Public policy is an integral function of governments (including health departments and school boards); political, accounting, labor, and public relations professionals may also issue, debate and revise public policy. It is often planned or evaluated by political scientists, who study “the origin, development, and operation of political systems.” They also research political ideas and analyze “governments, policies, political trends and related issues.”²

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the job description of political scientists is as follows:³

• Research political subjects, such as the U.S. political system, relations between the United States and foreign countries, and political ideologies
• Collect and analyze data from sources, such as public opinion surveys and election results
• Develop theories, using qualitative sources, such as historical documents
• Test theories, using quantitative methods, such as statistical analysis
• Evaluate the effects of policies and laws on government, businesses, and people
• Monitor current events, policy decisions, and other issues relevant to their work
• Forecast political, economic, and social trends
• Present research results by writing reports, giving presentations, and publishing articles

Public policy often requires its creators, practitioners or evaluators to use qualitative and quantitative research methods. They may look for data to study causal links between political systems and various outcomes. In this way, political scientists share some overlapping job functions with anthropologists, economists, market research analysts, postsecondary teachers, sociologists, survey researchers and urban planners.⁴ 

Learn more about public policy and administration careers.

Much of public policy boils down to the analysis of whether a given program or set of guidelines is good or bad. For background on how this process works and the roles of those who conduct it, read Sadie Blanchard’s “Policy Analysts” (PDF) article in Occupational Outlook Quarterly, which describes how policy analysts influence government action by creating policy, evaluating policy and conducting research. It also examines their career trajectories and skill sets from an educational and experiential perspective, noting the importance of reading and digesting complex information, independent research, and effective communication and collaboration skills.⁵

• Master of Public Administration