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Social Policy

Big Picture: Scholarly Encyclopedias

Strategy:  Use encyclopedias to get the big picture quickly.

This will shape your brief and suggest aspects to research later for more details.

 

CQ Researcher
Feature-length articles on broad policy issues.  Great overview in one single place.

  • Best for ongoing issues and topics in the news.
  • Good for choosing a topic

 

 

 CQ Researcher initial screen

Credo
Huge collection of scholarly encyclopedias and tertiary sources

  • Basic information without overwhelming details
  • Tip:  Filter by Length -- Long for more substantial articles.
 image of Credo filter for article length of long

Encyclopedias -- What to Notice

Strategy:  Let the big picture sources identify the big elements of your policy brief.

These will shape your brief and suggest aspects to research later for more details.

 

Section headings suggest parts of policy brief

 

 

Notice reoccurring ideas (importance) or terms to look up later..

 Credo article showing how headers translate to policy brief sections