Menlo School Library: Current American Issues: Resources

Research centers and data

Data for the Sustainable Development Goals (UNESCO)
FiveThirtyEight: Our Data
Google Dataset Search
Mapping Police Violence
PEW Research Center
Statista
Offers a mix of free and paid data.

Opinion polls

US Politics

US public opinion

Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
Surveys on a variety of social topics.
Kaiser Family Foundation
Marist Poll
PEW Research Center
Conducts non-partisan research on a wide variety of topics.
Roper Center
A compilation of datasets from a variety of social viewpoints polls.
Rutger's-Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling

Global viewpoints

Afrobarometer
Polling data on social issues from Africa.
Association of Religion Data Archives
Religious viewpoints from around the world.
Eurobarometer
Public opinion polling across Europe.

US Government Data

General data sites

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Information related to employment and the US economy.
Data.gov
Data and Statistics about the U.S.
A compilation of many US government data sites.
PEW Research Center
A nonpartisan "fact tank."
Statista
We don't have a subscription to this but a good amount of information is available for free.
US Census Bureau
A vast amount of information is available here though the site can be confusing to navigate.

City level

City-Data
A large variety of statistics and data on large and small cities across the US.

County level

County-level data sets
Information from the Economic Research Service.

State level

Education

Education Data Catalog
Education Statistics
A research guide from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with many links to data sources.
National Center for Education Statistics
State Education Data Profiles
California Department of Education: Data and Statistics

Environment

Health

35 Years of American Death
Centers for Disease Control
Global Burden of Disease
National Center for Health Statistics
National Vital Statistics System
Opioid Data Analysis and Resources
Stats of the States
United States Census Bureau HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data Base
Global statistics on AIDS/HIV prevalence.

National issues

False confessions

False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications
A 2009 article from the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online.
Why Do Innocent People Confess?
A 2012 New York Times article.

Gun violence in schools

Addressing Gun Violence
A collection of free resources on gun violence from Project MUSE.
Gun Violence in Schools
A collection of resources from Teaching Tolerance.
Three Keys to School Safety and Gun Violence Prevention
A policy statement from the National Education Association.

Prison pay

How Much Do Incarcerated People Earn in Each State?
Data from the Prison Policy Institute.

Poverty and justice

Free Legal Help
Information from The American Bar Association.
Making Justice Equal
An article from the Center for American Progress.

Sexual assault on campus

Sexual Assault on Campus
Background and news stories from the National Association of Independent College and Universities.

Solitary confinement

Solitary Confinement
A collection of resources from the National Institute of Corrections.
Solitary Confinement Facts
Data from the American Friends Service Committee.
Solitary by the Numbers
Data on solitary confinement, from Frontline.

Vaping regulation

'Prison SlaveryY': Inmates are Paid Cents While Manufacturing Products Sold to Government
An article from Newsweek Magazine.
U.S. E-Cigarette Regulations - 50 State Review (2018)
Laws about e-cigarettes in all 50 states.
Vaporizers, E-Cigarettes, and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)
Information from the Food & Drug Administration.

Organizations

ACLU
The ACLU works on many civil rights issues from a generally progressive standpoint.
Equal Justice Initiative
This organization works in the areas of racial justice, mass incarceration, conviction of minors, and the death penalty.
The Innocence Project
This organization works to overturn wrongful convictions.
The Marshall Project
An organization that works with criminal justice issues.

Databases

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This is an excellent source for secondary source articles.
- What's included?
  Over 2000 full-text journals and magazines that are not available on the open internet, 80% of which are peer-reviewed.
Global Issues in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This is an excellent database for finding information about issues affecting the world at large.
- What’s included?
  Tertiary, secondary and primary source materials, statics, and viewpoint essays. Topics include a wide variety of environmental and social issues.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This database provides quick access to authoritative secondary source material. Primary sources are now available too—under Refine Results, scroll to Primary source content to select source types.
- What’s included?
  Look here for a very large collection of peer-reviewed journal articles and images, plus a smaller collection of e-books and technical reports. Use Advanced Search to select articles from a particular topical area. Now has primary source content too.
MAS Ultra (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This very large database is a good place to begin a research project.
- What’s included?
  Tertiary and secondary source articles, images, historical documents, and popular magazines.
Points of View (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Articles on a wide variety of controversial topics can be found in this database.
- What’s included?
  Tertiary, secondary and primary sources, opinion essays, newspaper articles, transcripts of radio and television programs.
RAND State Stats This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Look here for statistical information on a variety of topics.
- What’s included?
  This is a collection of state – level data from 300 RAND databases. Information is updated frequently.

Think tanks

Conservative

American Enterprise Institute
Conservative think tank with primary focus on American government, economics and social welfare.
Heritage Foundation
Public policy research organization with a conservative leaning.
Hoover Institution
A public policy think tank located at Stanford University, with a broadly conservative viewpoint.

Centrist

Brookings Institution
A non-partisan political think tank located in Washington D.C.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
A foreign policy think tank with research centers around the world.
Cato Institute
Libertarian think tank focused primarily on public advocacy and societal influence.
Center for Strategic & International Studies
A Washington D.C. think tank focused on international relations.
PEW Research Center
Conducts non-partisan research on a wide variety of topics.
RAND Corporation
A non-partisan global policy think tank, partly funded by the US government.

Liberal

Center for American Progress
Conducts research and advocates on economic and social issues, with a liberal viewpoint.
Economic Policy Institute
Conducts research on economic issues, from a liberal viewpoint.
Roosevelt Institute
A liberal think tank that promotes progressive political ideas.

Think tank indexes

American Policy Directory
A large list of policy agencies and think tanks, from University of Oregon.
Think Tanks
A list of think tanks categorized by political leaning, from the New York Times.
Think Tank Search
Harvard University's search tool can help you find think tanks doing research on your topic.

Tools

Allsides
View news stories as reported by agencies on both sides of the political divide.
Google advanced search
Brief instructions for limiting your Google search to relevant pages.
JSTOR Instructions
A quick how-to-use guide for advanced search in JSTOR.
Media Bias/Fact Check
This site explains the degree of bias of over 2600 media outlets using a number of criteria.