Library Guides: Activism and Lawmaking in the United States: Reports & Analysis

Intro

In addition to peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly books written by scholars in university contexts, organizations like think tanks, NGOs, advocacy groups, and nonprofits also publish important research in the field of political science.

Use the resources below to discover research reports by reputable think tanks and research centers. But always remember to:

Check the About pages of the organization
Google the organization to find outside information about it

This will allow you to critically evaluate the political, financial, or ideological motivations that may be driving their research.

Databases

Cast a wide search net for think tank and research reports using these databases:

Think Tank Search
A Google Custom Search of more than 1,200 think tanks and research centers, offered by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Open Research Reports from JSTOR
More than 39,000 research reports from over 140 policy institutes around the world are freely accessible to everyone on JSTOR. The open research reports are discoverable alongside journals, books, and primary sources. Use the "Research Report" content filter to limit your results.

Lobbying Research Groups

Open Secrets
Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Its mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy.
How Do They Lobby?
How Do They Lobby? allows you to understand how different interest groups lobby and give testimony across seventeen states. Using this portal, you can search and visualize CHORUS (Dataset on Policy Choice and Organizational Representation in the United States), the first comprehensive dataset of lobbying and testimony positions in state legislatures. This portal was created by the Brown Climate and Development Lab.

Federal Politics Think Tanks

American Enterprise Institute This link opens in a new window
This database brings American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) collection of scholarship to HeinOnline's fully searchable image-based format. Researchers can search by Policy Area, a subject identifier assigned by AEI to each of its publications, which organizes their works into the following areas: economics, foreign and defense policy, society and culture, health care, politics and public opinion, poverty studies, and education; additional Policy Areas within each of these main categories further organize publications into more specific areas of scope. Browse titles in AEI by policy area or use the facet to limit search results. The database is updated regularly with new content, and archived documents.

Baker Institute for Public Policy
Rice University's Baker Institute is a data-driven think tank that has multiple centers focusing on Energy, Drug Policy, Health and Biosciences, Politics and Elections, Religion and Public Policy, Science and Technology, and more.
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute's mission is to originate, disseminate, and advance solutions based on the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. They publish studies, commentary, survey reports and polling, reviews and journals, and public filings.
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a public policy research and advocacy organization that characterizes itself as progressive. Its experts focus on Abortion, Climate and Energy Policy, Criminal Justice Reform, Education, Health, and Gun Violence Prevention.
Institute for Policy Studies
The main issue areas of this progressive think tank are Economic Justice, Racial and Gender Justice, Climate Justice, Peace and Foreign Policy, and Leadership Programs.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the National Bureau of Economic Research's mission is to undertake and disseminate unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community.
Pew Research Center - Politics and Policy
A leading nonpartisan "fact tank" based in Washington, D.C., Pew Research Center provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. Search their whole website, or this Politics & Policy section, for coverage, data, and data analysis on activism and lawmaking.
Rand Corporation
The RAND Corporation is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. Their reports span areas such as: Children, Families, and Communities; Cyber and Data Sciences; Education and Literacy; Energy and Environment; Health, Health Care, and Aging; Infrastructure and Transportation; Social Equity; and Workers and the Workplace.

State Politics Think Tanks

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
NCSL provides fact- and evidence-based (nonpartisan) research and other resources to support the policymaking process across U.S. state legislatures. Use the search box on the homepage to find research reports and news focused on state politics.
Pew Center on the States
Policy analysis of state governments, including state by state comparisons, from Pew Research Center.
CSG Center of Innovation
The Council of State Government's (CSG) Center for Innovation provides policy-makers in-depth analysis of data and policy best practice to facilitate better understanding of existing and developing issues and assess available and potential solutions.

American Enterprise Institute This link opens in a new window
This database brings American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) collection of scholarship to HeinOnline's fully searchable image-based format. Researchers can search by Policy Area, a subject identifier assigned by AEI to each of its publications, which organizes their works into the following areas: economics, foreign and defense policy, society and culture, health care, politics and public opinion, poverty studies, and education; additional Policy Areas within each of these main categories further organize publications into more specific areas of scope. Browse titles in AEI by policy area or use the facet to limit search results. The database is updated regularly with new content, and archived documents.