Public Administration Resource Guide
You can search the following selected databases for public administration-related articles. You may also be interested in other related guides including education, management, criminal justice, homeland security and emergency preparedness, and social work.
Many of the databases listed below include at least some full text articles, but very few databases are 100% full text. Look for the Get it @ VCU button or try the E-Journal Search.
ABI/Inform VCU
News from over 1,000 worldwide business periodicals, covering accounting, business, finance, international business, marketing, and management. Includes the full text of several public administration journals including Public Administration Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, National Tax Journal, Spectrum, American Economic Review, Policy Sciences, Public Interest, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Management, Government Finance Review, Public Personnel Management, and Academy of Management Review.
Dissertations Abstracts Online VCU
Abstracts of dissertations completed in the U.S. and abroad. See finding dissertations for additional help.
EconLit VCU
The American Economics Association's bibliography of economic literature including coverage of public economics.
ERIC VCU
Abstracts of articles, books, and Department of Education publications including links to some full text reports.
Factiva VCU
Articles from over 9,000 newswires, newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, press releases and trade publications. Contains selected full-text of most sources. Includes the full text of several public administration journals including American Journal of Political Science, Government Finance Review, Public Administration Quarterly, and Review of Public Personnel Administration.
Index to Current Urban Documents (ICUD) VCU
Indexes documents issued by and for municipalities, counties, special districts, authorities, regional councils and other regional agencies.
Academic Search Complete VCU
Comprehensive scholarly multi-disciplinary full-text database. Includes over 5,500 full-text periodicals and indexing/abstracting for over 9,500 journals.
JSTOR VCU
Searchable backfiles of core journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Includes several political science journals including American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, and Political Science Quarterly.
LexisNexis Academic VCU
Contains federal and state court decisions, statutes and regulations, legal publications as well as the full text of national and regional newspapers and magazines.
MEDLINE/PubMed VCU
Primary database of information in biomedical and health sciences fields. For additional health-related resources, try CINAHL or Health & Wellness Resource Center.
PAIS International VCU
Abstracts from the international literature on public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations. Covers sources published 1937 through the present.
Social Sciences Citation Index VCU
Database of references cited in articles from more than 1,725 major journals across 50 social sciences disciplines.
Social Sciences Index VCU
Citations to articles of at least one column in length from English-language periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of social sciences journals.
Sociological Abstracts VCU
Over 2,000 journals in 30 different languages are checked for inclusion in this index in the fields of sociology, social work, and other social sciences. Database includes Social Planning/Policy & Development Abstracts (SOPODA) which focuses on policy issues.
For an overview of public administration-related topics, you can consult the following reference books:
Dictionary of Public Policy and Administration
Cabell Library Reference H97.S483
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy
Cabell Library Reference JK9.E526
International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration
Cabell Library Reference H97.I574
Oxford Reference Online VCU
Provides access to more than 140 dictionaries and reference works published by Oxford University Press including several relating to politics and social sciences.
You can search the library catalog for additional books, including electronic books, related to public administration. You can access the library catalog from the main VCU Libraries Web page at http://www.library.vcu.edu by clicking on the Catalog tab (near the top of the screen) and then clicking on the VCU Library Catalog link.
To search for materials from other libraries, use Worldcat VCU or check the catalogs of other Virginia libraries. You can try Interlibrary Loan to obtain materials that VCU Libraries does not own.
If you need help developing a search strategy, Ask a Librarian.
The following sources will help you find government resources. There are too many other federal and state agencies covering social work-related topics to list in this guide, so you may want to see Government Information or use a government-specific search engine such as FirstGov.gov or Google's U.S. Government Search for federal resources. For state resources, try the main state Web page like the Commonwealth of Virginia or Maryland. There is a list of State and Territorial Governments provided by FirstGov and county information is available at http://www.naco.org/ (select a Find a County from the About Counties menu near the top right of the screen).
CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Library VCU
Full text of the Congressional Quarterly and Congressional Researcher, publications covering Congress and topics of legislative interest.
Government Printing Office (GPO) Monthly Catalog VCU
Citations for publications of the U.S. government. Includes legislative materials and the vast array of publications from the executive branch agencies.
Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress
http://www.house.gov/jec/
Site contains the JEC's majority reports on economic policy issues, including tax reform, proposed tax credits, the federal budget, Federal Reserve policy, and the size of government.
LexisNexis Congressiona VCU
U.S. legislative information including bills, reports, hearings, and public laws from 1970 - present. Search tip: Start with a legislative history search. For example, search using no child left behind as your search phrase, and you will retrieve a legislative history containing a summary, related bills, and references (and links) to relevant Congressional Record entries (debate), reports and hearings.
LexisNexis Government Periodicals Index VCU
Citations for articles on a variety of topics published in US Government magazines/newsletters. Some of these are available online through the Government Periodicals on the Web link.
LexisNexis Statistical VCU
Abstracts for statistical publications from 1973 forward; full-text of selected publications, 1995+. Power Tables feature searches words appearing in statistical tables. Includes statistics from government sources, as well as major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities. For items with a SRI, ASI, or IIS record number, check the Statistical Reference Index (SRI), American Statistics Index (ASI), or Index to International Statistics (ISI) microfiche collection.
THOMAS
http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S. legislative information including bills, public laws, votes, the Congressional Record, and reports from 1973 - present.
