Public Policy
The following databases and websites are good starting points for Public Policy research
Databases
Rand California 
This resource offers research reports and raw statistics about California public policy issues.
Academic OneFile 
Academic OneFilehas the full-text of a few million of articles from all domains of knowledge.
OmniFile Full-Text Select
OmniFile is a social sciences and humanities database that only contains full-text articles.
ArticleFirst
ArticleFirst is a search interface that can link you to the articles you need. It searches descriptions of 23 million articles from all domains of learning.
Ebrary eBooks
This search engine exclusively searches our collection of 70,000 eBooks.
Encyclopedia Britannica Academic Online
This general purpose encyclopedia is a great place to begin your research and obtain the background knowledge on politics and politicians that will make your research process go quicker.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Nearly 400 specialized reference eBooks on all academic subjects to dig deeper into the background information.
World Almanacs
This site combines several atlases and biographical resources to create a single source for geographical & political background information.
Films on Demand
Films on Demand is a well organized collection of several thousand educational films on history, business, the humanities, psychology, science, and careers.
ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
There are over 3000 articles in this database on the intersection of religion and politics. ATLA is the main online resource for researching religion and theology.
GREENfile
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering scientific, business, and political aspects of human impact to the environment.
MEDLINE
MEDLINE is a government clearinghouse for public health, medical, dental, and nursing research.
GPO Monthly Catalog
While this search engine does not contain the full-text of federal government documents, it is the gateway to finding those papers in print or electronic format. The official document or report can then often be found at the Government Printing Office [GPO] website or by searching the exact title in Google.
Websites
Local Governments
Rocklin, California Municipal Code
California
California State Legislature "the gateway to California's Legislative web sites."
California State Supreme Court - Official decision reports on cases since about 1990. The most recent opinions are uploaded here within hours of being signed by the justices.
California State Legislature Publications
The State of California Agency Directory
United States Federal Government
Current Federal Legislature Bills - Search for bills by name number or which legislator sponsored it. Provides a detailed history of every time the bill had been introduced, committee discussions, changes, and other legislative history.
USA Federal Government information by topic - Browse for information about government programs by topic. There are topics for citizens, nonprofits, foreign visitors, and government employees.
Government Printing Office [GPO] publications - The GPO pubilshes all of the official documents created by the federal agencies, congressional reports, the Office of the President, supreme court, and more. Links on the home page will take you to the official reports and law created by each of the 3 branches of government.
International
United Nations - Besides their well known peacekeeping function, this organization does a great deal of research into human and environmental issues such as food, water, health, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, human rights, and environmental crises.
European Court of Human Rights - This court hears human rights cases that fall between two or more governmental jurisdictions.
Statistics and Datasets
Child Welfare Information Gateway
The Child Welfare Information Gateway gathers statistics from throughout the state and national agencies that serve child welfare needs. This facilitates national and cross-state comparisons. You can download the datasets to conduct your own research or quote them in your papers.
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics gathers statistics from all the states and collects them in one place. This facilitates national and cross-state comparisons. You can download the datasets to conduct your own research or quote them in your papers.
Kids Count Data Center - Kids Count is a statistical project of the Annie E Casey Foundation. It can provide you with customzed maps, graphs, and charts of statistical data pulled from vast database of child wellbeing information. Customized statistical or visual data can give your paper or presentation an edge.
Energy Information Administration - The US Energy Information Administration collects energy related information from the various government agencies that collect the information and then publishes it via this website. Say you are interested in estimates of US coal or gas reserves or production, they have extensive data on that here.
Data.gov - This website has two functions 1) making government datasets available to web and app developers and 2) linking citizens and researchers to those websites and apps. The resulting mashups of maps and government data are valuable for politicos, business and voters alike. Most applications involve mashups of search, mapping and visualization technology to make the data more useful. The most famous application of (mostly) government data and private enterprise is Google Maps.
World Bank Data
World Bank Data is a repository where you can get raw and calculated data on the health, economy, government, and more of countries that the World Bank monitors. Useful for international business, policy, or missions.
