Hello Class!  My name is Kate Williamson, and I designed this guide to help you with the research portion of your POLS 304 Research-Based Project. Move through each tab of the guide to help you identify, narrow and find reliable sources on your topic. 

If you have a research related question, here are a few options for you:

• You can contact me directly:
  • by email at williak2@arc.losrios.edu (Please put "POLS 304" in the subject)
  • by scheduling an appointment 
  • by calling me at (916) 484-8197 (if you leave a voicemail please mention POLS 304)
• Use the 24/7 Chat with a Librarian global service. 
• Call the Research Help Desk (916) 484-8458 to speak with a librarian (note: you may need to leave a message) 

Happy Searching!

California Policy Analysis Project

See your POLS 304 Canvas course for full project details!

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your ability to identify and examine a political problem or challenge within the state of California, summarize and evaluate policy options designed to help resolve the problem or address the challenge, and present specific recommendations. To complete this project, you will need to identify and use a variety of appropriate resources to gather information and engage in critical analysis to create an informative and persuasive written policy analysis brief and an oral policy pitch. 

The complete project consists of a progressive set of assignments that include

• a written proposal that identifies the general issue area and a problem or challenge accompanied by an annotated bibliography that reflects initial background research and an evaluation of potential sources.
• a written policy analysis brief that presents information about a specific problem or challenge and supports a recommendation about policy options.
• an oral policy pitch that summarizes your argument and highlights key aspects of your analysis and recommendation.

Detailed instructions, requirements, and basis for evaluation will be provided for each assignment of this project separately.

Overview of the Project

There are always political, social, and/or economic opportunities and challenges in California.  California's leaders make and implement policies to attempt to address a variety of circumstances problems across a wide range of issue areas while navigating a complicated (and often changing) political landscape. 

You will select one key issue or policy area as your inspiration, investigate and evaluate one related current problem and/or challenge and relevant policy options, and recommend one or more policy alternatives to address the problem and/or challenge.

In completing the various steps of this project you will

• Select a specific issue or policy area as the focus of your analysis.
• Identify and describe a specific, current problem or challenge within this issue area.
• Evaluate policy options that would address the current problem or challenge.
  • policy options should be focused at the state or local level of government
• Make a  policy recommendation, supported by evidence, and communicate it in a written policy analysis brief and an oral policy pitch.

Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

In a brief proposal (of about 100-200 words), you will (a) identify the issue or policy area and the key current problem or challenge you will address, (b) describe your initial beliefs about why this problem or challenge is important and must be addressed by a state or local government action, and (c) the nature or cause of the problem.

• A proposal must be "accepted" (approved) at least five (5) weeks prior to the due date of the policy analysis brief and pitch for you to earn credit for those assignments.
• When you submit your proposal, you will receive a response of "Accepted" or "Revise and Resubmit".  A "Revise and Resubmit" response will include suggestions for revisions and a due date for the resubmission.

An evaluative annotated bibliography is a list of sources - books, articles, videos, or other sources - that includes complete citation information and a brief summary and evaluation of those sources with respect to their intended use (in this case, a policy analysis brief).  This is different from a Works Cited list. A bibliography is a list of what you have read not just what you specifically reference in a final paper. Each annotation should be about one paragraph, between three to five sentences long (100-150 words).

For this project, your annotated bibliography will include a total of at least five (5) potential sources that represent a variety of types of sources - news and magazine articles, government documents, books, academic journal articles, videos, interviews, etc. It should be the result of the initial background research you conduct about an issue area to identify and select a problem or challenge and your evaluation of the availability and quality of potential sources relevant to this project.

Policy Analysis Brief

In a 1000-1500 word written informative and persuasive policy analysis brief, present a concise summary of the most essential information about a clearly defined problem or challenge, policy options to address it, and specific and detailed recommendations on the best option to improve an existing policy or add a new policy.

Your brief must be based on evidence from at least five (5) different credible and appropriate sources.

• Credible and appropriate sources for this project do NOT include textbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries (including wikis), or other secondary or tertiary sources intended to provide general knowledge for reference by the public. While these sources may be consulted for general background information and to assist in identifying appropriate and credible sources, they should not be included as part of the minimum five (5) cited sources.