis Nexis Academic. Nexis Uni features news, business, and legal sources, radio and television transcripts, federal and state court cases, U.S. Supreme Court decisions back to 1790, and full-text law review articles. See the Newspapers Research Guide [ link https://researchguides.uic.edu/newspapers/top ] for library database coverage of the top 20 U.S. newspapers.
• PAIS Index (1914 - current) - see also: Public Affairs Information Service International Political, social, and public policy issues, especially any topics that are or might become the subject of legislation. more... less... This database is a bibliographic index with abstracts covering the full range of political, social, and public policy issues, especially any topics that are or might become the subject of legislation. Coverage includes documents published worldwide in any of six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The subject headings and abstracts are in English.
• Congress.gov Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC's Congressional Research Service.
• CRS Reports from Congress These documents were prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
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• Measure of America-SSRC Project Measure of America provides easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity in America and stimulating fact-based dialogue about issues we all care about: health, education, and living standards.

A nonpartisan fact tank that publishes public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis, and other data-driven social science research.

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• Southern Poverty Law Center A nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society.
• Urban Institute "At Urban, we believe that data and evidence are essential to shaping a more inclusive, equitable, and just society."
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45 Most Interesting Policy Essay Topics to Stand Out Among Peers

Here are some great topics on state policies. Where you have links, they lead to the review of credible sources, which you can use to write your essay (summaries and APA and MLA citations are included).

Economics essay topics

1. Does national debt pose a threat to the country? Should the government be held responsible for increasing the national debt?

2. Should the government spend part of its budget on foreign aid?

3. Should the state spend part of its budget on space exploration?  Review of credible sources on the topic. 

4. Should the rich pay a higher percentage of taxes?

5. What can increase long-run economic growth? Whose role is primary here: of a state or of business?

6. What national policies can increase the economic welfare of citizens?

7. Does globalization have a positive or negative effect on the national economy?

Justice, election, and immigration laws essay topics

8. How does the level of patriotism affect election and immigration laws? (see other ideas and sources for a  patriotism essay )

9. Is political compromise a good thing?

10. Should the electoral college exist?

11. Should the costs of election campaigns be capped?

12. Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

13. Should the death penalty be banned?  Other sociology topics .

14. Are community sentences effective in tackling crime or do they simply alternate with incarceration so that the prisons are not overcrowded?

15. What should be the state’s policy in relation to immigration? Consider both work immigrants and refugees, from Syria in particular.

Defense and homeland security essay topics

16. What should be the policy in relation to gun carry?

17. Should the state interfere with the military conflicts of other states? In what way? In what cases?

18. Are government surveillance and intelligence community infringing on the citizens’ rights?  Review of credible sources on the topic. 

19. Should intelligence be given access to social media accounts? (See other ideas and sources for a  social media essay )

20. Is the role of the media in relation to security rather positive or negative?

21. Should there be laws prohibiting hate speech? Should hate speech be regulated on the Internet?

21. Does the state do enough to ensure the security of the nation? You may narrow the focus to airports/schools/poor districts, etc.

Heath and social care essay topics

23. Should the United States change its healthcare policy? Why?  See other healthcare topics .

24. Should abortion be legal?

25. Should euthanasia be legal?

26. Should genetic engineering in humans be legal?  Review of credible sources on the topic. 

27. Should unconventional forms of medicine be part of national healthcare?

28. Should marijuana be legalized?

29. Should television commercials for alcohol be banned?

30. Should there be state regulation of fast-food chains/McDonald’s/schools’ menus?

31. Should the state regulate the price of pharmaceutical products?

32. Can/should the state tackle the issue of the high divorce rate?

33. Should the developed states address human trafficking issues? How? Can the opt-out donation system ease the situation? Should doctors be required to report the cases when people who are not on the national list receive a needed organ?  Review of credible sources on the topic. 

Labor and education laws essay topics

34. Should the state regulate the education fees of colleges and universities?

35. Does college still pay off for individual citizens?

36. Does the state benefit from a bigger number of people receiving higher education? If yes, should higher education be (a least partly) funded by the state?

37. What should be the policy of the state in relation to class size? The two options are either to pay teachers to teach large classes more or to reduce the number of students in a class by opening new schools and classes.

38. Should immigrants be required to learn the national language?

39. Some developing countries pay a high price – citizens’ health – for economic development. Should the developed states help and demand their suppliers from developing countries to comply with their labor laws?

40. Should taking vacations be compulsory?

Environmental policy essay topics

41. Should the state invest in fighting against global warming/global ecological threats when there are many countries that contribute to the worsening of the situation?

