- Finding background information on social policy - choosing a topic
- Finding peer-reviewed articles in social work related databases
- Federal legislation & regulations
- CONGRESS.GOV
- Understanding U.S. legislative process
- Finding Washington State Laws and Regulations
- Finding government programs
- Additional Sources for Policy Analysis
- Finding newspaper articles on policy issues
- Citation Guides - APA Style 7th Edition
- Citing Legal Materials
Featured Policy Journal
Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (PIBBS) presents research and scientific reviews relevant to public policy.
Quick Links
Search for books, videos, and other items located in the EWU Libraries and beyond.Featured books
Call Number: Online Publication Date: 2014The first substantive part of the handbook offers an historical overview of U.S. social policy from the colonial era to the present. The three following parts of the volume focus on concrete social programs for the elderly, the poor and near-poor, the disabled, and workers and families.
Call Number: Ref KF240 .C54 2016 Publication Date: 2016This guide covers research procedures using major online services, free Internet resources, and library materials. Discussion includes coverage of legislative history, administrative law, specialized and interdisciplinary resources, and research in international and comparative law.
Call Number: Online Publication Date: 2013In the revised edition of Poverty in America, Iceland takes a new look at this issue by examining why poverty remains pervasive, what it means to be poor in America today, which groups are most likely to be poor, the root causes of poverty, and the effects of policy on poverty.
Featured resources
Urban Institute, August 2014Resources about Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), its purpose and history, and Other laws for children with disabilities
Liya's presentation slides
Finding background information on social policy - choosing a topic
Encyclopedia of Social Work This link opens in a new windowEncyclopedia of Social Work is a continuously updated online collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press. It includes over 800 articles that cover every facet of social work policy and practice, brief biographies of over 200 key figures in social work history, and references and links to related social work resources. Encyclopedia of Social Work is regularly updated with new and revised articles.
CQ Researcher -- 1923-present This link opens in a new window Articles from this magazine; each weekly issue covers one current event or policy topic.Consider using CQ Researcher to start your search. This database provides in-depth, unbiased research reports on social trends, social problems, public health issues, criminal justice, education, and the environment. Information is available from 1923 to current issues in today's news.
Call Number: Online Publication Date: 2005Topics covered include: Child welfare, Economic conditions and social welfare, Health Policy, Landmark social welfare legislation, Poverty, Race and social inequality, Social problems, Social welfare reform, etc.
Finding peer-reviewed articles in social work related databases
Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window Academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books, and videos in all subjects. PsycInfo - APA (EBSCOhost) -- 1806-present This link opens in a new windowA large and comprehensive index of peer-reviewed psychology journals, plus selected book chapters, books, and dissertations, in some cases back to the 1800's. Produced by the American Psychological Association.
SocINDEX with Full Text (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowDatabase for sociology, with solid coverage for social work, social psychology, addictions, and criminal justice issues. Full text for journals dating back as far as 1908, with selective text and abstracts for others going back as far as 1895, plus numerous books, conference papers, and other monographs.
Social Work Abstracts (EBSCOhost) -- 1965-present This link opens in a new window Selectively indexes journals for articles relating to social work and human services. Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window Articles from criminal justice magazines and journals, with indexing/abstracting from others. Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowUse Google Scholar to search for scholarly articles across the Web (this can be a good complement to subscription databases). Note the citation tracking feature. This link includes Eastern Washington University indicators. You will see "Find it @ EWU" in your results, if we have the article full text in one of our databases.
Federal legislation & regulations
The codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States, divided by broad subjects into 53 titles.
Every public and private law passed by Congress is published in the Statutes at Large, in order of the date it was enacted into law.
The table is divided into four segments: United States Code citations, United States Statutes at Large citations, public law citations, and Presidential document citations. Within each segment the citations are arranged in numerical order:
For the United States Code, by title and section;
For the United States Statutes at Large, by volume and page number;
For Public Laws, by number; and
For Presidential documents (Proclamations, Executive orders, and Reorganization plans), by document number.
Free online access to official government publications including Congressional reports, bills from 1993 to the present, the History of Bills, and older Supreme Court cases, as well as the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), U.S. Statutes and the U.S. Code.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a federal legislative branch agency located within the Library of Congress, provides research reports on a broad range of national policy issues for Congress.
This site provide integrated, searchable access to many of the full-text CRS reports that have been available at a variety of different web sites since 1990 as well as converted print material.
