With the attempted coup in Turkey and subsequent accusations, attention has shifted onto the Gülen Movement. Who are they? What is their role? Find Policy puts excellent research right at your fingertips.
Detailed search terms will return even better results, and for the newest results, toggle between relevance and date. And there you have it -- for your next article, or research paper, Find Policy quickly delivers quality results, from some of the best think tanks around the world.
We now have added Russia to our search pages. The search engine focuses on 13 leading research organizations. The page should be of particular interest in the current political context of the political events surrounding Ukraine and Crimea.
Screenshot of search for Crimea Ukraine Tatars. As usual, make your search as specific as possible.
To select institutions, we received excellent input from a number of Russian and international policy researchers. The site is still in trial, as we (and hopefully you) test it.
One limitation is that some institutions put little information online. The Levada Center, for example, widely cited in international media, has a sparse website, which is why we included its subsidiary, the Russia Votes project. Conversely, the Valdai Club, which serves as a kind of forum for experts, has a very active website and blog, and thus is particularly visible in the search results. To exclude the Valdai Center, use this trick.
Our search is great at bringing out what is on the websites, and thus faster and more focused -- but of course, it's only as compelling as the content behind it. In case you want international perspectives on Crimea, try our Foreign Policy search page, here.
The Russian search page is here.
Our search page for Australian think tanks now is available. The search focuses on 11 policy research organizations, covering a range of topics from international affairs and foreign policy to the Australian economy and domestic policy. We selected prominent institutions that are reputable, active, and offer a diversity of viewpoints. Here is a search on what Australian think tanks have to say on the integration of the Australian Aid Agency (AusAID) into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
The results immediately take us to a relevant link, giving a good overview on the issue. The analysis primarily comes from one institution which is focused on development policy.
To test this further, we did another search.
A good diversity of institutions, sharing their perspective on what goes on in Australia's neighborhood, from a more involved perspective than most think tanks in Europe or North America can bring.
As the search engine returns good results it's time to make it available. We already received excellent advice from some people familiar with policy research in Australia, but are certainly happy to hear more suggestions. Let us know how it's working. The Australian search page is here.
Current events in Ukraine draw much attention. Find Policy gives you a fast way of checking out what the main think tanks have to say. The more specific the search, the better the results. For example, if you try to understand the role of one of the opposition figures, Vitali Klitschko, you can see what a number of think tanks have to say about him. And as the search term is specific and events are unfolding fast, this is one of the cases where you may want to search by date first.
Results from a variety of institutions, giving you the kind of detail that you may want to find quickly. Let us know if you have questions. You find the foreign policy engine above, or here: http://www.findpolicy.org/foreign-policy/
How to refine your search further, by excluding institutions that you don't want in the findings.
Read MoreHere another illustration of how Find Policy is quicker at retrieving the information you may be looking for, when checking what is going on in the world of politics and policy. Mali was much in the news, earlier this year. So what does Google tell us about the intervention? One search with the general engine (left) and with the Foreign Policy engine of Find Policy. As with the other ones, click on the image to take a closer look.
Search on November 6, 2013. Click to enlarge.
How do the results compare? General Google gives you Wikipedia, which is a useful site but if that is what you want you could go to Wikipedia straightaway. The scholarly articles, highlighted on the left, do not relate to policy, but rather to medical intervention. The Guardian and Al Jazeera are interesting, though. (Also, Find Policy has advertising, see our FAQs.)
Still, we think Find Policy does the type of fine job that you'd find useful. The engine gives you a richer picture on Mali's intervention, with more nuance. There are diverse sources (Brookings, Chatham House, United States Institute of Peace), offering deeper takes, including a short video. We are not saying that it will return better results every single time. But we think it is much more likely that you will get better results with Find Policy than with a general search.
More illustrations to follow.
