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.

 

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More Information
Agenda	When	Where	Related Training	Policies	Related Resources

The leadership competencies for this course include:

• Technology Management
• External Awareness
  

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This sponsored course is tailored for your group's specific needs.

The program fee for sponsored courses includes program development, faculty, and course materials, presented in the DC area at your location, for up to 20 attendees. *  We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.

See the FAQs About Sponsored Courses for more information.  

Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing.

TheCapitol.Net, Inc.
Contract GS02F0192X  

Bring this course to your location. 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. Not enough people for a sponsored or custom course? See these Capital Learning Audio CoursesTM Capitol Learning Research Skills Audio Courses Advanced Online Research Skills, A Seven Course Series Tracking and Monitoring Legislation Researching Legislative Histories Legislative Histories: Bills, Resolutions, Committee Hearings, and Committee Reports

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

Sample 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. This course and any of its topics are also available as a custom, on-site program anywhere in the United States.   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: 202-678-1600.
Time and Dates	9:00 am to 4:00 pm This Sponsored Course Requires One (1) Day
Location	This course can be presented at your location in Washington, DC, or at a location in Washington, DC, that we provide.  * For a map with a brief list of hotels near the Capitol, click here. When we arrange space, we use 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
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. 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 Procedure Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process Congress in a Nutshell: Understanding Congress
Policies	See https://www.thecapitol.net/PublicPrograms/CoursePolicies_Sponsored.html 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 sponsored courses including suggested attire.
Program Fee and Registration	$11,875 - for up to 20 attendees *  The program fee includes program development, faculty, and course materials and presentation at your DC-area location for up to 20 attendees (sponsor provides classroom space, AV, and any breaks and lunch). For an additional fee, we can also provide classroom space in the DC area for up to 20 attendees, AV, breaks and lunch. We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.  Registration and payment at least 3 weeks before the course is required so the program can be customized for your specific needs. For more information see FAQs About Our Sponsored Courses. * = This course can be also presented outside the DC area. Contact us for details.         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 202-688-2424.    Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA  22313-5706
Available as custom, on-site training?	Yes.  This program can be tailored for on-site agency, association and corporate training.  Please call 202-678-1600 for information. Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing. TheCapitol.Net, Inc. Contract GS02F0192X
Need more information?	Phone: 202-678-1600 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
TCNRT.com
 

This Sponsored Course Requires One Day
9:00 am to 4:00 pm

   
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