Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697740259400.pdf (Gambia)
National Assembly of The Gambia Parliamentary Research Handbook April 2019 1 Parliamentary Research Handbook Foreword This Research Handbook came as a result of collaborative work with Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) with a view to establish- ing a functioning research unit in the National Assembly.
The Assembly therefore highly appreciates the partnership with WFD as well as with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA UK) in building the human and institutional capacity of the National Assembly.

The reform agenda of the National Assembly Service embraces the var- ied nature and considerable volume of the structural requirements of a modern Parliament.
Therefore, it is imperative that a functional legisla- ture demands the establishment of strategic structures within its oper- ations to carry out the statutory mandate.

The need and importance of research capability in the National Assembly is crucial for the effective performance of National Assembly Members in the their oversight, bud- geting and law-making functions.
The critical structure for effective and efficient delivery of services to parliamentarians is the administrative capacity to have a well-resourced Library and Research Unit with the potential to conduct extensive re- search and produce unbiased analytical reports.

The criteria for this phenomenon are greatly dependent on the administrative resolve to provide space for a well-equipped resource centre with the competent personnel to support and provide the much-needed services.
This prin- ciple has to be governed by a practical tool that will provide a compre- hensive guide as to the approach and conduct of both Assembly Service staff and Members.

Thus, the need to have a Research Handbook cannot be over-emphasized.

In this regard, it is envisaged that the availability of the Handbook will not only influence but also equally inform the Assembly’s approach to policy and legislation.
It should be noted also as best practice, that a standardised approach to research analysis informs a parliament’s leg- islative and oversight work.

This process provides parliamentarians with valuable information needed to strengthen their capacity.

2 Parliamentary Research Handbook In conclusion, it is prudent to state that the production of this toolkit is testimony to the positive and productive engagement established with our partners.
We are delighted that the product, in anticipation will pro- vide a greater outlook for the services rendered to the Members of the National Assembly.

Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly August 2019 3 Parliamentary Research Handbook About the Research Handbook of the National Assembly This research handbook is to guide the Research Unit of the National As- sembly in conducting research and delivering research products for the use of the Members of the National Assembly.
The handbook is part of a package of support from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) to strengthen the capacity of the capacity of staff and structures of the Assembly.

Following the April 2017 legislative elections in the aftermath of the re- moval of a longstanding dictatorship in the Gambia, WFD became one of the first organisations to engage the National Assembly to help build its capacity.
In November 2017, WFD provided an induction training to the newly elected National Assembly Members, and in January 2018 a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between WFD, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) and the National Assembly.

The MoU aimed to support the strengthening of leg- islative processes, oversight functions and the structures of the National Assembly, particularly its communications, research and Hansard func- tions.
WFD support to the Research Unit began with a study visit for the Direc- tor of Research Mrs. Isatou Kassama and the Principal Clerk Mr Gibairu Janneh to the Research Department of the Parliament of Sierra Leone (PoSL).

After years of civil war, the Parliament emerged weak with al- most an non-existing research function.

Thanks to WFD intervention, the Research Department has arisen from the ashes to become one of the most vibrant structures within the Parliament today.
Given the sim- ilarities between the two countries it was felt that Sierra Leone would be an appropriate place for the Gambia to learn from as it builds its own research functions.

Following the study visit to Sierra Leone in October 2018, WFD sent the 4 Parliamentary Research Handbook team to the National Assembly for Wales in January 2019 to further ex- pose the Gambian team to a more advanced research department.
The study visits to Sierra Leone and Wales were meant to enable the team to appreciate the two scenarios and their differences, and therefore guide them in building an efficient research unit that would add value to the legislative and oversight functions of the National Assembly.

This handbook was initially drafted by Hannah Johnson, head of re- search at the National Assembly for Wales while on a follow-up study visit to the Gambia in April 2019.
Her visit was to assess and guide the Research Unit following the previous study visits to Sierra Leone and Wales.

The handbook was further reviewed by the Director of Research Unit Kassama and approved by the Clerk of the National Assembly Mr. Momodou Sise.

WFD therefore expresses gratitude to both the Parliament of Sierra Le- one and the Country Representative of WFD Sierra Leone Mohamed Jal- loh as well as to the National Assembly for Wales and is head of research Hannah Johnson.
Special appreciation also goes to the Speaker Hon.

Mariam Jack Denton and Clerk of the National Assembly of the Gambia for their cooperation and leadership.

5 Parliamentary Research Handbook Contents 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Introduction .................................................................. What is parliamentary research?
..................................... 7 9 Key elements of parliamentary research ........................ 11 Foundational skills and knowledge ................................. 13 How to approach a piece of research ............................. 18 How to identify sources ................................................... 20 Verifying and evaluating sources ..................................... 29 Analysing information ...................................................... 35 Writing effectively ......................................................... 42 10.
Using statistics ............................................................... 48 11.

Techniques for impartiality ........................................... 53 12.

Selecting subjects for proactive briefings ....................... 56 13.

Committee briefings ....................................................... 61 14.

Legislation briefing ...................................................... 71 15.

Quality control ............................................................... 75 16.
Useful sources.

of information and contacts .................. 82 6 Parliamentary Research Handbook 1.

Introduction Most parliaments in the world provide research and library services.

They are a core part of parliamentary work and are usually trusted and valued by Members.

This handbook is designed to help parliamentary researchers in their work.

It is not designed as a guide for library staff.


There is a difference between library services and research services:  A parliamentary library is a physical library containing reference materials such as books, reports, laws, records and other useful documents.

The library staff will source and provide Members with the documents they require in their work.

Example: A Member asks the library to find an education Act from 1965.
The library staff will search through the books in the library, or ask another library or archive, to find the Act, make a copy and give it to the Member.

 A research service goes beyond the services of the library.

Researcher will, at the request of Members or proactively on their own initiative, write briefings and answer questions on specific topics.
They source information from a number of sources (online, in books, in legislation, from experts, from government departments), verify the accuracy of the information and collate it in a written briefing.

All of the 7 Parliamentary Research Handbook information will include references to original sources, and will be completely impartial.

Example: There will be a vote in the National Assembly to approve funding for a new diabetes prevention programme.
A Member asks the Research Unit for a briefing on diabetes, the number of people with diabetes in The Gambia, causes of diabetes and the best ways to reduce and prevent diabetes.
Using a range of sources (like the National Health Policy, Bureau of Statistics, academic research, international organisations like the World Health Organisation, and government documents) the researcher collects all the information requested, and writes a short briefing to help the Member understand the issue and decide how they will vote.

This guide covers every aspect of parliamentary research from what it is, to how to practically do it.
There is also a list of useful contacts and sources of information to help you find the information you need.

This handbook was put together by Hannah Johnson (National Assembly for Wales), and Isatou Kassama (National Assembly of The Gambia) in April 2019.
It was funded by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in collaboration with The Gambia National Assembly It draws heavily on the House of Commons Parliamentary research handbook.1 1 UK Parliament House of Commons, Parliamentary research handbook (2017): https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/HoC- Library-Parliamentary-Research-Handbook.pdf 8 Parliamentary Research Handbook 2.

What is parliamentary research?


Members need to make their decisions based on sound, unbiased evidence, gathered from a wide range of sources.

A research service provides Members with the information they need to represent their constituents, scrutinise Bills, work in committees, and contribute in the chamber.
The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) guidelines for parliamentary research services state: “...parliamentarians need access to a safe place where they can ask both basic and complex questions to better understand public policy issues without fear of being judged or lobbied.
To be effective, they need to be able to obtain concise synthesis and analysis of the relevant facts quickly.”2 There are two main types of parliamentary research: - A confidential question-answering service, where Members can ask for briefings or for information on specific issues.

The information is just provided to the Member and not published publicly, and - Publicly available briefings, which are written proactively on subjects of interest to Members.
They are published online, and printed copies are available in the Library.
2 IFLA/IPU, Guidelines for parliamentary research services: https://www.ipu.org/file/457/download?token=UcZCGeUm 9 Parliamentary Research Handbook The information provided by parliamentary research services helps to: - - - - improve decision making, as Members base their decisions and contributions in the National Assembly on good, accurate evidence; connect Members with external stakeholders such as academics, NGOs and international organisations, who all produce good information, data and research; supports the National Assembly to check and oversee the actions of government, by ensuring that Members have access to all the information they need to perform their jobs; improve the legitimacy and trust of the National Assembly, as the decisions made by Members will be based on good evidence that people trust, and - manage change, as the availability of good information will help new Members get up to speed on important issues quickly when they start work in the National Assembly.
10 Parliamentary Research Handbook 3.

