• Mission & Governance
• Services Overview
• How to Get Involved
• Standing Committees
• NCSL Foundation

• Issue Areas: A-Z
• State-Federal Relations
• NCSL Standing Committees
• News from D.C. and the States

• About State Legislatures
• Elections, Campaigns & Redistricting
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory
• Web Sites

• Online Guide to NCSL Services
• Staff Sections and Networks
• Meetings & Professional Development
• Staff Directories

• Meetings Calendar
• Online Registration
• Meetings Home Page
• Legislative Summit

• Bookstore
• State Legislatures Magazine
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory

NLPES Site Map

Research Resources

We all know the feeling. We have received a priority assignment to study an arcane program and need to find out fast what issues need to be examined and what methods can be used to efficiently conduct the study. Where to start?

This site is intended to make this job easier. An important truism is that sometime, somewhere, another NLPES office has probably researched a similar program. This site provides several ways to find this information.

• Do a search of the NCSL web site. (A NCSL username and password are currently required to access this database.)  The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains a computerized research database of abstracts of thousands of pieces of legislation, legislative performance audits, program evaluations, legislative research reports, and related public policy documents. This will enable you to determine what states have done similar projects and get you contact information. NOTE - Legisnet does not currently contain reports from all NLPES member offices, but is working to fill in the gaps.  In the mean time, you can examine the reports of various member offices by accessing their web sites.
    
• Use our listserves.  The NLPES Listserve is an e-mail discussion group for NLPES members. It allows you to send messages such as "Help! Has anyone reviewed shoelace manufacturer regulation programs? If so, what did you do and what did you find?" as well as help out other poor souls in similar binds.  This can provide a tremendous time-saver as well as useful group therapy. Click here for sign-up information.  NCSL also offers other listserves that address topics ranging from health care to education.  Sign-up and tune-in to information from all 50 states in these policy areas.
   
• Refer to the complete listing of NCSL staff contacts by topic area.  NCSL has assigned its staff to track over 500 topics, ranging from abortion to youth violence.  They often have substantive information on what other states are doing that can save hours of work. This listing is available at http://www.ncsl.org/legis/ncsl/topiclst.cfm.   (A NCSL username and password are currently required to access this database.)
   
• Search the NCSL Publications Catalog.   NCSL publishes documents on a wide array of topics, including legislative analysis, management, and trends.
    
• Frequently, NLPES members have developed innovative approaches to conducting evaluations that should be shared with other states. Best practices can be found in the Question of the Month section of the web site.