Think tanks are private or publicly funded organizations that conduct research, usually in well defined topic or subject areas, which are often defined by or limited by the donor or founder. Think tanks often host archives of their research reports on their web sites, and these can be a rich source of useful and relevant information for students. However, just as in every other human endeavor, there can be sources of error or bias.
Just as with anything else, your first step is finding a think tank or research institute that will address the topics you want. There are many ways to identify appropriate institutions:
Think Tank Search Engine: Think Tank Search searches the websites of institutions that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity. These sites are affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, and non-governmental organizations.
Policy Commons: Collection of policy-related documents from various organizations, including think tanks, NGOs, and IGOs
Policy Commons Open 2025 Collection: Initiative to rescue and preserve materials from government organizations facing the removal of public information and data—reports, blog posts, videos, and podcasts.
Think Tanks and NGOs: List of non-profit research institutes and NGOs around the world.
Wikipedia: List of think tanks from around the world. Like all Wikipedia entries, this one is subject to change!
Many think tanks try to be non-partisan, or centrist - their research and reports present information that is neither liberal or conservative but shows both sides of an issue. Other think tanks tend to focus on issues or take positions that align with a political or other agendas and more closely to either a liberal or conservative point of view. You can still use research from an organization that has a particular slant, as long as you are aware of it and take that bias into consideration when doing your research.
-Content adapted from Colllege of the Redwood's https://redwoods.libguides.com/fakenews/thinktanks.
