Government Information

This guide is designed to provide an overview of how to plan and structure a policy scan. With specific focus on Canadian government policy, created and implemented from the 2000s onwards.

The term "Policy" can be interpreted in a variety of ways. In order to be clear in designing your policy scan, you will need to define what type of policy you are seeking:

• Overarching government priorities and mandates: which can include several pieces of legislation and programs, but wherein the researcher is primarily interested in the overarching direction of a government at a specific time.
• Legislation: legislation directs the work of government departments and ministries, but many programs and initiatives can be created as the result of legislation and may or may not be specifically outlined in enacting legislation.
• All programs or initiatives a government provides: this is the most comprehensive type of policy scan, involving a detailed scan of government websites and publications to create an inventory of programs provided on a specific topic.

Deciding which type of policy you are interested in will help you define the scope of your scan, and which resources will provide the information you need.
 

Before beginning a policy scan, planning your research strategy will help you be effective in you use of time. In planning, it is recommended you ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your research question?
• Which type of policy are you interested in?
• What topic / issue / policy are you interested in?
• What jurisdiction(s) will you be looking at?
• What period of time will you be looking at?

After initial exploratory searching, use primary sources to verify, update, and follow-up on specific leads and to locate as comprehensive a list of policies as possible. Primary sources of Canadian government policy are:

This type of policy provides a high level overview of the direction and priorities of the government at a specific time.

Legislation directs the work of government departments and ministries. Government programs and initiatives are created as the result of legislation, however programs may or may not, be specifically outlined in enacting legislation. They may instead be broadly referred to, and later created and detailed by a specific department or agency. Enacted federal legislation can be Statues/Acts or Regulations.

Acts & Regulations:

Legislative Documentation:

Documentation related to the creation of legislation, such as bills, debates, or committee reports, can also provide background details on the intent, potential impacts, and issues related to proposed legislation.

Directed by overarching government priorities and legislation, specific ministries and departments enact government policy through specific programs and initiatives. A comprehensive scan of these programs requires detailed review of relevant government websites and publications.

Departments & Agencies:

Narrowing the scope of a search to specific, relevant department or agency's website will make sifting through the results more manageable.

Annual Reports:

Annual Reports are required to be published by each department and can be an effective, consistent overview of all programs and initiatives run by a department. In many cases, it may be more effective to assess annual reports of a relevant department, than searching their website. Annual Reports will be posted to each site, usually under and About or Publications page. However advanced google searches of a specific department of agency's website can also be a useful method.

Archived Web Content:

Previous versions of government websites can be useful to find documentation for previous programs and initiatives, particularly for previous governments. These sites can be accessed via the Wayback Machine, by simply copy and pasting the current url and picking the relevant date.

When searching government documents, websites, and legislation, specific terminology is often used. These terms may be different from those commonly used. For this reason, it is very useful to keep a running list of search terms, adding additional terms you come across as you search.

Secondary Sources

Starting with a news search and general web search, can help you develop a roadmap for your scan. This will also provide you with an overview of policy approaches, and help identify keywords .

Which browsing secondary sources, Make note of any keywords or commonly used terminology that is relevant to your research question. This specific terminology will help you develop a comprehensive search for primary policy documentation later in your scan.

Further, if you come across specific policies of which you will want to find primary documentation on later, note as much of the following information as is available: 

• Name of legislation, policy, or initiative
• Jurisdiction
• When the policy was created
• Who created/announced the policy

The following resources are recommended for these exploratory searches:

General Web Search:

A general web search for keywords related to you topic and "Policy" and your jurisdiction of interest (ex: "Canada") can be a useful starting point to isolate keywords, and locate some policies relevant to your scan.

Note: a general web search will not be a comprehensive policy scan, but can be a really useful brainstorming activity to begin with.

News sources:

Searching news sources can be an excellent way to locate policies, jurisdictions creating policies, when they were created, by whom, and what they are specifically called. All of these things will make locating primary policy sources much easier.