The following books, indexes, and websites are useful for researching interest groups and public policy issues, primarily in the United States.

Reference Books
Web Directories of Interest Groups and Public Policy Institutes
Indexes and Databases
Surveys and Demographics
Government Reports

Reference Books

Encyclopedias, directories, and almanacs provide overviews of interest groups and public policy institutes in the U.S.  Some of these books also provide interest groups' ratings of Congress.

• Almanac of American Politics
  CC Reference JK1010 .B26
• CQ's Politics in America
  CC Ready Reference JK1010 .P64
  
• Directory of congressional voting scores and interest group ratings / J. Michael Sharp
  CC Reference JK1051.S555 2000 v.1-2
• Encyclopedia of American political parties and elections / Larry J. Sabato, Howard R. Ernst
  CC Reference JK2261 .S218 2006
• Encyclopedia of interest groups and lobbyists in the United States / Immanuel Ness
  CC Reference JK1118 .N47 2000 v. 1-4
• Public interest group profiles
  CC Reference JK1118. P8 2006-7
• Research guide to U.S. and international interest groups / edited by Clive S. Thomas
  CC Reference JK1118.R47 2004
• World encyclopedia of political systems and parties / edited by George E. Delury
  CC Reference JF2011 .W67 1999  vol.1-3

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Web Directories of Interest Groups and Public Policy Institutes

Use these directories from libraries, journals, and other organizations to directly connect to the think tanks or interest groups relevant to your research.  

• Congress.org Power Rankings
• Foreign Affairs Online: Think Tanks
• Foreign Policy Research Institute's Think Tank Directory
  
• Google directory Policy Institutes
• Harvard Kennedy School: Think Tanks Directory
  
• Michigan State University Directory of Think Tanks
• National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA) Think Tank Directory
  
• Policy Jobs World Think Tank Directory
  
• Project VoteSmart Interest Group Ratings
• University of Michigan: Political Science Resources Think Tanks

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Indexes and Databases

Use these indexes to seach for articles relevant to public policy research or for position papers, briefs, and conference materials published by policy institutes.

• CIAO -- Columbia International Affairs Online
  Includes both journal articles and policy briefs relevant to international and government affairs.
  
• PAIS International and PAIS Archive
  Covers international literature in public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations
  
• Policy Archive
  A growing digital library of policy papers; already at 20,000+.
  
• Project Muse
  Full-text repository of 250 journals, many particularly relevant to foreign and domestic public policy.
• SSRN -- Social Science Research Network
  Library of working papers, including policy briefs from IGOs such as the World Bank.
  

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Surveys and Demographics

Refer to some of these core surveys and polls to ascertain public perception, behavior, and demographics.

• American Factfinder
  Population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the American Census.
  
• American National Election Studies (ANES)
  Survey data covering American political behavior since 1948.
  
• iPoll Databank
  U.S. public opinion poll data organized by question.
  
• Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
  Polls and public opinion research on attitudes toward politics, media, race, and other major issues.
  

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Government Reports

The U.S. government researches public policy programs and issues.  The Congressional Research Service provides research and analysis to Congress and the Government Accountability Office analyzes the effectiveness of government programs. 

Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports are not automatically made public.  However, the library has hundreds of CRS reports on file, and various libraries and organizations are making a concerted effort to collect and digitize as many CRS reports as possible.

• In Bridge, at the Carleton library (search Congressional Research Service as "author")
• CRS Reports at UNT Libraries
• OpenCRS
• WikiLeaks: Congressional Research Service Reports
  

Government Accountability Office reports are available both through the library or online.

• In Bridge, at the Carleton library (search United States. Government Accountability Office as "author")
• GAO.gov (reports to 1970)
• GPO Access (reports to 1995)