Key elements of parliamentary research Members will need information for a wide variety of activities related to their job, such as scrutinising legislation, making speeches, examining government policy, questioning ministers, raising issues of importance to the public, or responding to constituents’ enquiries.
While the format and level of detail of your research will vary, for your briefing to meet the needs of Members it must be: Impartial: Members are faced with information from wide range of sources (such as journalists, political parties, academic research, and government departments).

These sources will often have an agenda, political or otherwise.

Members need to be assured that your research is politically impartial, and that it takes into account the political context.
Even if you have strong views on an issue, it is important to not let this affect your work.

Clear and authoritative, even on technical issues: Members cannot be experts on everything.

But they are expected to have a view on almost any subject, and they often have to give those views at short notice.

They also have to scrutinise sometimes complex legislation and the performance of government on topics on which they may have no prior knowledge.
Your research needs to fill the gap between what Members know and what they need to know.

You should write using clear language to simply explain technical subjects, using the best evidence available.

11 Parliamentary Research Handbook Accessible: Members are often time-poor due to their exceptionally challenging workloads.

Occasionally they will require longer in-depth briefings, but most often your work should be succinct, focused on the most important issues and easy to navigate.
Timely: Members often need research within demanding deadlines.

You need to anticipate the research needs of The National Assembly so that information is ready in advance where possible.

In some cases, you might be required to be expert at finding information and producing briefings at short notice.

Relevant: Members have a unique representative, legislative and scrutiny role.

Your briefing should be designed specifically to support them to be effective in their work.
Confidential: Members may be unable to openly conduct their own research, or it might be used to inform private discussions.

Depending on the rules of your team, you may available to conduct confidential research on behalf of Members, who can be confident that you will never divulge information about who you are working for without prior permission.

12 Parliamentary Research Handbook 4.

Foundational skills and knowledge This handbook does not contain all the information that you need to do your work.
Depending on your previous experience, you are likely to have some skill or knowledge gaps.

These may include understanding how the National Assembly works and ICT skills.

To help you and your manager identify what skills you need, use the checklist in this section to assess yourself.

If you need more training and information, ask your manager or WFD to provide it.
You can also develop skills by reading this handbook, being mentoring or shadowing a more experienced colleague, working with other teams, and reading your colleagues’ work.

Remember that the best way to improve your skills is to do your work, and ask for honest feedback!
13 Parliamentary Research Handbook Foundation knowledge The fundamentals of parliamentary research - Impartiality - Balance - Confidentiality - - - - - - - - - - understanding legislation understanding government understanding the National Assembly understanding debates and other business understanding Members and Committees how to keep up to date about the National Assembly becoming informed on a new subject keeping subject knowledge up to date being familiar with online resources and hard copy materials available to you know how to request other materials - How to create and save a new document - How to copy and paste text Parliamentary knowledge Subject knowledge IT skills Word 14 Parliamentary Research Handbook - How to use footnotes - How to use Ctrl+F to find words in a long document - How to use headings, bullet points and number lists to structure your work Excel - How to create a table of statistics - How to use the SUM function and other basic functions - How to create basic graphs Outlook - How to send an email - How to write an email in a professional way - How to use a calendar - How to create an email signature The internet - How to use Google - How to use Good advanced search - Search techniques - How to use favourite/bookmarks Internal IT - How to use research databases File management - How to save research to a central location where colleagues can find it - How to name a file - How to use different versions of work 15 Parliamentary Research Handbook Research skills General research skills Finding and evaluating sources - - - - - - Taking an enquiry and clarifying what information is needed Identifying subjects for briefings Planning your work (planning, prioritising, delegating, collaborating, setting deadlines) Scoping the briefing – what key issues/ questions does the research have to answer enquiries database, Internet searching, Library and other sources evaluating and verifying sources - How to identify useful information in large documents (Cntrl+F, skim reading etc) - Dealing with external stakeholders Presenting information Writing skills - - Effective writing techniques Spelling and grammar - How to summarise information - How to structure documents - How to use graphics Finishing research 16 Parliamentary Research Handbook Reviewing - - Proofreading Editing Promoting and publishing research - Developing marketing materials - How to ‘brand’ a document - - - Printing documents Publicising research to Members Promotion through Twitter, Facebook and the blog 17 Parliamentary Research Handbook 5.
How to approach a piece of research When a Members asks you a question, or asks you to research an issue, you will need to go through a number of stages.

1.

Clarify what information the Member wants (this chapter) 2.

Identify, verify and evaluate your sources (chapters 6 and 7) 3.

Write your briefing in a short, clear way (chapter 9) 4.

Get your briefing edited and reviewed (chapter 15) The following chapters will give you the information you need to complete these stages.
Clarify what information the Member wants You should encourage Members to use the research enquiry form to submit their requests, or you can fill the form in on their behalf.

This means there is a record of what they have asked.

Make sure you write everything down!

18 Parliamentary Research Handbook Find out: - What they need the information for (a speech, a question in the chamber, to answer a constituent’s question, to help in their scrutiny of a Bill, for committee work etc.)
- What format they want the information in – hard/soft copy, an email, an oral briefing etc.

- How much detail they need - Their deadline - when they need the information by If you think that the Member is asking a question that you are not permitted to answer (for example if the information is needed for activities not related to their Assembly role), ask your manager to advise.

Refer to your Service Charter, and explain to the Member why you cannot answer the question.
You may also need to manage their expectations.

If they have asked for an in depth briefing about a big issue with 24 hours notice, tell them, in a polite and understanding manner, that it is unlikely to be possible.

Try to suggest alternatives or solutions (for instance, you could offer to focus on a specific issue, or try to renegotiate their deadline).

Be as helpful as possible!

You job is to serve them, but sometimes you won’t be able to provide them with all the information they have requested.
19 Parliamentary Research Handbook 6.

How to identify sources To begin your research, you should use three main sources of information: search engines, colleagues and specialist sources (internal and external to the Assembly).

Most of your research is likely to be online research.

To begin your research….

Open a new Word document, save it using an appropriate file name, and copy and paste information from different sources into the document.
Make sure you record a hyperlink (the address of the website), or name of the source.

Searching for information in long documents During your online research, you will often find very long documents.

Rather than reading the entire document, you can use two techniques to search for what you’re looking for: Skim reading: When you skim, you read quickly to get an overview before you start to read in depth.
Scanning involves running your eye quickly down the text to locate specific words or phrases that you are interested in.

Scanning will help you to decide whether you should read further, and how useful the website or document might be.

You can scan: contents pages, headings and subheadings, images and artwork, summaries, the body text itself or a sitemap.
Ctrl+F: Pressing Control ("Ctrl" on a PC keyboard; on Macs, it's the Apple Command key, next to the spacebar on the keyboard) simultaneously with the F key produces a "find" box on your web 20 Parliamentary Research Handbook browser or in Word or Adobe.

If you type in your keyword and then press Enter every instance of that word on that webpage or in a document is highlighted, allowing you to skim the page or document to determine if it means your needs.
Search engines Google is a powerful search tool, and often a simple keyword search is all that is required to get the results you need.
Most organisations, academics and news sources publish documents online, so a search engine is an excellent way to find documents and information from: - Government and other official bodies; - Civil Society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs); - - International organisations; Industry and trade bodies; - Academics, universities and other research organisations and funding bodies; - Online news sources.

Search for appropriate keywords based on your questions.
If you get too many results, you may want to add more keywords to your search; this will make it more specific.

If you find too few relevant results, try removing one or two words to make your search broader.

Example: A Member has asked you for a briefing on water resources.

Go to ‘google.com’ and search for ‘water resources 21 Parliamentary Research Handbook gambia’.

Click on the results (the blue text) and read the information on those websites.
The second result is the Ministry of Fisheries & Water Resources (mof.gov.gm).

Government ministry website are a good source of information about government actions, law and funding.

On Google, vary your search terms.

You might search ‘water resources strategy gambia’, or for ‘action plan water resources gambia’, or ‘water resources research gambia’ .

Think creatively about the search terms you use.


Google is a powerful search tool, and often a simple keyword search is all that is required to get the results you need.

But sometimes your search may not return relevant results, or you might have to scan through pages of results to find something useful.

If you find this, it’s worth being aware that Google provides a range of advanced search options.
These advanced options allow you to create more targeted searches, helping you to find the most relevant information quickly.

Google advanced search Google automatically searches for variations of a word, e.g.

if you search for ‘child’ Google will return pages that contain ‘child’ or ‘children’ or ‘childless’ etc.

