Research Tools and Techniques for Analysts:
Refining Your Online and Offline Research
What to do when you're told, "Find out about this!"
Research Workshop: Washington Essentials

This course helps analysts and anyone responsible for research at any Washington-area organization, whether an agency, association, business, elected official or nonprofit. It is designed for analysts who want to improve their online and offline searches.

A recent survey by Convera found: A commanding 95 percent of professionals find Internet search engines an aid for conducting work, yet only 40 percent say they are very satisfied with the results Less than 25 percent of professionals are very confident that when using popular Internet search engines they've looked everywhere to find answers Businesses pay employees to hunt for information that can't be found and make decisions without all the facts. More than 60 percent disclosed they do not ask for help when lost, while 80 percent said they have never been trained to use the advanced search feature.

Are you among the 80 percent who haven't received research skills training? Our faculty have a minimum of 15 years' experience in performing research in Washington.

You'll gain:

• An overview of online searching, telephone and email research
• A review of legislative, judicial, regulatory, factual and international research
• A review of public and private information sources

 

Research is a fundamental job requirement of many jobs in Washington, DC, and our research skills courses can help you perform this work more efficiently and more effectively, contributing to better job reviews and promotion possibilities.

You will have a "hands-on" opportunity to follow our faculty and navigate the Internet with one of our laptop computers (first 20 registrants to sign in at program). Or, bring your own Wi-Fi equipped laptop and take advantage of our Portable Wi-Fi Classroom^TM to enhance your learning.
 

More Information
Agenda	When	Where	Related Training	Policies	Related Resources

The leadership competencies for this course include:

• Technology Management
• External Awareness

Bring this course to your site. This course and any combination of its topics are available as custom on-site training for your organization. We have tailored this course for federal agencies, law firms, and Fortune 500 companies. For more information about how this training can help your members and staff, please contact our client liaison.

Space is limited. 
 

Course materials include the Training Edition of  "Real World Research Skills Second Edition: An Introduction to Factual, International, Judicial, Legislative, and Regulatory Research," by Peggy Garvin "Peggy Garvin is the 'go-to' Washington expert on how to effectively locate, evaluate and leverage information from federal and state government websites." -- Sabrina I. Pacifici, Founder, Editor, Publisher, LLRX.com and Author of the blog on law and technology news, beSpacific.com "It includes important basics - how to think before you begin your research; how to work on unfamiliar topics; what to search and how to evaluate the results - which are not always included in books of this type." -- Kee Malesky, NPR Reference Libraryy

