What is Policy Research?
Research is the collection and presentation of information in a systematic way.

Policy research is concerned with providing communities and decision makers in government, industry and the non-profit and private sector with recommendations for action that resolve real problems. Policy - defined as the declared intentions of an organisation or government's goals and priorities is shaped by policy research. This kind of research can be distinguished from research concerned with advancing the frontiers of particular academic disciplines.

Different types of research
Policy research comes in a wide variety of forms. It could be for an organisation dealing with a particular group or issue. For example, for a homelessness charity researching the major issues faced by the homeless, and seeking to advise and influence the government's policy. Or it could be for  a think tank such as the IPPR developing innovative potential policy solutions on areas such as education or health, aiming to get these discussed and debated publicly and in government circles.

The work involved
Policy research provides different kinds of information that utilise a range of different skills, knowledge and techniques. It might be concerned with answering the 'What is happening?' questions. For example who are the homeless or how many children are being born outside marriages? Often this involves working with statistical data that help establish patterns and trends in society. 

Secondly policy researchers try and understanding why these patterns occur - for example, why the percentage of people from specific groups who are homeless is increasing. Finally there are the 'what should we do?' questions. Research here might involve evaluation studies. For example assessing the effectiveness programmes that move claimants from benefits to work or programmes to reduce teenage pregnancy