State and Local Employees (FirstGov)
http://www.firstgov.gov/Government/State_Local.shtml
This web site was developed to give state and local government officials and employees easy access to federal information in ways that make sense to them. Arranged by issue, topic, news subject, and partner. Also includes frequently asked questions categorized by U.S. region and by area of best practice.
Virginia General Assembly and Legislative Information System
http://legis.state.va.us/
Legislative information from Virginia's General Assembly including bills and resolutions, Code of Virginia, Virginia Administrative Code, Rules of the Supreme Court, and House and Senate Documents. For additional state government resources, see Virginia State Documents.
The following resources will help you with publication administration research. Please note that the list is selective. For more Web resources, you can search some of the sources listed below. When using the Web for research, remember to evaluate your sources. Since most of the items listed below are organizations, you may also want to search Associations Unlimited VCU for other related organizations (hint: try the subject search and use "Public Finance").
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
http://www.aei.org/
The web site for this nonpartisan think tank includes commentary and analysis from AEI scholars, speeches and testimony before Congressional committees, excerpts from recent AEI conferences, and essay-length abstracts of AEI books. Articles are also arranged by research areas.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
http://www.afscme.org/
Web page for the nation's largest public employee and health care workers union.
American Society for Public Administration
http://www.aspanet.org/
In addition to membership and chapter information, this site contains information about conference papers, job listings, abstracts of recent articles from the Public Administration Review, and full-text articles from the PA Times.
Economic Policy Institute
http://www.epinet.org/
Nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that focuses on economic issues. A highlight of its web page is the DataZone, which includes 50 tables which track historical trends in labor markets and living standards. You can also find economic indicators, issue guides, economic snapshots, and viewpoints.
Government Finance Officers Association
http://www.gfoa.org/
GFOA is the professional association of state/provincial and local finance officers in the United States and Canada. Its web page includes recommended practices in the functional areas of public finance, policy statements, and summaries of recent research projects.
Government Technology - "Solutions for Government in the Information Age"
http://www.govtech.net/
The Solution Center describes how state and local governments have applied information technology.
International City Management Association (ICMA)
http://www.icma.org
Some content is restricted to members, but you will find some free information resources, links to related associations, and news from the International City Management Association.
National Academy of Public Administration
http://www.napawash.org/
NAPA is an independent, nonpartisan organization chartered by Congress to assist federal, state, and local governments improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. Web page includes information about current projects, publications and discussion forums.
National Association of Counties
http://www.naco.org/
News, coverage of issues, and a county resource center, as well as demographics and other information relevant to county government from the National Association of Counties. Includes a list of all counties (select a Find a County from the About Counties menu near the top right of the screen).
National Association of Regional Councils
http://www.narc.org/
This site contains information about agencies engaged in comprehensive regional planning and coordination. The sponsors promote cooperation among state and local governments and among public, private and civic organizations at the regional level.
National Association of State Budget Officers
http://www.nasbo.org/
Association of the chief financial advisors to the nation's governors. Their web page includes policy resources, directories, publications and other resources.
National Center for Policy Analysis
http://www.ncpa.org/
Includes in-depth analysis and fulltext reports on issues such as taxes, health care, Social Security and welfare. Also includes a Daily Policy Digest.
National Center for Public Productivity
http://www.ncpp.us/
Research and public service organization devoted to improving productivity in the public sector. Web site focuses on performance measurement and best practices.
National Conference of State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/
Site features information on meetings and events of the NCSL, and research and analysis of state issues. Easy-to-use topic area links to NCSL activities, publications and research on various issues.
National Governors' Association
http://www.nga.org/
Forum for governors to exchange views and experiences. Provides assistance in solving state-focused problems and information on state innovations and practices. Center for Best Practices includes documents, issue briefs, and policy statements.
National League of Cities
http://www.nlc.org/
Resources for city government. Includes links to city websites, key facts and figures (Cities 101), and trends, as well as policy and legislative positions and news.
Public Agenda Online
http://www.publicagenda.org/
Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization provides issue guides on topics such as Medicare, welfare, the federal budget and Social Security. Each guide contains an overview of the issue; a news digest of recent news, legislation, cases and studies; various perspectives on the issue; a fact file with charts and graphs; and analyses of related public opinion drawn from major public opinion polls.
Roll Call Online
http://www.rollcall.com/
News scoops, commentary and policy briefings from the editors of Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill. Additional resources include a searchable Capitol Hill directory and the day's schedule for the House and Senate.
Stateline.org
http://www.stateline.org/
Operated by the Pew Center on the States, this site's goal is to help journalists, policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies. Issues covered include welfare reform, utility deregulation, taxes and budgets, healthcare, and education.
United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN)
http://www.unpan.org/
UNPAN promotes "the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices throughout the world in sound public policies, effective public administration and efficient civil services."
The Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org/
Research concerning the nation's social and economic problems and the government policies and public and private programs designed to alleviate them.
U.S. Conference of Mayors
http://www.usmayors.org/
Includes issues of U.S. Mayor newspaper, and information about programs sponsored by the USCM, including Best Practices of City Governments.
Virginia Institute of Government
http://www.coopercenter.org/institute/index.php
Institute's goal is to expand the training, technical assistance and information resources available to Virginia local governments. Site includes a newsletter and a discussion forum.
