Project 4 Presentation - How to Choose a Public Policy Issue and Focus

1. HOW TO
CHOOSE
A Public Policy
Issue & Focus

2. 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)

3. 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.

4. 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).