The default setting is AND, e.g.

if you search for ‘child obesity’ Google will return only pages that contain both ‘child’ and ‘obesity’ (or variations of these).
You can refine your search by date or country using the search tools option below the search box.

To target your search more specifically, you can access the advanced search screen by clicking on the settings button in the top right-hand corner, then on the 'Advanced search' link.

22 Parliamentary Research Handbook Exact words: Use quotation marks (“x”) to search for an exact word or phrase, e.g.
“childhood” finds pages that contain only “childhood”, not “child” or “childless” or any other variation of the word.

“Childhood obesity” finds only pages that contain the exact phrase such as “the new childhood obesity strategy…” but ignore a page that reads “my child is obese”.

Either word: Use OR (in caps) between search words to search for pages that contain either one or both terms e.g.

childhood OR adult.
childhood OR adult.

Exclude a word: Add a dash (-x) before a word to exclude all results that include that word, e.g.

‘obesity –children’ will find pages that mention obesity, but ignore pages that contain ‘childhood obesity’ or texts such as ‘obesity is widespread among children today’.

Search within a site or domain: Using ‘:’ before a site or domain limits your searches to a particular site or domain, e.g.
‘childhood obesity: .gov.gm’ tells Google to search only the government website for pages that contain the words ‘childhood’ and/or ‘obesity’ and their variants.

Adding ‘:.ac.

uk’ will restrict searches to UK academic websites.

Adding ‘:parliament.uk’ will restrict searches to parliament’s website.

Searching for ‘flooding: www.theguardian.com’ or ‘flooding: www.thetimes.co.uk’ would return only articles from the Guardian or The Times respectively that mentioned ‘flooding’.
Colleagues Another source of information is your colleagues and work they have done before.

Members will often ask similar questions, so you may be able to re-use or update existing work rather than conducting the same research again.

Speak to your colleagues and ask them if they have done work on the issue before.
23 Parliamentary Research Handbook Colleagues in other departments may also be good sources – before joining the National Assembly they may have had careers in law or a university, and they could help you with your research.

Keeping up to date Most researchers also spend time keeping up to date with subjects that they are responsible for and politics more generally.

This is important for ensuring that you can write about what Members are likely to be interested in.
For example, if there is a big political disagreement about the impact of budget cuts, it is likely that Members will be interested in budget issues.

You should therefore think about whether there is a budget or funding angle to any subject you are researching.
There are a number of ways to help you to keep up to date:  News – online, newspapers, TV and radio  Blogs  Mailing lists from external organisations  Web page and keyword alerts  Stakeholder websites and bulletins  Catch-up meetings with colleagues and stakeholders 24 Parliamentary Research Handbook Specialist resources Sometimes information will not be easily available.

A search of the internet may not return any relevant results, even using advanced search tools.
The National Assembly of the Gambia Parliamentary records are a fundamental source of information.

You need to have access to Hansard record (ideally in soft copy) so you can search them.

You also need access to:  answers to Parliamentary Questions, which provide the Government’s position on an issue and contain important data and information held by the Government;  what has been debated and decided previously in the National Assembly on a particular issue.
This is useful for finding out government and opposition party views on an issue, and can be very important for explaining why a law was passed;  reports of committees, agendas and other business papers;  analysis and information provided to National Assembly Committees;  Bills and proposed amendments to them;  publications produced by research teams; 25 Parliamentary Research Handbook  documents and papers deposited in The National Assembly by various bodies, such as those required to do so by law or the Government.
Other parliaments Other parliaments are a good source of information, especially if you have been asked to compare issues with other countries.

The research services of other parliaments and assemblies are often well-placed to provide background and help.

Networks such as the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) (which hosts the Annual African Parliamentary Researchers Conference), are extremely helpful.
External organisations and experts These include government departments and agencies, universities, professional bodies, research organisations and NGOs.

You can first check the website of these sources.

If you cannot find the information quickly on their website, give them a call or send them an email.
It can be useful to build relationships with key external stakeholders, for example by sending them publications you have produced, signing up to their mailing list; inviting them to the National Assembly to discuss the issue or meeting them at external seminars.

Contacting external stakeholders for information You will often have to contact organisations outside of the National 26 Parliamentary Research Handbook Assembly to access the information you need.
For some types of parliamentary research, such as in-depth analysis of issues where there is a lack of relevant evidence, or the evidence is inconclusive or debated, then engagement with a range of stakeholders can be important to ensure balance and accuracy.
But remember that experts may be subject to bias and consciously or unconsciously use evidence selectively, or they might have personal political views that colour the information that they provide or be seeking to advance the interests of their organisation in a way that affects how they respond to your request.

It is therefore important to ensure that they do not in any way try to control your actions or the content of your analysis.
When you contact an external organisation: • never give any information about a Member to an external organisation, unless you have permission to do so; • explain the purpose of the briefing, and make the organisation aware if you are planning to make the briefing public and to reference them; • explain that you must be impartial, and that any information provided by them will be considered and not necessarily incorporated into the briefing.
International organisations The publications of the United Nations and other international agencies such as the World Health Organisation and World Bank (almost all of which are available online) are a rich source of information.

You can also contact the organisations’ offices in the Gambia.
Events, conferences and seminars Attending, or even organising, events, conferences and visits can be a good way to understand an issue in more depth, to 27 Parliamentary Research Handbook build connections and to find out more about stakeholder perspectives.

Freely available specialist databases There are several specialist databases that can be used to search for research evidence.
Google Scholar provides access to a huge amount of freely available academic research in a variety of forms including peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, blogs and policy briefs.

What if no information is available?

If you have been unable to answer a question you may need to think about who you might ask for help, or you may need to refine the scope of your briefing.
Sometimes it is simply not possible to find the information needed to answer a question, either because there is insufficient time to find it or simply because the necessary information does not exist in the public domain.

In such cases, it can be useful to make clear to Members that the information cannot be found.

This can be just as important as providing an answer.
For example, it might suggest that there is little or no evidence justifying a statement that has been made or a policy that has been proposed, and this fact will help to inform debate on the issue.

Sometimes, telling a user that no information can be found will prompt them to ask a question to ministers; any substantive answer will, in turn, potentially be a useful future source.

28 Parliamentary Research Handbook 7.


Verifying and evaluating sources Although there is a wide range of information available on the internet, sometimes it will not be accurate, up to date, or from a reputable source.

You must verify and evaluate the information you find to ensure that is accurate.

Tips for verifying information found online Practically anyone can create a website.

This means that when you search for information, some of it could be inaccurate.
Here are some tips for verifying websites: Start with sites you know and trust: there may be better information out there, but starting with a website you already trust is a good way to narrow your search.

If you decide to look up information from other sources, you can compare it to what you found first.
Check the name of the website: One of the simplest ways to determine the credibility of an online resource is to look at the purpose of the website, which can often be learned from the ending of the site’s address.

Every website ends in a Top Level Domain (TLD).

This is the bit after the last period in the domain name.

For instance, assembly.gov.gm ends in the TLD of .’gov.gm’.

A website ending in ‘gov.gm’ is a legitimate government site.

A website ending in ‘.edu’ or ‘ac.uk’ are owned by a university.
International organisations like the WHO and UN 29 Parliamentary Research Handbook may use domains such as ‘.org’, or ‘.int’.

Check the date: If an article cites a study done 10 years ago, it brings into question the reliability of the information.

This is especially true if there are more recent studies available on the subject.

Trust your instincts: Does the website look real?

Does the information sound like it’s accurate?

Do the logos look right and is the presentation style professional?
Check credentials: if you find some information line, try and find out the name of the author or organisation that wrote it.

See if they are a reliable expert on the subject – even check their qualifications.

If an organisation has produced information, find out more about it to check if they are trusted.

Dig deeper: If you’re still not sure, do a little snooping.

Read other articles on the site, particularly ones written by the same author.

Do you trust their opinion on other topics?


Is the writing consistent and strong?

Do articles seem unbelievable or even made up?

Don’t trust your first source: No matter where you find information, it’s a good idea to double-check it against other sources.

You can do this by performing additional online research or checking some print publications at the library.

Evaluating sources You can use 5 criteria to assess sources.
Use these criteria to find sources that get you to the heart of the matter: Authoritative, Objective, Relevant, Timely and Accurate (AORTA).

30 Parliamentary Research Handbook However, judgment and experience are often needed so if you are in doubt ask a more experienced colleague for advice.

Authoritative: Who produced this information?

What are the qualifications or achievements of the author or organisation that the information comes from?
Knowing about the organisation can help you to understand what their main 'business' is (e.g.

commercial, voluntary, research), how well- established it is, who the people involved are, and who they are linked with.