42. Should the government pass laws to make fracking illegal?

43. Should people be fined for not recycling?

44. Some people claim the policy concerning the cutting of trees is somehow ambiguous because it is difficult to say what is the primary need: logs to be used for paper, houses, and furniture or the trees. What should be the policy of the state concerning deforestation?

45. Should developed states help and demand their suppliers to comply with European norms in relation to the environment?

These topics are rather general and are meant for the general public. Alternatively, you can write about  any current political event  assessing its relevance and possibly predicting its outcomes.

It is also possible to argue for the  positive or negative effect  of a particular policy, which was introduced in the past or has been introduced recently .

You can also investigate political science theories ,  compare various state types,  or  critically evaluate the ideas of a particular political thinker .

If you need professional assistance to turn your rough draft into a winning sociology essay, consider creating an order or use an online chat to ask for essay writing help.

Good Transition Words for Essays: Enhancing Coherence and Flow

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Current Public Policy Papers

ACP public policy papers summarize and dissect published research and discussion on current issues involving clinical practice, medical education, bioethics, and health care financing and delivery, and make specific recommendations for internal medicine physicians, patients, and policy makers. Read about ACP's public policy development process .

Learn more about where ACP stands on important and timely issues:

Racial Health Disparities, Prejudice and Violence

Health care reform/access, payment/delivery system reform, health information technology, medicare and medicaid, controlling costs, improving effectiveness, prescription drugs and public health related topics, workforce and physician shortage, coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19), acp policy compendium, updated january 2024.

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• The Integration of Care for Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Other Behavioral Health Conditions into Primary Care (August 2015)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Disparities (May 2015)
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• Assessing the Patient Care Implications of "Concierge" and Other Direct Patient Contracting Practices (November 2015)
• Retail Health Clinics (October 2015)
• Health Information Privacy, Protection, and Use in the Expanding Digital Health Ecosystem (April 2021)
• Policy Recommendations to Guide the Use of Telemedicine in Primary Care Settings (September 2015)
• Clinical Documentation in the 21st Century (January 2015)
• Full Paper and Issue Brief  
• Full Paper  
• Appendix 1: Playbook
• Principles Supporting Dynamic Clinical Care Teams (September 2013)
• Full Paper and Issue Brief

All rights reserved. Individuals may reproduce all or parts of Public Policy Papers for educational, not-for-profit uses. These papers may not be reproduced for commercial, for-profit use in any form, by any means (electronic, mechanical, xerographic, or other) or held in any information storage or retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher.

For questions about the content of Public Policy Papers, please contact the ACP Division of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy , 25 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-7401. 202-261-4500. To order copies of position papers, please contact us .

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Public’s positive economic ratings slip; inflation still widely viewed as major problem.

Today, 23% of U.S. adults say the economy is in excellent or good shape, and more than six-in-ten Americans (62%) see inflation as one of the top problems facing the nation.

Broad Public Support for Legal Abortion Persists 2 Years After Dobbs

In tight presidential race, voters are broadly critical of both biden and trump, changing partisan coalitions in a politically divided nation, sign up for our politics newsletter.

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Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats remain fearful about the state of the country.

Americans have mixed views about how the news media cover Biden’s, Trump’s ages

Similar shares of U.S. adults believe news organizations are giving too much attention (32%) or too little attention (29%) to Biden’s age.

An Early Look at Black Voters’ Views on Biden, Trump and Election 2024

Black voters are more confident in Biden than Trump when it comes to having the qualities needed to serve another term.

Support for legal abortion is widespread in many places, especially in Europe

Majorities in most of the 27 places around the world surveyed in 2023 and 2024 say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Public Opinion on Abortion

Abortion has long been a contentious issue in the United States, and it is one that sharply divides Americans along partisan, ideological and religious lines.

Americans overwhelmingly say access to IVF is a good thing

Seven-in-ten Americans say in vitro fertilization access is a good thing. Just 8% say it is a bad thing, and 22% are unsure.

Views are split by political party, but support for legal abortion has risen modestly in both groups since before the 2022 Dobbs decision.

Americans are less likely than others around the world to feel close to people in their country or community

A median of 83% across 24 nations surveyed say they feel close to other people in their country, while 66% of Americans hold this view.

Growing Partisan Divisions Over NATO and Ukraine

58% of Americans see NATO favorably, down 4 points since 2023. Democrats and Republicans are increasingly divided on the alliance and on Ukraine aid.

As Biden and Trump seek reelection, who are the oldest – and youngest – current world leaders?

Though Biden is 81 years old, most global leaders are in their 50s and 60s, and the median age of current national leaders is 62.

