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Public Policy Research at Emory

This guide is designed to assist you with public policy research and assignments, including (1) social indicator tracing and (2) policy synthesis papers

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Statistical Agencies

Data Resources Support at Emory

Statistical Considerations

Please consider the following when reviewing and working with data in public policy, which is often essential for making the case for a policy intervention, and for assessing/evaluating its efficacy in meeting a particular goal.

  • What is the indicator or data actually measuring? How is it operationalizing a more abstract concept?
  • At what level of disaggregation is the data being measured? At what level is it available?
  • Has the measurement of the indicator or concept changed over time? If so, what is the impact of these changes on longitudinal studies? Notate the differences over time and the implications?
  • Who (agency, organization, etc) serve as the source of the data? Are there any biases in measurement or selection of data in the study?