If the source is respected, it can usually be relied on (though beware that governments and other official bodies also often seek to advance their own perspective).

Ask whether the source is primary or secondary – authors can add spin when reporting the work or views of others.
Try to use primary sources wherever possible.

Objective: It is important to develop an awareness of the positions or interests represented in what you read.

This is especially true for controversial topics.

However, even information which purports to be ‘balanced’ may have hidden agendas or vested interests.

Sources that argue a particular point of view can be useful as long as you are careful in presenting them, for example as part of a summary of different views on an issue.
Sources such as blogs can be very useful when you are trying to get a quick understanding of a subject, but always cross- check what they tell you and consider whether it is the best source to reference.

Wikipedia may be useful in providing links to external sources at the very first stage of your research, but Wikipedia should not be cited as a source in its own right.

31 Parliamentary Research Handbook Relevant:.

Make sure that the sources that you use are relevant.
They may be interesting, but are they really going to be useful to your readers?

Does it relate to the countries or areas of interest to Members?

Is it at the appropriate level – you do not want to provide information that is too detailed/specialised or too general/ simple for your question.

Be careful especially of highly academic sources – direct quotations from them may be hard to follow for busy non- expert readers.

Timely: Start by checking whether the information provided is up to date.
Could something have happened since it was written?

While most paper documents include details of the dates that they were written, some websites are undated and these present particular risks.

Watch out for phrases such as ‘recently’ or ‘last week’ which might be true, if the article is very recent, but could be very out of date.

How important it is to have the very latest information depends on what you need it for.

Accurate: Is the information you are using accurate?
For example, newspapers and internet articles, in particular, are easily-available ways of getting a quick understanding of a subject, but they can be inaccurate, biased or incomplete.

Sometimes there is only one source of the information you need, but often it can be crosschecked with another source.

If reviewing statistics or research evidence, ask whether the methods used were appropriate and rigorous.
For example, how the data were gathered, the sample size and representativeness, questionnaire design or the use of control groups.

If you are evaluating single research studies, there are 32 Parliamentary Research Handbook a number of different versions of formal research evidence standards that can help you.

Always cite your sources, so readers know where the information came from.
If you have to use a source that may not be particularly good because there are no others, such as if it is out of date or if the source appears one-sided, always be clear about the fact.

You can let Members judge for themselves what weight they place on the evidence.

Primary and secondary sources Try to use primary sources wherever possible.

A primary source is a record that gives a first-hand account about something.
This might be a Hansard record of proceedings in the Chamber, a video of an interview with a politician, or some original academic research.

Secondary sources tend to be records that are based on primary sources, which they analyse or interpret.

Examples of secondary sources are newspaper articles or some books.

You should be more cautious with secondary sources as they are more likely to be biased.
For example, if you use a newspaper article on the debate as your source, you run the risk that the author of the article has selectively chosen quotes from the debate that support their own views.

Instead you should read the original transcript of the debate, which is the primary source, to draw your own conclusions.

Remember that a single document may be a primary source in one context, and a secondary source in another.
A newspaper report of a Minister’s statement in the Chamber is a secondary source for that statement, but a primary source as an indicator of that newspaper’s views.

Likewise, the Minister’s comments on Government policy are a primary 33 Parliamentary Research Handbook source, but her characterisation of Opposition policy is not.
Citing sources The sources you use should all be cited, ideally in footnotes3 or as hyperlinks (so the references do not get in the way of the flow of the main text and because web pages can change at short notice).

Citations should be clear, consistent in style and be capable of enabling a reader to follow up and check the source if they wish.

3 This is an example of a footnote 34 Parliamentary Research Handbook 8.
Analysing information Members often need help to understand the implications of the information that you provide.

You can do this by analysing the information.

This normally involves: explaining the problem; clarifying the Government’s position; identifying the main positive and negative impacts; describing alternative policies; and, summarising, assessing the evidence and drawing conclusions from it.
The analysis of information is a more advanced form of research that requires higher levels of skill, knowledge and experience.

The key elements of analysis are outlined below.

Explain the problem that the policy is trying to address This part of your analysis can be covered in your introduction.

Your aim is to explain why there is a perceived need to tackle the issue.

This can be important in helping Members to assess whether they believe the costs of the policy are worth it.
One of your key objectives in this stage is to clearly define the problem that you are analysing.

This can make it easier to identify effective measures to address it, and it enables the reader to understand the subject of the briefing.

- Help explain the problem by answering questions such as: What is the problem?

- How big is the problem?

- What facts and figures are available?

35 Parliamentary Research Handbook - How does the Gambia compare to other countries?
- Do current and projected trends indicate that the problem is getting worse?

What would happen if nothing changed?

- Give a history of the problem – what has the government already done to try to address it?

What has the National Assembly said about this in the past?

Clarify the Government’s position and how it will be delivered The next stage is to clearly explain the Government’s position on the problem, and its justification for it.
You should clearly state how the government believes its approach will work in practice.

As many policies can be quite complex, it is your job to explain them in simple terms so that Members can quickly understand them.

If it is not clear how the policy will be implemented – perhaps because the proponent has not given enough information – you can make that clear to Members.

You should also state the reasons why a specific approach has been put forward as a solution.
This rationale should be provided by the Government.

If little or no quantifiable rationale has been put forward, you can state that fact to Members.

This may be something that they wish to take up with the government.

Help to clarify the position by answering questions such as: - What is government policy on the problem?

36 Parliamentary Research Handbook - What evidence has been presented to show the policy will address the problem?

- How will the policy be implemented?


- How much money will be spent?

- Who will implement the policy?

Identify the main positive and negative impacts of the policy The positive and negative impacts of a position are key to assessing its effectiveness.

Policies can have a variety of impacts, beyond addressing the problem they are aimed at.

These wider impacts can be positive and negative and impact different people in different ways.
You can identify the main impacts by answering questions such as: - What are the positives of the policy?

- What are the negatives of the policy?

- What economic, social and environmental impacts might there be?

- Are there different impacts across the UK?

- Has the policy been tried in other countries?

What happened?

Is it international best practice?

- How will it interact with other legislation such as on human rights?
37 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Will certain groups of people be particularly negatively impacted (gender, geographic, age, minorities etc.)?

Describe alternative policies for addressing the problem Members are often interested in alternative positions – i.e.

how else might the problem be addressed?

There are likely to be a variety of policies that can be adopted that might resolve a problem.
As different policies can have different positive or negative points and can impact people in different ways, there might not be a consensus on the best approach to a problem.

The other alternative policies that you should consider are the main ones put forward by other stakeholders, and in particular opposition parties and parliamentary committees.

Therefore, it can sometimes be useful to address alternative positions in your briefing in a section on stakeholder views.
Help to describe alternative positions by answering questions such as: - What would happen if the policy was not introduced?

- What alternative policies have been put forward by the opposition parties and other stakeholders?

- What are the pros and cons of the main alternative policies?

38 Parliamentary Research Handbook Summarise, assess the evidence and draw conclusions on the policy and its alternatives.
The final stage in analysis is to summarise and assess the evidence you have gathered and identify what conclusions to draw.

This stage is often completed in the summary and conclusion of your briefing.

Conclusions Conclusions for more complex briefings or enquiries can be difficult – there may not be a simple answer.

There are also circumstances in which a conclusion might not be suitable – such as if you have been asked to advise about a legal matter involving a specific constituent.
Either way, your main aim is to provide, on the basis of all the evidence, answers to the key questions that Members have or will have.

This stage can be challenging for parliamentary researchers as they have to be careful not to be biased.

As a result, conclusions must be clearly drawn from the (good) evidence you have found.
You can generally make strong conclusions about: - - - - a factual point; the usefulness of a study; the likelihood of an event; a lack of clarity or inconsistency; - what evidence is missing; 39 Parliamentary Research Handbook - the possible impacts of a proposal.

If there is not good evidence available, you can say that it is not possible to give a conclusion and why.

In that case you can simply summarise the evidence.
On subjects that are controversial and for which there is not good evidence, be particularly careful about giving conclusions (see chart).

In such cases you might chose simply to present the evidence and arguments, to enable the Members to draw their own conclusions.

Summaries In all but the shortest documents, summaries are essential.

They can be very helpful for readers and are sometimes all the reader needs.
A good summary is useful for the reader who has little time, so wants an overview of a subject very quickly, and for others, as it shows them what they will find if they read further into the briefing.

While the summary appears at the beginning of the report or briefing, it is usually easier to write it last.

