Scholarly commentary: some key books and journals
The Library Collection can be a good starting point for finding books, journal articles, videos and other material in the UniSA Library collection. Here are a few example searches:
Watch the following video on how to locate policy analysis resources by searching the Library Collection and the Australian Parliamentary Library Collection.
Analysing policy: what's the problem represented to be? by Call Number: Online and Magill 320.6 BACCPublication Date: 2009Pearson, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales.
The Australian policy handbook by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2013, 5th ednAllen & Unwin, Sydney.
Making social policy in Australia by Call Number: Magill 361.610994 DALTPublication Date: 1996Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, New South Wales.
Social policy for social change by Call Number: Magill, Whyalla 361.61 FAWBPublication Date: 2010Palgrave Macmillan, South Yarra, Victoria.
Social policy in Australia - edited by Call Number: Magill 361.61 MCCA 3EdPublication Date: 2014, 3rd ednOxford University Press, Melbourne.
Social policy in the post-welfare state: Australian society in a changing world by Call Number: online and 361.650994 JAMA 3EdPublication Date: 2009, 3rd ednPearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales.
The student's companion to social policy - edited by Call Number: onlinePublication Date: 2016, 5th ednWiley Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex.
Talking policy: how social policy is made by Call Number: Magill 361.61 BESJPublication Date: 2006Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, New South Wales.
Empowerment and Control in the Australian Welfare State by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2018
Locating Sources for Policy Analysis: Published Literature
Watch the following video on how to locate policy analysis resources by searching various published literature.
Think Tanks
"an institute, corporation, or group organized to study a particular subject (such as a policy issue or scientific problem) and provide information, ideas, and advice" Merriam-Webster dictionary
May be linked to a particular ideology, political party or funded by corporations or individuals.
You can find a list of Think Tanks and related organisations on the Directory of Think Tanks.
There are around 40 Australian Think Tanks, here are some examples:
Media Watch: Disclosing the funding on think tanks
Media Watch episode 17, aired 17 May 2013 on ABC
The think tanks shaping Australia
5 part series on Australia's most influential think tanks by Christiane Barro, The New Daily, June 2019
The IPA has captured the Liberal Party
by Mark Buckley, Independent Australia, 22 March 2020
What are think tanks good for?
by John de Boer, United Nations University, Centre for Policy Research, 17 March 2015
Conference papers
Conference papers can be a great way to find up to date information, research trends and innovations on a specific topic because researchers often present their findings first at conferences. See the Find Information page for more
Peak bodies
- Australian Council of Social Service'...peak body of the community services and welfare sector and the national voice for the needs of people affected by poverty and inequality'
- Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)The ACTU leads a coalition of Australian unions. Their site features information about their current campaigns, work rights, news, publication archives, and union links
- South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS)The peak non-government representative body for community services in South Australia. Its members cover a broad range of areas in social services. Members include small and large agencies, peak bodies, service providers, individuals and some government departments.
Includes a list of member organisations
Research reporting defining peak organisations, their key roles and contributions, and how they operate in South Australia. The report includes recommendations for future operation and funding.
- NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS)'...works with and for people experiencing poverty and disadvantage to see positive change in our communities...the peak body for health and community services in NSW...' - About NCOSS
- Association of Children's Welfare Agencies (ACWA)'...the NSW non-government peak body representing the voice of community organisations working with vulnerable children, young people and their families.' - Home
- Northern Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS)'...a peak body for the Social and Community Sector in the NT and an advocate for social justice on behalf of people and communities in the NT.' - Home
'Peak bodies' provide a leading role in advocating and influencing policy to achieve the shared aims of their member groups or associations.
Hint: look for a 'publications' tab or menu option to locate submissions and more
Policy in the news
Find news reports, articles, television broadcasts and more
Visit the News Media guide, featuring news sources from Australia and around the world. Includes links to resources subscribed to by the Library as well as to freely available resources
TVNews: A chief source for Australian television news and current affairs
Updated daily includes content from the free-to-air networks programs include: Dateline, Four Corners, Insiders, Insight, Media Watch, and Q and A.
TVNews records are available via the Library Collection. Example search: NDIS > Resource Type: Videos
Watch the following video on how to locate policy analysis resources by searching various news media databases such as Newsbank.
Key sources of grey literature
'Grey literature' is information that has not been published commercially.Take a look at some examples of grey literature in the chart below.
| conference abstracts | conference papers | patents | statistics | |
| blogs | emails | preprints | theses and dissertations | |
| brochures | curriculum | policy statements | translations | |
| software | government documents | reports | videos | |
| clinical trial register entires | informal communications | repository content | webpages | |
| practice guidelines | archival material | standards | wiki articles | |
For more information on Grey Literature, take a look at the Grey Literature & Other Sources Library Guide
Use Google to search across multiple Australian government website by including site:gov.au (or site:sa.gov.au to limit to South Australian bodies) in your search eg. site:sa.gov.au policy
Watch the following video on how to locate policy analysis resources by searching Government Websites.
- Australia.gov.auLinks to information on Australian Government websites
- sa.gov.auA portal to South Australian Government departments
Web Archives
Find material that is no longer available on current websites.
- The Australian Web Archive (AWA)Includes the Australian Government web archive which can used to find policy documents from previous governments.
- Archived websites (1996 - Now)Search across a selection of archived Australian websites.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)Find Australian census data on a range of topic areas.
- Australian Institute of Health and WelfareAustralia's national agency for health and welfare statistics and information
- LIS Cross-national Data Center (Luxembourg)LIS acquires datasets with income, wealth, employment, and demographic data from a large number of countries, harmonises them to enable cross-national comparisons...
- World Trade OrganisationThe only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
- World Health Organisation Global Health Observatory DataFind data on world health as well as information on a range of health topics and issues.
Australian politics
Take a look at available resources held in the Library, as well as information on external Australian Government Resources in the Australian Politics section within the Politics and International Relations Guide.
Referencing with Harvard UniSA style
Below are a few examples of referencing in Harvard UniSA style.
| Type of reference | Reference list example |
| Media release | Ley, S (Minister for Health) 2015, Government continues Medicare consultation, media release, 3 March, Department of Health, Canberra, viewed 2 August 2016, <http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley013.htm>. |
| Submission to parliamentary inquiry | Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2015, Re: Social Services Legislation Amendment (Youth Employment) Bill 2015, Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, AASW, Canberra, viewed 2 August 2016, <http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=4f6bb5db-76f4-46bb-a25f-cde80bc3ea20&subId=405118>. |
| Policy paper | Maas, F & Hartley, R 1988, On the outside: the needs of unsupported, homeless youth, Policy Background Paper No. 7, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne, viewed 2 August 2016, <https://aifs.gov.au/publications/outside-needs-unsupported-homeless-youth>. |
| Hansard | Australia, House of Representatives 2003, Debates, 5 June, pp. 16248-16252. |
| Bill | Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare and Private Health Insurance) Bill 2003 (Cwlth). |
| Act | Mental Health Act 2009 (SA). |
| Newspaper article | Cook, H 2014, ‘St Kilda housing at risk of sell-off in government review’, Age, 26 August, p. 12. |
| Television program | Nine Network 2015, A Current Affair, streaming video, Nine Network, 20 February, TVNews. |
Need more help with referencing?
- The Referencing Roadmap is the Library's online guide to using the Harvard UniSA referencing style
- The Referencing page has all these links and more
- The Harvard UniSA Referencing guide (PDF) for rules and examples on using the Harvard UniSA style
- The Referencing Forum got a question you can ask here or have a look at previous questions to find an answer
- Havard UniSA Referencing the basics on this style