Home Graphing & Data Tools Policy Analysis Budget Trends Mixed Policy & Budget Data-Related Resources Policy Budget Crosswalk. Sortable Committee Table Committee Jurisdiction Tutorials Policy Tool Tutorial Budget Tool Tutorial Chart Tutorial Graph Examples Scenarios Rise & Decline of Issues, A Rise & Decline of Issues, B Institutional Capacity

Scenarios: Using the Policy Agendas Project Resources

These scenarios show the variety of questions that can be addressed using the Policy Agendas Project Level I (preconstructed figures about policy trends) and Level II (custom analysis) resources.

Scenario 1: Rise and Decline of Issues in Congress

Perhaps the most popular use of the Policy Agendas Project Resources is to track policy trends. This scenario shows how a user might explore questions about congressional attention to policy. Some examples of these questions are listed below.

How has Congressional attention to issues changed since World War II?
- Has there been a substantive shift in focus to new issues?
- What may be responsible for these changes?
How have patterns of attention to different subtopics within major topics changed over time?
- Are there some subtopics within major topics that have dominated?

Scenario 1 Exercises

Part A: Evaluate patterns of issue attention in Congress
Part B: Evaluate patterns of subtopics attention in Congress

Senario 2: Institutional Capacity

The 1970s marked a period of extensive institutional changes in Congress. Perhaps most important was an expansion of resources and autonomy to individual legislators. Some scholars argue that this has contributed to a change in congressional activity.

The Policy Agendas Project resources can be used to explore such questions about institutional capacity. Some examples of these questions are listed below.

How has congressional hearings activity changed over time?
- Does congress have more hearings now than they did at the end of World War II?
- Was there a period where hearings activity peaked?
- Are more hearings devoted specifically to referred bills or has there been an increase in the number of hearings not related to specific bills?
Has there been an increase or decrease in the number of public laws passed?
- Has there been an increase or decrease in the number of laws passed that have passed a veto-override?
- Are more laws introduced by Democrats? What about after the Republicans became the majority in the House after in the 1994 elections?

Scenario 2 Exercises

Part A: Evaluate patterns of Hearings Activity in Congress

Examples of Undergraduate Research

Each year, Undergraduate Fellows with the UW Center for American Politics and Public Policy complete independent, original research projects using Policy Agendas data. These projects provide some additional examples for using the data sets and resources available on this site.

Click here to see undergraduate research projects using the policy agendas data.

Home Graphing & Data Tools Policy Analysis Budget Trends Mixed Policy & Budget Data-Related Resources Policy Budget Crosswalk. Sortable Committee Table Committee Jurisdiction Tutorials Policy Tool Tutorial Budget Tool Tutorial Chart Tutorial Graph Examples Scenarios Rise & Decline of Issues, A Rise & Decline of Issues, B Institutional Capacity		Scenarios: Using the Policy Agendas Project Resources These scenarios show the variety of questions that can be addressed using the Policy Agendas Project Level I (preconstructed figures about policy trends) and Level II (custom analysis) resources. Scenario 1: Rise and Decline of Issues in Congress Perhaps the most popular use of the Policy Agendas Project Resources is to track policy trends. This scenario shows how a user might explore questions about congressional attention to policy. Some examples of these questions are listed below. How has Congressional attention to issues changed since World War II? Has there been a substantive shift in focus to new issues? What may be responsible for these changes? How have patterns of attention to different subtopics within major topics changed over time? Are there some subtopics within major topics that have dominated? Scenario 1 Exercises Part A: Evaluate patterns of issue attention in Congress Part B: Evaluate patterns of subtopics attention in Congress Senario 2: Institutional Capacity The 1970s marked a period of extensive institutional changes in Congress. Perhaps most important was an expansion of resources and autonomy to individual legislators. Some scholars argue that this has contributed to a change in congressional activity. The Policy Agendas Project resources can be used to explore such questions about institutional capacity. Some examples of these questions are listed below. How has congressional hearings activity changed over time? Does congress have more hearings now than they did at the end of World War II? Was there a period where hearings activity peaked? Are more hearings devoted specifically to referred bills or has there been an increase in the number of hearings not related to specific bills? Has there been an increase or decrease in the number of public laws passed? Has there been an increase or decrease in the number of laws passed that have passed a veto-override? Are more laws introduced by Democrats? What about after the Republicans became the majority in the House after in the 1994 elections? Scenario 2 Exercises Part A: Evaluate patterns of Hearings Activity in Congress Examples of Undergraduate Research Each year, Undergraduate Fellows with the UW Center for American Politics and Public Policy complete independent, original research projects using Policy Agendas data. These projects provide some additional examples for using the data sets and resources available on this site. Click here to see undergraduate research projects using the policy agendas data.

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