• Define the problem
• Gather evidence
• Identify causes
• Evaluate a policy
• Develop solutions
• Select best solution
• Benefits & Costs
• The Prince System
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Defining the social problem

As a science public policy analyst, your group or your class will first need to select a science-related problem topic and then specifically define a social problem. Since you will be spending a great deal of time learning about this problem and developing solutions for it, be sure to pick a social problem topic that is of interest to everyone in the group.

Here are some steps to consider in selecting and defining a social problem for your public policy analysis:

• Review the Sample list of science-related societal problems.

• From the list (or additions that were made), select a social problem that everyone would be interested in studying.

• Decide on the specific community location in which to study the problem

• Define your specific social problem by using one of methods in the Information Tools.

• See an example

• Worksheet1: "Defining the social problem"(MSWORD)
• Worksheet1: "Defining the social problem"(HTML)