LibGuides: Sociology: More sources: grey literature & think tanks

Grey Literature

Grey literature exists outside of and is uncontrolled by the usual academic and commercial publishers. It includes conference proceedings, occasional and working papers, policy papers and briefs, hearings, reports, and more.

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) This link opens in a new window
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Locate working papers, policy briefs, and current analysis and commentary, as well as scholarly journal articles, ebooks, and videos relevant for research in international politics and related fields, 1991-present.
1991-present; designed to be the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. Includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, books, journals, policy briefs, and proceedings from conferences.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more, 1914-present.
1914-present; includes periodicals, books, hearings, reports, gray literature, government publications, and Internet resources. Subjects include politics, public policy, government, international relations, law and ethics, human rights, economics, business, finance, and other social sciences.
Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to articles and reports for U.S. public policy research, 1900-present.
1900-present; Policy File Index is a unique resource for U.S. public policy research in that it grants users access to timely, updated information from over 350 public policy think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, research institutes, university centres, advocacy groups, and other entities. Over 75 public policy topics are covered, from foreign policy to domestic policy. The majority of Policy File Index records link directly to the full-text report, paper, document, or other source.

IssueLab
IssueLab gathers, indexes, and shares the collective intelligence of the social sector... [providing] free access to thousands of case studies, evaluations, white papers, and issue briefs addressing some of the world's most pressing social problems." From the Foundation Center.
PolicyArchive
A digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It makes use of the power, efficiency, and economy of modern Internet technology to collect and disseminate summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research.
NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Current and historical; NBER is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works. Provides data sets about macroeconomics, industry, international trade, individual income and expenditure data, etc.
NBER Working Papers
The NBER working paper series includes over 1000 papers each year, authored by leading research economists, on a wide variety of topics. These papers are circulated prior to publication for comment and discussion. The working paper series began in 1973, and now includes more than 24,000 papers.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) "works exclusively for Congress, providing timely, objective, and authoritative research and analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of political party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century. The products in this collection were created for the sole purpose of supporting Congress in its legislative, oversight, and representational duties."

The public portal for CRS reports can be found here: https://crsreports.congress.gov/

Brown University has access to all available CRS reports via the database ProQuest Congressional.

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to records and publications of the U.S. Congress, 1789-present.
1789-present; formerly LexisNexis Congressional, these are retrospective collections of the publications of the U. S. Congress, including:
U.S. Congressional Hearings, 1824-2003
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1789-2003
U.S. Congressional Serial Set Maps
U.S. Congressional Record, 1789-1997
U.S. Congressional UnPubished Hearings, Part A and B
For help getting started, see Quick Start Guide for ProQuest Congressional Digital Research Collection.

Think tank indexes

NIRA World Directory of Think Tanks
Indexed by country with descriptions, contact information, and links to organizations' websites.
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Indexed by country with descriptions, contact information, and links to organizations' websites.
WWW Library International Affairs Research Institutes
A list think tank-related links and resources maintained by Wayne Selcher at Elizabethtown College