HOW TO CHOOSE A Public Policy Issue & Focus

CHOOSING A PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE• Browse newspapers• Look at CQ Researcher and Opposing Viewpoints in Context (on

the UI library site under libguides.uidaho.edu, English 102 Library Instruction: Topics/Terms)

• Look at think tanks (e.g. Harvard Kennedy School: http://guides.library.harvard.edu/hks/think_tank_search/US)

FIND YOUR SOURCE MATERIAL TO ANALYZE• Subject matter experts: peer reviewed journals, public policy

reports)• Popular sources: news, magazines, blogs, advocacy sites.• Samples of public comments in response to sources.• Textual, visual, and multimodal sources.

IF IT’S A LONG-STANDING ISSUE…• Consider beginning with a timeline to show the

scope of the debate.• Organization: use a “that was then and this is

now” focus, or a “specific to general” focus (e.g., focus on how a specific lawsuit changed the debate).