40 Parliamentary Research Handbook Summaries should: - - - - - be able to stand alone and be read without the need for looking at the main text; not contain detailed references to sources.
Any reader who wishes to follow up a point should be able to do that using the references in the main text; be short – one or two paragraphs in a short briefing and a page or two at most for a lengthy paper; cover only the most important issues.

Bullet points can be helpful but can also be less readable than normal writing – judgment will be needed as to the best approach, given the subject; be as clear and impartial as everything else, avoiding jargon wherever possible.
41 Parliamentary Research Handbook 9.

Writing effectively How you explain things is almost as important as what you say.

While the factual content of any parliamentary research must be as good as it can be, the way in which it is communicated is also important.

Effective communication allows the reader to quickly understand the content.

No-one, even if they know a lot about a topic, should have to work hard to understand your key messages!

Key tip: write what you say!


One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to write in the ‘official style’ of writing that used to be common in the civil service and other sectors.

This language tended to be obscure, confusing and longwinded.

Instead you should think about the message you want to get across, and how you can most clearly and concisely state it.

To do this it can be helpful to imagine your reader sitting opposite you at your desk.
You would be unlikely to say: “The Government decided that it was essential to formulate an improved means of securing practical progress.” Instead you might say: “The Government decided it needed a better plan.” 42 Parliamentary Research Handbook The most important factor in ensuring that you write well is being aware of who will read the briefing and what they intend to use it for.
Members are busy and often demanding people with many responsibilities, and it is crucial always to bear their needs in mind when writing for them.

This applies whether you are writing a response to a specific question or writing a substantial piece of analysis of a controversial public policy issue.
Good writing: - - - - is logical, direct and unambiguous, so it does not lead to misinterpretation; tells a story that engages the reader’s attention; is well-structured, to break down complex messages or large amounts of information, in order that they can be easily assimilated; uses, wherever possible, necessary and familiar words, and tries to avoid jargon that most readers will not understand.

A number of principles underpin this.


Some of these apply more to substantial briefings than short answers to specific questions, but most are relevant to all types of written work.

1.

Put the main point or the answer first.

Always directly answer the question!

Members are busy people and may spend only a few seconds to glance at a document before deciding whether to keep or 43 Parliamentary Research Handbook discard it.
It is sensible, therefore, to show the reader why the document is worth reading, by: - starting with a heading or title which says unambiguously what the document is about - making the first sentence or paragraph a brief and clear overview of the subject if your briefing is a response to a specific question, put that question and a brief summary of the answer in the first sentence.

2.
2.

Guide your readers through what you have written: Set out the main points prominently, using plenty of headings and sub-headings as signposts, with the main point or conclusion of each section before the analysis which supports it.

These headings can also be used to create the contents page of longer briefings.

Lead your reader through the argument, is it clear why you have moved on to the next issue or why you have covered certain issues?
In longer papers, use a structure which meets the needs of different kinds of reader.

The title and contents page will be skimmed by the ‘one-minute’ reader.

The ‘five minute reader’ will go on to look at an overview or summary of the topic.

Readers with more time will read on further into the full document, because it is clear that the briefing covers what they need.

- - - - 44 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Include a summary in all except the shortest papers.
Summaries can satisfy both the reader in a hurry and show others with more time what they will get if they read on.

A good summary will stand alone and tell the story of the subject, in the same order.

It will be short and cover only the most important issues.

And it will be clear and as impartial as the remainder of the paper.

- Don’t forget the ending.


The endings to sections of a briefing can summarise the main points, point to what will happen next, or raise further questions that readers may wish to consider.

3.

Use statistics well wherever they illuminate the issue.

Don’t simply relegate data to an appendix as relevant tables and graphics can add to your analysis at various points, including at the start, for context.

4.
4.

Break up the text from time to time with: - Bullet point lists, which help readers identify key issues and also allow busy readers to assimilate major points quickly.

- Numbered lists or flow charts, to show the stages of a process or procedure.

- Tables for content other than statistics, for example to present ‘for and against’ arguments.
45 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Text boxes, which are useful to draw attention to issues that do not ft neatly into the flow of your analysis, or for material that only some readers will want to read, such as quotations, case studies or technical explanations 5.

Keep to the point and, in particular: - Make your document as short as possible without sacrificing clarity.

- - - Try to write short sentences, which are easier to understand.

Keep to one issue or topic for each paragraph.


Leave things out – not everything you find will be important to your readers.

Make sure each word or phrase adds something relevant, and look for the shortest way to express something.

- Where background information is useful but quite lengthy, put it into an appendix rather than the main text.

6.

Use language that readers will understand.


If jargon or technical wording is important, explain what it means and, if appropriate, explain concepts in a glossary or appendix.

7.

Cite sources and references clearly and consistently.

Some readers will wish to follow these up, so make it easy for them to do so.

8.

Use active verbs as often as possible as this helps readers grasp what you are saying more easily.
For 46 Parliamentary Research Handbook example, say “The Government will publish its proposals at the end of March” rather than “The proposals will be published at the end of March;” or “The committee recommended several changes” rather than “Several recommendations for change were made by the committee.” 9.

Show your impartiality.

See chapter 10.

10.

Write confidently.


This includes pointing out what is important and interesting in what you are writing – perhaps briefly in an initial summary, or maybe in the headings and sub-headings you use.

Being impartial does not mean being boring, and readers will value evidence- based judgments about the usefulness of a study, a lack of consistency or clarity in a government statement, or the potential impact of a proposal.
If, for example, a report contradicts every other report on the subject, say so; but make sure that is justified by evidence.

Be particularly careful on controversial issues.

For example, although the vast majority of scientific evidence supports the negative effects of climate change, there is a small number of politicians in most countries who do not accept that.

The contrary view needs, therefore, to be acknowledged, without giving it undue prominence.

47 Parliamentary Research Handbook 10.


Using statistics Statistics and visual ways of presenting numbers are often crucial in helping Members to understand the issue.

Statistics, when used well, can tell simple stories even if the underlying data are complicated.

Almost all Members like to use numbers to support their arguments.

They also like to make comparisons – such as comparing their constituency with the national average or comparing their country with others.
Statistics, when used well, can tell simple stories even if the underlying data are complicated.

They can also help to make figures seem real.

For example, while it might be technically correct to say that around 31 million people in the UK have blue eyes, it may be more understandable to say that nearly half of the UK population has blue eyes (48%).

Statistics At the most basic level, simple percentages can be used to compare groups of different sizes.
For example, if we want to know how smoking varies between countries, we could compare Jordan, where 31% of those aged 15 and over smoke daily, with Morocco where the figure is 18% and Oman where it is 11%.

This is a more useful way of comparing rates of smoking than looking at the numbers of people in these countries who 48 Parliamentary Research Handbook smoke, as the countries concerned have very different populations.

Figures should generally be rounded.


Most sources of data, for example surveys, provide estimates rather than exact figures.

The risk in not rounding is that you convey spurious accuracy that is not justified.

Rounding should always be consistent (in other words, make sure that all the figures in a sentence or table are rounded to the same number of decimal places).

When the source figures are particularly unreliable, it can sometimes be better to use phrases like ‘about a half’ rather than percentages.
So the example above could say that about a third of adults in Jordan smoke, compared with one in five in Morocco and one in ten in Oman.

Tables Tables and charts are especially helpful in conveying more complex data, for example in making comparisons across time or between countries.

There are two main types of table.

Presentation (or demonstration) tables can be used to highlight key figures, often within the main text of a paper.
It is often best to use a small presentation table instead of putting numbers in the text of a report where you have more than two numbers.

In these tables, data should be presented in a concise, well- organised way to support the accompanying analysis.

Reference tables tend to be larger and are more analytic.

They are often best placed at the end of a publication or on a separate page from the body of text.

49 Parliamentary Research Handbook Tables should be able to stand alone.
Each table should have enough information, such as a descriptive title and indication of source, to allow it to be copied and pasted into another document and still make sense.

If you ensure that your tables can stand alone, they are more likely to be understood correctly, within or outside their original context.

How to describe data in a table 1.

The table title should give a clear and accurate description of the data.

It should answer the three questions “what”, “where” and “when”.

2.
2.

Column headings, at the top of the table, should identify the data presented in each column of the table and provide any relevant metadata (e.g.

unit of measurement, time period or geographic area).

3.

Row labels should identify the data presented in each row of the table.

4.

Footnotes, at the bottom of the table, may provide any additional information needed to understand and use the data correctly (e.g.

definitions).

5.
definitions).

5.