Budget Hero - Can you balance the budget better than congress? Using Congressional Budget Office statistics and a cartoon-ish interface, American Public Media created this game to demonstrate the effects of various federal decisions on the long term budget projections. Updated occasionally to reflect the policy debates that are currently afoot in D.C.
Public Policy Think Tanks
Most think tanks have whitepapers, transcripts of congressional testimony, press releases, newsletters, blogs, vlogs, and podcasts on their sites that help to disseminate their research. Several also have magazines or journals. The library now subscribes to all of the periodicals listed below in print. Several also make their periodicals available in-part or in-full on their website.Brookings Institute - This is the think tank you most often see cited in the news media. This non-partisan policy research institute publishes issue briefs on a vast array of national and international issues including economics, education, defense, international relations and more.
Rand Corp - Researches defense, health care, education, and budget issues for the government. Has a centrist view or presents multiple perspectives on issues. The Rand Review is their magazine and it is available for free on the site or in-print in the library.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars - The Wilson center aims to unite the ideas of scholarship with the issues of Washington. It has a centrist view. Information is available through their website and through the Wilson Quarterly which the library receives in print.
World Policy Institute - Nonpartisan think tank that is global in perspective and especially concerned with issues of human rights, free speech, economics, and humanitarian issues. Publishes the World Policy Journal quarterly.
Resources for the Future - RFF is a centrist organization that majors in environment, water and land issues and minors in health, energy, and space issues. Their magazine is called Resources.
Urban Institute - Nonpartisan research institute that addresses social and economic issues. Primarily researches US issues, but also provides technical expertise to foreign governments. Offers data sets that you can manipulate in Excel in addition to the normal range of publications. Covers hunger, homelessness, working conditions, and human trafficking within the US.
Council on Foreign Relations - Independent, nonpartisan research institute that is entirely focused on international relations, as the name suggests.
Center for Strategic and International Studies - Nonpartisan institute that studies international issues such as human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, security, food, water, health, human rights, and more. Less focused on defense than the Council on Foreign Relations. Greater focus on human issues.
Heritage Foundation - The most frequently cited conservative think tank. Researches issues and re-frames debates on issues of budget, taxes, economy, defense, education, and private enterprise.
Hoover Institution - Conservative research institute based at Stanford. Focused on issues of private enterprise and limited government. The Hoover Digest is their publication.
Claremont Institute - Conservative think tank seeking to restore the founding principles of America. The principles they cite, "recovering a limited and accountable government that respects private property, promotes stable family life, and maintains a strong national defense." Their main publication is the Claremont Review of Books.
The Manhattan Institute - Conservative think tank majoring in urban policy and minoring in national issues. Their credo is, "ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility." Their magazine is called City Journal.
American Enterprise Institute - Conservative group focused on economic issues as they relate to private property and private enterprise. Does not have a magazine, but makes its white papers and economic forecasts available online.
American Foreign Policy Council - Conservative think tank that researches and produces opinions, reports, and policy papers on United States foreign policy issues. Their research projects are: Central Asia Counterterrorism Project, China Program, Eurasia Program, Iran Freedom Initiative, Missile Defense and Proliferation Project, and the Russia Program.
Pacific Research Institute - Conservative think tank that works on national and state issues. They are committed to "entrepreneurial spirit, belief in the dignity of individuals, and vigilant defense of liberty."
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies - Liberal think tank focused on increasing the political involvement of African Americans and other minorities. Their magazine is called Focus and mostly covers issues related to their mission.
Progressive Policy Institute - Think tank that bills itself as finding a "third way" between left and right ideologies. However, it still comes out on the more liberal side of things. Does not put out a magazine, but publishes issue briefs.
Wikipedia makes pretty good lists. An example is their list of United States think tanks. As with all Wikipedia lists, there are no descriptions, just links, so you have to click each one to find out about it.
Topical Sites
Human Trafficking is a common topic for student research papers at WJU. Visit Humantrafficking.org for links to authoritative information on Human Trafficking from governments and NGO's.
Humanitarian relief is also a common topic for research papers. ReliefWeb.int is a UN administered website that operates as a clearinghouse for up-to-the-minute information on disaster relief worldwide.