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Amid shifts in demographics and partisan allegiances, registered voters are now evenly split between the Democratic Party and the GOP.

Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics

Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics.

Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

Pew Research Center’s political typology provides a roadmap to today’s fractured political landscape. It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Even in a polarized era, the 2021 survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions.

In a Politically Polarized Era, Sharp Divides in Both Partisan Coalitions

Partisanship remains the strongest factor dividing the American public. Yet there are substantial divisions within both parties on fundamental political values, views of current issues and the severity of the problems facing the nation.

Across the Table: Would you share your views of Donald Trump over dinner?

Tuning out: americans on the edge of politics, voters say those on the other side ‘don’t get’ them. here’s what they want them to know., political typology quiz.

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When Protectionism Kills Talent

We examine the repercussions of protectionist policies implemented in the United States since 2018 on the composition of workforce and career choices within the semiconductor industry. We find that the shift towards protectionism, aimed at reviving domestic manufacturing and employment, paradoxically resulted in a significant drop in hiring domestic talent. The effect is stronger for entry-level and junior positions, indicating a disproportionate impact on newcomers to the workforce. Additionally, we trace the trajectories of undergraduate and graduate cohorts possessing chip-related skills over time, and document significant shifts away from the chip industry.

We are grateful to Alex Butler, John Griffin, Ahmet Gulek, Tom Meling, Jungu Myung, René Stulz, Yufeng Wu, Alminas Zaldokas, and seminar participants at the Pennsylvania State University for helpful feedback. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Co-Creating Future Social Services

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The European Social Services Conference (ESSC; https://essc-eu.org) is the annual flagship event of the European Social Network (ESN; https://www.esn-eu.org), the leading network for public social services in Europe. The ESSC is Europe’s largest public social welfare policy and practice forum. The previous edition was attended by almost 700 delegates in Malmö, Sweden, in 2023. At the 32nd European Social Services Conference (Antwerp, Belgium, 26-28 June 2024), we will discuss how we can co-create community-based social services, with a specific focus on three thematic strands: (1) Co-Creating Cities Social Inclusion, (2) Co-Creating Responses to Manage the Future Workforce, and (3) Co-Creating Digital Solutions for Social Inclusion. This Research Topic welcomes papers that will provide both theoretical insights and explorations as well as empirical evidence. Alongside learning from practice and responding to research findings, we also want to understand, challenge and refine the theoretical lenses which underpin our assumptions about social inclusion and diversity in relation to social policy and social services. Potential issues include three thematic strands, but are not limited to: (1) Co-Creating Cities Social Inclusion - Community Care models in cities - Fighting residential exclusion - Neighborhood approaches - Managing childhood and youth transitions in areas such as early childcare or child protection - Support planning for people with disabilities in aspects related to work and social participation - Support programs for ageing populations in fighting loneliness, promoting community support - Managing diversity in the community - Co-production in local social services planning, delivery and evaluation - Theories of community development and how these relate to different forms of social capital - Recent theories and concepts in urban sociology, sociological practice, social policy, and social work - Theoretical approaches to social problems, issues, and challenges, including those underlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2) Co-Creating Responses to Manage the Future Workforce - Workforce planning and management strategies - Training for co-production with people using services and their families - Registration and accreditation programs - Programs to break down gender stereotypes - Innovation and digital programs supporting social care and support, such as digital tools or forecasting scenarios - Theories of professional motivations and how these can incentivise or deter person-centered and community care (3) Co-Creating Digital Solutions for Social Inclusion - Prioritization of person-centered care and relationship-based practice - Improvement of services interaction - Addressing digital readiness for practice - Enhancing people’s autonomy - Increasing the data security - Addressing ethical concerns and data protection needs - Theoretical approaches to the digital divide and social inclusion - Theories of leadership and how these translate to virtual contexts We are looking forward to selecting manuscripts demonstrating a wide range of approaches and forward-thinking ideas to enhance personalization in social services. We want to provide an opportunity for presenters involved in the ESSC 2024 program, covering both scholars and practitioners from various sectors, to publish their papers. We also look forward to including articles from scholars and practitioners who did not present their work during our event. This Research Topic is fully open to practical and theoretical submissions that have not been included for presentation during the ESSC 2024. This Research Topic welcomes submissions of the following article types: Brief Research Report, Community Case Study, Conceptual Analysis, General Commentary, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Policy and Practice Reviews, Review, Study Protocol.

Keywords : co-production, digitalisation, inequalities, integrated care and support, poverty, social care, social inclusion, social innovation, social policy, social security, social services, social work, welfare state

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