Source, at the bottom of the table, should provide the source of the data, i.e.
the organization and publication details 50 Parliamentary Research Handbook Example of bad presentation of table: Example of good presentation of table: Note that the columns here are narrower, all numbers are rightaligned, unnecessary shading and lines have been removed, the title has meaning, a footnote explains the data that are not available, the data source is included, and decimal places are consistent throughout.
Charts and graphs Charts can be used to illustrate patterns in a large amount of data or to communicate key findings or messages.

51 Parliamentary Research Handbook They are a good way to break up long passages of text and to illustrate a point visually.

Different types of chart are useful for different purposes but, generally, the rule is ‘the simpler the better,’ with line and bar charts generally being more useful than more complex graphics.
Some of the ‘extras’ available in common software packages such as Excel, like 3D effects, are usually best avoided as they tend to distract the reader from understanding the underlying data.

Charts also need informative titles, clear axes and data labels.

If a chart looks too complicated, use another method to present the data, such as a table.

Explaining tables and charts Tables and charts work best when they have text alongside them that explains the main points.
This might summarise what the numbers show, what the key changes are, whether the most recent data are in line with past trends, or whether the story is that there hasn’t been any significant change.

Try to add insight when writing this commentary: if someone who knows very little about the topic could write what you have written, you have not added any value.
Sources of statistics The sources of the most useful statistics will vary from subject to subject and country to country, but some of the most useful general sources of data are listed at the end of this handbook.

52 Parliamentary Research Handbook 11.

Techniques for impartiality It is critically important for you to understand impartiality.

Members will expect and demand impartiality in your work.
Simple techniques, such as using careful language or reflecting different sides of an argument, can help you to demonstrate that you support Members regardless of their political affiliation.

Complete impartiality in the eyes of all potential users is probably impossible to achieve; your work is done in a highly political context and it can therefore be used to support party political points.
However, you can use a number of techniques to demonstrate that you support Members regardless of their political affiliation: - Use careful, un-emotive and respectful language.

It is easy to destroy trust by a few badly chosen words.

If a policy seems to have little evidence to support it, use questioning rather than condemnatory language.

For example, say “there is evidence to suggest that the proposal will not work” rather than “the proposal is unjustified”.
Try to avoid colourful adjectives, and phrases like “the most important” or “the origin of the problem” – these are often contentious.

- Ensure that work is useful to all Members that will use it, not just one or two groups.

Ensure that your briefings are useful to those on both sides of an argument if appropriate.

All sides need to know what arguments they 53 Parliamentary Research Handbook will be faced with, sometimes even if they haven’t asked for them.
- Try to reflect different sides of an argument, giving reasonable weight to different points of view.

As a minimum, you should reflect the viewpoints of the government and the leading opposition parties.

Depending on the subject, consider including the viewpoints of other stakeholders such as pressure groups, academics, business groups etc.

However, judgment will always be needed about what is and is not included in order to avoid producing unnecessarily long, misleading, confusing or boring briefings.
- Use quotations to illustrate viewpoints.

Paraphrasing sources is very important for keeping briefings short and focusing on the most important facts.

It is better to avoid long quotations where possible, as the reader tends to skip over these.

However, you could use quotations where it is important to show clearly who is saying what, or where the source is ambiguous.

In these circumstances, using a quotation can avoid the risk of misinterpreting a statement or causing it to be associated with you.
- Use a range of reputable evidence.

Take particular care with information coming from those who may have a vested interest.

Always be clear about where your information comes from and any shortfalls it may have.

Ensure that sources of evidence are clearly cited in your references.

Readers should be able to verify any statement made from the sources quoted and follow them up if they wish.

- 54 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Distinguish where possible between fact and opinion.
Opinion is valuable but it is not the same as facts based on evidence.

- Be careful about drawing conclusions.

Conclusions are important if an event or outcome is very likely or unlikely, or if they are supported by strong evidence.

However, you should be more careful in drawing conclusions when issues are controversial.

If in doubt, present the evidence so that the Members themselves can come to their own conclusion.

- Take care with statistics.


If you are using numbers from an interest group, say where they come from, be aware of the source’s position on the issue and query whether the data give an accurate balanced and up-to-date picture.

Be careful about the use of words such as ‘typical’, ‘average’ and ‘significant’ and remember that financial data can be presented in cash or adjusted for inflation.
Remember that a very different statistical picture can be painted by the choice of different start or end dates for a comparison.

- Peer review.

Asking colleagues to read your work or (where confidentiality and timing permits) asking a range of external experts to review your work, will help to highlight whether you are giving a fair hearing to all sides of the debate.

55 Parliamentary Research Handbook 12.


Selecting subjects for proactive briefings Any research that you produce should be clearly in support of the National Assembly.

When writing, think about the questions that Members have or are likely to have on the subject.

Common questions include: the scale of the problem; what the Government is doing; what stakeholders think; and, what the current law is.

Writing an outline of your research can help you to decide what to include.
Any research that you produce should be clearly in support of the National Assembly.

This will help you to avoid accusations of trying to influence or create debate on issues of interest to you, as well as help you to ensure that resources are being used efficiently.

Good reasons for selecting a subject for research include: • The subject has significant political interest, as evidenced by parliamentary questions, media coverage or debates.
• There is proposed legislation on the subject, and you believe Members will need help to scrutinise it; • A major campaign has been launched on the subject, and several Members are supporting or opposing the campaign; • A number of Members have asked you about the same subject.
Writing a public briefing about the subject is likely to 56 Parliamentary Research Handbook be useful for Members more generally, and it will help you to manage your enquiry workload; • A subject is likely to be politically important or appear on the parliamentary agenda in future.

To help guide you in selecting subjects, most teams have service standards for what they expect research to be prepared on.
For example, a briefing might be expected for all Committee meetings, or a briefing might be needed for a debate on a Bill.

There may also be limits to what you are permitted to do.

For example, you are generally not permitted to do research for Members that is not related to their parliamentary duties.

Selecting sub-topics Even when you have identified a general subject to write about, it can be difficult, and daunting, to know what specifically to look into.
To get started you should think about the questions that Members have or are likely to have on the subject.

It can be helpful to think about what someone might ask you about the subject if you were to meet them in the queue at the canteen.

Common questions that Members have include: - What is the issue?

Defining the issue is not always straightforward.

For example, a question about health care might be about funding (how much does it cost and who pays for it?
), who provides it (doctors, nurses, administrators), where it is provided (specialist or general hospitals, local drop-in centres, in the home), its impact (what are the outcomes?

), or something else.

Or it could cover all or some of these questions.

57 Parliamentary Research Handbook - What are the parameters of the issue?

What is the scale of the problem?

Is it urgent?

Is the problem getting better or worse?


- What is currently happening, in terms of public policy, the current state of the law and so on?

- What do people say about the issue (government; political parties; business; trade unions; academics, the media; NGOs; others)?

- Have there been campaigns, petitions or consultations on the issue?

- What statistics are there on the issue?

- What do other countries do?

Are there international treaties, agreements or standards?

- What is the history of the issue?


- What do these technical terms mean?

Write an outline When you have thought about what your briefing should cover, and before you start writing, it can be useful for more in-depth briefings to sketch out your ideas in an outline.

The outline should tell the story of the briefing.

Look critically at what you have sketched out and move things around if that makes more sense.
As you draft the briefing, you may sometimes realise that your initial structure doesn’t work, so don’t be afraid to re- order it if necessary.

It doesn’t have to be chronological.

You can adapt the example outline below for almost any research 58 Parliamentary Research Handbook briefing on a policy issue, although any two outlines are unlikely to be the same.

It is also important to note that you should only use the suggested headings below where they genuinely add value to the briefing.
Example briefing outline Summary A summary of the main issues and information in the briefing.

This is the last section written.

Ideally a maximum of one page.

Think about the main points you would explain to someone if they asked you in passing what the key issues were.

Introduction Explanation of what the briefing is about: • Why is the subject of the briefing important?

• Who is affected?

• What is the history of the subject?

• What facts or figures are useful?

• Definitions.
• Definitions.

Government policy Explanation of what the government has said or is doing on the subject.

Give details of the evidence presented by the Government, and the degree to which this is supported by other sources.

Stakeholder views and evidence Identification of what stakeholders think about the subject and 59 Parliamentary Research Handbook what the Government is doing about it.
This focuses in particular on where stakeholders question or challenge the Government’s approach and explains the reasoning for this disagreement.

Remember that evidence is not always conclusive; try to reflect the balance of opinion and highlight where there is consensus and where there is ongoing debate.
Important stakeholders include: • Opposition parties • Journalists • NGOs • International bodies • Industry • The wider public • Academics International comparisons What do other countries or administrations do on the subject?