Agenda	Research Skills for Analysts 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (lunch on your own at 12:30 pm)   Search Techniques: Refining Your Online and Offline Research Why go beyond Google? What are Google and other search engines good for? Keys to finding and selecting resources beyond Google Online search tips: Searching on a topic - synonyms, variations; Applying filters - carefully - to increase precision Selected resources Improving Your Search IQ   Federal Legislative Sources Brief review of how a bill becomes a law and the primary documents generated along the way Demonstration of Primary Sources: THOMAS, GPO Access, and more Review sources for Bill Summary and Status, Full Text of Bills, Congressional Record, Committee Information Review sources for Public Laws, Statutes at Large, US Code The importance of knowing a database's contents Tips on using specific terms, alternative terms, and applying filters When to use people resources   Courts and Judicial Sources Demonstration of Primary Sources and discussion of commercial resources Limitations of free Web resources for legal research Legal research vs. retrieving legal documents Field searching, pearl searching, citation searching Review Primary legal documents; legal research terminology; the structure of a decision; how to cite Supreme Court documents and procedures Email alert services   Federal Agencies, Administrative and Regulatory Sources The regulatory process and corresponding documents Finding the best tools within the agencies Demonstration of Primary Sources: The Federal Register, the CFR and more, and how to cite Administrative Law: review documents agencies generate, as well as information agencies require and make public OMB   Identifying Information Sources How private research sources differ from government research sources Value-added, specialized, editorial, copyright Tapping into information from think tanks, policy shops, trade associations, libraries, specialty press, state government Locating international organizations on the web and where to start your research People Interviewing Tips Do your homework first Email vs phone Who can you call? What can you expect? Respecting your sources   Review of Online Search Tips, and Q&A Research is a process Learn from the first search; try again Review results skeptically--remember Jason Blair Get a second source This is a sample agenda: the actual topics may differ slightly.   For a printable course description, agenda with dates, and registration form, click here.  PDF This course is also available as a custom program.   Do you need a training course we don't offer or coverage of an additional topic in this course? If you have suggestions for courses or topics you would like to see us offer, please contact us or complete our online suggestion form.
Suggested Prerequisites	None. If you need help deciding which courses you should take based on your work experience or training, please contact us via email or phone: 703-739-3790.
Time and Dates	9:00 am to 4:00 pm F, December 14, 2012
Location	December 14, 2012:  Location in Washington, DC will be announced before course. Other dates:  Location in Washington, DC will be announced before course.  Our courses are held at these Washington, DC, locations.
Course Materials	Course materials include the Training Edition of  "Real World Research Skills Second Edition: An Introduction to Factual, International, Judicial, Legislative, and Regulatory Research," by Peggy Garvin
Discounts	When 4 people from the same organization register and pay together, the 4th person is free. When 8 people from the same organization register and pay together, the 4th and 8th persons are both free. See complete details here.
Certificate of Training and CEUs	A Certificate of Training is available for this course. To get a Certificate of Training, your registration fee must be paid in full, and you must attend the entire course. This course is approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.
Related Training	How to Find, Track, and Monitor Congressional Documents  How to Research and Compile Legislative Histories Advanced Legislative Strategies Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process Congress in a Nutshell: Understanding Congress
Policies	For this course, cancellations and transfers must be submitted in writing to us.  Substitutions must be submitted in writing - include substitute's name, phone and email. Our transfer and cancellation fees are outlined below.   Transfer and Cancellation Fee Time Before Course Substitutions Allowed Transfer Fee Cancellation Fee More than 4 weeks No charge No charge No charge 15 days to 4 weeks No charge 10% of tuition 25% of tuition 4 days to 2 weeks No charge 20% of tuition 50% of tuition 1 to 3 days No charge 30% of tuition 75% of tuition day of program (no refunds to no-shows) No charge No refund No refund No refunds for no shows. We reserve the right to change this fee and time period.  Cancellation, Substitution and Transfer Policy  Weather Policy TCN reserves the right to cancel any course in the event of insufficient registrations. All statements and discussion at all of our courses, workshops and seminars, public and custom, are off the record and not for attribution, unless specified otherwise. The resulting confidentiality ensures a frank and free exchange of views.
FAQs	FAQs about our training including suggested attire.
Register	$395 Payment methods we accept include checks, EFT/ACH, and Intuit Payment Network (IPN).        If you get a "Wait List Only" message when registering, please select the next available date.   For a printable course description, agenda with dates, and registration form, click here.  PDF Fax or Mail: Print out and complete the registration form (in Adobe pdf). The completed form should include your method of payment.    Fax the completed form to us at 703-739-1195.    Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA  22313-5706
Related Resources	Legislative History Reference and Research Tools Congressional Documents Online Internet Resources handout from our Legal Research course Legal Reference and Research Tools Legislation and Legislatures, including national and state and local links Online Regulatory Research Resources Quick DC Links - Washington Essentials Real World Research Skills Statutory Construction and Interpretation, Government Series Capitol Learning Audio Courses TM Practical Web Research in a Nutshell Tracking and Monitoring Legislation Researching Federal Legislative Histories: Bills, Resolutions, Committee Hearings, and Committee Reports Researching Federal Legislative Histories: Statutory and Code Research Researching Legislative Histories Statutory Construction: A Primer on How to Read and Understand Statutory Text
Educational Tracks	Research Skills Track
Available as custom, on-site training?	Yes.  This program can be tailored for on-site agency, association and corporate training.  Please call 703-739-3790 for information.
Need more information?	Phone: 703-739-3790 Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net Complete our online information request.
Non-Partisan	TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.

 

 

URLs: www.thecapitol.net/PublicPrograms/researchskills.html
DCResearchSkills.com
WashingtonResearchSkills.com
TCNRT.com
 

Next Course
December 14, 2012
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location (below)
$395 

   
Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.

All of our courses and workshops include extensive interaction with our faculty, making our courses and workshops both educational and mini-consulting sessions with substantive experts.

Rave Reviews

"A number of great resources & computers were helpful to conduct real time research."

"Great resources. I feel excited to go back to work & implement these ideas."
-- Business Development Analyst

"Provides additional avenues to information and new ways to use the web more effectively."
-- Research Analyst, National Marine Manufacturers Association

"I learned some really great techniques and tips today."
-- Public Policy Manger, United Health Care

See more testimonials about this course.

Peggy Garvin

Robert Gee

Sabrina Pacifici

Rick Ramponi