Who Cares?
Determining 'who cares' enough to gather information about your topic, region or research population, can be an important step in locating 'born digital' resources.
International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) & Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) may provide useful information on your topics.
These organizations are often on the ground in countries around the world, gathering information and working with your targeted populations.
Think Tanks may also be studying or researching your topic and publishing policy briefs or white papers.
- IGO Custom SearchThis ALA/GODORT resource searches across hundreds of Intergovernmental Organizations, including the UN, WHO, and more.
- NGO Custom SearchSearch across of 1,000 NGOs.
- American Policy Directory (Univ. of Oregon)Find analysis and advocacy from all perspectives on US national public policy.
- International Documents Directory (Northwestern Univ. Library)International information by region, theme & government.
Locating Federal Government Publications
- FDsys (GPO)FDsys provides free online access to official Federal Government publications, including congressional hearings, reports & more.
- Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (GPO)The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general key word, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.
State Level Organizations
- Council of State GovernmentsCSG "fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy." Site includes Book of the States.
- National Conference of State LegislaturesProvides a variety of reports and briefs on various policies from across states.
- State Legislature WebsitesEasy access to all state legislature sites.
Congressional Research Service Reports
CRS Reports are produced to provide members of Congress with background information on various topics. The reseach is conducted by subject experts at the Library of Congress. Some of the topics covered may be relevant to social work policy.
While the government does not make them all available online, a number of organizations make some available. The sites below provide searchable or browseable access.
- Congressional Research Service ReportsUniversity of North Texas CRS collection