This can be important for helping the reader to identify whether alternative approaches to the subject have been tried and whether they were successful.

Next steps Explain the next important step for the subject.
Is there something Members might need to do or know about in future, such as when a Bill is going to be published?

60 Parliamentary Research Handbook 13.

Committee briefings The principles in the rest of this Handbook also apply to Committee briefings.

However, additional principles apply to the scoping of Committee inquiries, writing Committee meeting briefings and writing Committee report conclusions.

Committee work is often much more collaborative in nature.
It is important to note that the work described in this chapter is largely done with the supervision and support of senior Committee staff, and the way in which the work is done will vary with the particular needs and approaches of the Committee in question.

It is essential for you to ensure that you give your manager and colleagues adequate time to provide guidance and input into your work.
Scoping and researching terms of reference It is part of the responsibility of committee researchers to help Committees to identify possible subjects for inquiry.

You should draw on your specialist experience and any external networks and contacts you have in your field to identify new and emerging issues which the Committee might wish to explore.

It is a good idea to have a rolling list of potential inquiries which can be suggested to the Committee as appropriate.
You may also need to present a short research briefing on your new inquiry suggestion to the Committee.

Ultimately 61 Parliamentary Research Handbook though, it is up to the Chair to secure a consensus among the Committee about the future programme.

The Committee formally agrees the Terms of Reference for an inquiry in a private meeting.
In preparation for this discussion, you may be asked to prepare a scoping note for the Committee providing background information on the topic and covering some of the points and questions set out below.

• What is rationale and factual basis for the inquiry?

• Is the inquiry in line with any overriding Committee strategy?

• What is it intending to achieve?
Objectives might include any or all of the following: - Influence development of policy - Audit policy outcome – Input into a major meeting or consultation - Raise profile of an issue/initiate debate - Review effectiveness of an existing policy/Act - Force government to give a public view or take action - Meet one or more Committee core tasks - Gain media attention - Link to debate or other proceedings in the Assembly 62 Parliamentary Research Handbook • How realistic are these objectives, and is there clarity/ consensus about these objectives?
• What is the intended output?

This may include a report, or oral evidence session(s) only, with publication of evidence, or other outputs including a seminar.

• What expectations do the Chair and Committee have?

How do expectations need to be managed?

• Who are the key witnesses?

• What is the target audience?

Who will need to be engaged, and what is the best way of engaging with different groups?

Who are the audiences that we are seeking to influence through the final outcome and beyond?
Getting the draft Terms of Reference right increases the chances of receiving a good number of useful written evidence.

The terms of inquiry should usually be as short and as specific as possible, bearing in mind that the Committee will ultimately want to use the evidence to draw conclusions and to make recommendations to Government.

The Terms of Reference are published and emailed to relevant stakeholders with a call for written evidence.
You might want to check that important stakeholders have been notified.

Committee meeting briefings A committee meeting briefing is a document prepared by staff for committee meetings.

It provides information about 63 Parliamentary Research Handbook the meeting itself, and about issues that will be discussed in the meeting.

The Committee briefing is a private document that is prepared for committee members only, and is usually circulated to members a few days before the meeting to help them to prepare.
Committee briefings can vary in length from just a few pages to a more substantial document, depending on the topic and the amount of time staff have to prepare.

Whatever the length, a well-written committee briefing can improve members’ knowledge of the topic and support their work as committee members and participation in committee meetings.

Committee staff in many parliaments produce briefings for most committee meetings.
The format and content of these vary even from committee to committee in a single parliament, but most briefings usually: Provide essential information about the meeting and invited guests Set out information about the issue under consideration at the meeting Summarise any written information from stakeholders / the government / the public that the committee has received - - - 64 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Suggest questions for members to ask when they talk to stakeholders, especially government ministers and officials.
Your committee should have a standard format for these briefings, based on the needs and preferences of the committee members and staff.

You should always consult your manager to agree priorities for a briefing, based on the time available and resources available on this particular topic.

But generally it can be helpful to think of the content of briefings as a collection of key sections that can be included or excluded from any given briefing.
These key sections are: 65 Parliamentary Research Handbook - Basic information about the meeting and topic: for example: date and time, location, topic, names of stakeholders (if any).

- Stakeholder biographies: Members should know who they are meeting.

The brief should include short professional biographies (usually one paragraph) of any stakeholders invited.
- Background to the meeting / topic: A clear factual description of what has already happened in relation to a bill or policy that the committee is examining.

- - Summary of submissions: If the committee has received any information from outside, staff should include a list of submissions and summary of their content.

Summary of key issues: a summary of the important / controversial issues and concerns about the topic.
- Relevant articles: a set of useful and relevant articles or opinion pieces on the topic.

- Suggested questions: Based on the submissions, key issues, and press cuttings, staff could suggest some questions that the Members may want to ask stakeholders, or to consider in private meeting Writing Suggested Questions The suggested questions in a briefing are for the committee members to ask stakeholders or representatives of the government.
66 Parliamentary Research Handbook They are intended as suggestions only, members can choose to ask different questions as they wish, but many members find a list of suggested questions helpful.

Suggested questions are not usually required in a briefing for a private meeting which only committee members will attend.

Writing suggested questions These questions must be unbiased and factual, but that does not mean they will be boring!

This can be one of the most interesting tasks in writing the briefing.
To help you draft effective questions, consider two main points: o What information you are seeking; and o To whom the question is addressed.

What information you are seeking When writing questions consider what information does the committee need in order for it to make an informed decision?

Then strive to draft questions that will draw out this information from stakeholders and government representatives.
For example, questions can: • Ask for evidence (facts and details) to support an assertion; • Ask for opinions and views; • Ask for personal experience; 67 Parliamentary Research Handbook • Ask for an explanation of differences of opinion between stakeholders; • Ask for an explanation of a complicated or unclear issue.
If the stakeholders invited to the meeting have already submitted written evidence, this can help you to write effective questions that draw out any additional information you believe will be required.

To whom the question is addressed Different stakeholders can prompt different types of questions.

It would not be helpful to ask an NGO which ministries have been consulted on a bill; they would not know.

Nor would it be useful to ask a government representative for their personal experiences or views.
Questions should be drafted according to the type of stakeholder that will be present at the meeting.

For example: • NGOs / Experts: Questions to these stakeholders could be about their expert views on a policy or bill (or a detail of it); why they hold their views (especially if they disagree with other’s views); what evidence they have; what is international best practice; what changes they want; and what recommendations they have.
For example: Some questions to a Maternal Health NGO • Why are you calling for a change in the government’s approach to maternal healthcare?

68 Parliamentary Research Handbook • What are your biggest concerns about this policy / this bill?

• What do you think of the Government’s promise to invest 30% more money toward improving maternal healthcare?

• Members of the public affected by an issue: Questions to these stakeholders could be about their personal experiences and views on the bill or policy area.
For example: Some questions to a midwife • In your experience, what are the main problems with • maternal healthcare?

• What affect would this new bill / policy have on your work as a midwife?

• Representatives of the Government: Questions to government representatives could include precise questions on the wording of the bill or the details of the policy, and what process it has gone through in order to produce the bill or policy.
For example: Some questions for a representative of the Health Ministry • What evidence is there to support the Government’s claim that the number of maternal deaths has gone down?

• Maternal Health international claims that the government must provide more support to rural midwives.

69 Parliamentary Research Handbook • How do you respond to this?

How will this policy be implemented in each region?
Tips for writing questions • Order of questions: Put general questions first, then group the following questions by subject.

• Use short sentences and plain language.

Questions should not usually be longer than 2 sentences.

• Try reading them out loud to colleagues to test how easily they are said and understood.

• Provide some context: Some questions require members to be familiar with a particular fact or are relevant to a particular section of a bill.
Either explain this in the question, or include a paragraph of explanation above the question text.

• Include focused questions: As well as broad questions such as ‘What are your main concerns about the bill”; ask focused questions about details of the policy or bill, such as “The government states it will raise the budget by 30%, why do u say in your written submission that this is not realistic?” 70 Parliamentary Research Handbook 14.
Legislation briefing Legislation is the backbone of the work of parliaments and helping Members understand legislation is one of the most important aspects of the work of many parliamentary researchers.

This chapter provides some additional tips on how to produce briefings on legislation.

Briefings on legislation are sometimes called ‘Bill summaries’, or ‘Bill digests’.

The contents of a legislation briefing may include all or some of the following, not necessarily in this order.
It is generally best to start with basic facts before moving on to the more detailed analysis.

- Basic facts, for example: What is the legislation called?

