LBR 350: Research Methods for Social Change
Assignment: Analysis of Research Report
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is for students to become more familiar with policy research, and to develop research, critical thinking, and writing skills.
Assignment:
For this assignment, you will locate a professional policy research report on a social change topic that is of interest to you. It can be on a labor topic, or on another topic on some issue of social change that you care about or are interested in. You will analyze key elements of the report such as its author, funding, argument, data, methods, purpose, audience, blind spots or hidden assumptions, effectiveness.
Selection of Report:
The report you select to analyze should be published by a government agency, think tank, foundation, labor union, or community organization. The report should provide analysis and recommendations on a particular public policy issue. It should have been published in the last five years. It should be made available in pdf form with a clear scholarly apparatus appropriate for policy research such as citations, executive summary,and identifiable authors. It should be a stand-alone report, not a book chapter, website, or scholarly journal article. The minimum length of the report should be 15 pages. See below for suggestions for finding suitable reports to analyze.
Length and Formatting:
Your analysis should be at least 1500 words in length. Typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, with 1” margins. .pdf, .docx, or .rtf file format.
Elements of Analysis:
Author
Who is/are the author(s) of this report? What credentials do they have that may appear to give the report weight such as educational degrees, current or past job positions?
Funding
What institution(s) or organization(s) produced or funded the report? What can you find out about the stated (or hidden) mission and aims of this organization? Where does the organization get its funding from? What political leanings or intentions do the staff or funders seem to have? How would you locate it in the “Policy Planning Network” described by Domhoff in our reading from Week 5? (See lecture slides on Domhoff here.)
Argument
Summarize the main argument of the report.
Data
What sources of information does the report draw on to make its argument? How reliable do these sources appear to be to you?
Methods
What techniques and procedures does the author apply to the data to reach their findings? Are the techniques explained?
Purpose
What purpose does the author seem to have in performing and publicizing this research? What public policy issue is it intended to address? Which decisionmakers does it indicate could make the policy changes it calls for? Is the purpose clearly stated? If not, what signs do you find that indicate something about the purpose?
Audience
Who/what audience does the study seem to be intended for? A general audience? An audience of government officials? Other stakeholders? How can you tell?
Blind spots, biases, or hidden assumptions
Is there anything ignored or omitted from the report that weakens its trustworthiness or reliability in your eyes? How could these shortcomings be improved?
Effectiveness
How effective do you judge this study to be in achieving its purpose through its intended audience? Are there any aspects of it that you feel make it more or less effective? Can you find any indications of its impacts? Have its results been spread or publicized in the news media, social media, or other important venues? What recommendations do you have that could make it more effective? What additional research might be needed to increase its effectiveness?
Well-known sources for policy research reports:
American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/
Brookings Institution https://www.brookings.edu/
California YIMBY https://cayimby.org/reports/
Center for American Progress https://www.americanprogress.org/
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities https://www.cbpp.org/
Economic Policy Institute https://www.epi.org
Heritage Foundation https://www.heritage.org/
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy https://laane.org/
Pacific Research Institute https://www.pacificresearch.org
People’s Policy Project https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/
Public Policy Institute of California https://www.ppic.org/about-ppic/
Russell Sage Foundation https://www.russellsage.org/
Urban Institute https://www.urban.org/
This list is not exhaustive– there are plenty more national and regional think tanks and policy shops to find reports from. Unions and community groups also sometimes publish their own research. Reach out to me if you would like help finding a report on a particular topic.
(Bolded orgs are pro-labor leaning think tanks)