Who is responsible for it?

What parts of the country will it apply to?

When was it published?

Where can the text be found?

When will it be considered by the National Assembly?

- What, in brief, the legislation seeks to do.

- Why the legislation has been introduced.

- What has happened previously in the same subject area?
For example, have there been previous attempts to legislate and, if so, what did they achieve?

Have there been any recent policy reviews or government consultations on the issue?

Have parliamentary 71 Parliamentary Research Handbook committees already produced any reports on the subject?

- What the legislation says, in more detail.

Whether you try to deal with every aspect of the Bill or just parts of it is likely to depend on the time and the staff resources available to write the briefing.
If time is limited, it is often best to give an initial general description of the legislation but concentrate on the more controversial or difficult issues in the analytical part of the paper.

If you are writing a briefing when the Bill is part-way through its legislative stages, it may be helpful to the reader to highlight if/how the Bill has been amended since it was first introduced.

It is sometimes possible to refer to other descriptive sources for further information about a bill’s content.
- Once you have decided which aspects of the legislation to focus on, use as good a range of sources as you can to look at and summarise the following: • The views of government.

For government legislation, these can often be found in official statements accompanying the publication of legislation.

• The views of opposition parties.

These can often be found in parliamentary debates on the issues and can often best be summarised using quotations from Members from those parties.
• The views of other interested parties, including other parliaments or assemblies, civil society 72 Parliamentary Research Handbook organisations, business, local government, employees’ organisations and so on.

These may be available from media reports or press releases from the organisations concerned, many of which may be available online.

In some cases, a telephone call to an organisation will encourage them to provide a view.
- The comments that these groups make might include views on some of the following: • Is there evidence to show that the policy will be successful?

• Are there better ways of achieving the same aims?

• What would happen if there were no legislation?

• Might there be unintended consequences?

• Will the proposals have a disproportionate effect on one section of society over another (for example, gender, age, people in particular regions etc.)?
• The costs and benefits of each option • financial, environmental, social and so on.

– How the proposed legislation will interact with other existing legislation, for example on human rights.

• Whether there are any treaties or other international obligations underlying the proposals.

It is important to attribute any comments to the group or person making them, with clear references to the source of the information.
This will mitigate the risk of readers 73 Parliamentary Research Handbook associating the comments with you.

Judgment will be needed on how much weight to give any one viewpoint.

- What is the situation in other countries, in the region or elsewhere?

- Relevant statistics, maps, illustrations and so on.
Their inclusion will depend on the subject under consideration but illustrative material helps break up otherwise dense text – thus making a paper easier to read - and can be a simple way to explain a complex point.

Useful graphics can sometimes be cut-and-pasted from other sources (make sure that these are acknowledged) if they are not biased.

Small statistical tables usually best included alongside the section of text to which they are relevant.
- Some legislation inevitably involves technical terminology.

While some Members will understand this, others will not, so it is a good idea to explain it in simple terms where possible.

This can be done in a separate glossary towards the end of a paper or, if relatively brief, in the main text, ideally in a text box.

74 Parliamentary Research Handbook 15.

Quality control Quality control is a key stage in the research process.
The basic aim of quality control is to get a dispassionate opinion on whether your work is as good as it can be.

There are generally 4 key steps in quality control: self-review; peer-review; editing and proof-reading.

Receiving comments on your work can be uncomfortable.

However, it is important to remember that even the best authors in the world have their work reviewed; a reviewer is the reader’s advocate and the writer’s ambassador.

Researchers need to be open to suggestions.


Comments shouldn’t be taken as a criticism but as a helpful way to improve your work and make it the best it can be.

Different teams have different quality control processes that they follow.

These processes depend on time pressures, the nature of the briefing, the risks surrounding the work and other guidance.

However, there are generally 4 key steps in quality control: 1.

Self-review.

The first step is to review your own work.


A reviewing checklist can help you to review your own briefing more effectively; a checklist can be found in the box below.

In general, in parliamentary research services, the reviewing process for answers to individual Members’ enquiries is focused on self-review because of the very short turnaround required.

You must always read and edit your work before 75 Parliamentary Research Handbook sending it to a customer.
For longer or more technical briefings it can be harder to do self-review.

After days and weeks immersed in the technicalities of a subject, it can be hard to take a step back and put yourself in the shoes of a Member who is not immersed in the topic.

If possible, leave a day or two to go back and review your brief with a fresh pair of eyes.

Sometimes it helps to leave your desk to review a hard or digital copy in a quieter or more relaxing space where you can reflect on your work.
If you are new to a subject, or working on a particularly sensitive or complex enquiry, you should always try to do more than just self-review 2.

Peer-review.

Peer-review refers to the evaluation of work by peers in relevant fields.

It helps to increase the quality of the work, and ensure it is well written, accessible, impartial, balanced and accurate.
Colleagues can provide a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ and focus feedback on structure, accessibility and impartiality, or where they are more familiar with a subject, they can help to ensure balance and accuracy.

People who might help you include colleagues in your team, and in other research teams.

You may need to ask your team leader before circulating drafts outside of your team.

76 Parliamentary Research Handbook 3.

Editing.

The aim of editing is to make the text clearer, more precise and more effective.
You can provide your editor with the following questions to help them to assess whether a piece of writing will have the biggest possible impact: - Can you tell who the intended audience is?

- Is the purpose of the briefing clear?

- Does the main point or answer come first?

- Are readers guided through the writing and are all the important components present (these may include title, headings, overview, summary, main text, conclusions)?

- Are statistics used well?

- Is the text too dense?


Is it helpfully broken up with headings, tables, text boxes and so on?

- Does the paper tell a story, keep to the point and use suitable language?

- - Is the writer’s impartiality clear and is the paper balanced?

Is the writing confident?

4.

Proof-reading.


The role of the proof-reader is to check: • That there are no mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation; • That quotations and ‘borrowed’ content is correctly cited; 77 Parliamentary Research Handbook • That the language and styles used are consistent throughout the document.

Proof reading by a colleague is essential for most publicly published briefing papers.

It is generally better to have someone other than an editor conduct proof-reading.
Trying to review content and proof-read at the same time can make both less effective, although sometimes you have no choice.

Proof-reading is an important element in ensuring the confidence of readers in a briefing – documents with spelling errors and inconsistencies can damage users’ trust.

The review checklist in the box below can be used by the proof- reader.
Proof-reading and editing checklist A checklist is a useful tool for authors, editors and proof- readers to help them to effectively review a document.
The checklist below can be used for most types of briefing: General checks • On the first page: - - - - There is a title and date The first paragraph clearly explains what the briefing is about, or what the Members asked for There is a short summary of the key points of the briefing (for longer briefings only) The key question or questions have been 78 Parliamentary Research Handbook clearly answered • The pages are numbered • Fonts and sizes are correct • There is a contents page for longer briefings Impartiality • No use of emotional or opinionated language, unless it is a direct quote • A range of viewpoints are given • Conclusions are only given if they are well supported by good evidence.
Useful information for Members • Relevant parliamentary information is given, such as debates, committee reports, parliamentary questions • Government policy is clearly stated • Only the most politically important information is included Spelling • Use the spell checker on the computer – spelling mistakes ruin a briefing • Double check the spelling of names and technical words Grammar and punctuation 79 Parliamentary Research Handbook • Correct use of apostrophes, commas, full stops, colons • Correct tense – generally use past tense • Are the sentences too long?
Is the meaning clearer when they are split into shorter sentences?

Vocabulary • Know the meaning of the words you've used and avoid jargon • If you have to use a technical word, give a definition • Do not use slang or very informal language Layout • Does the briefing have a logical layout?

Does it tell a story?


• Headings used for all major sections • Sub-headings used when needed Expressing information clearly • All the main questions have clearly been answered • All paragraphs have one main idea, which is introduced in the first sentence • Does the writing flow smoothly from one section or paragraph to the next?
This is particularly important when a number of people have contributed to a briefing Acknowledging supporting evidence and references • All ideas and information are referenced 80 Parliamentary Research Handbook • Quotations are used correctly • The correct style for references is used: Author (or organization name), Title, Publisher, Date Published, page number.
For web documents hyperlink the title of the document with the “[accessed on date]” at the end of the reference • Diagrams and charts have a title and are clearly labelled and referenced • Sources are good quality Reviewing in a hurry Sometimes deadlines mean we have no choice but to review quickly.
To review in a hurry ask your reviewers to prioritise the following, as mistakes here may in particular damage your reputation: • front pages and summaries • impartiality and balance • sense and credibility 81 Parliamentary Research Handbook 16.
Useful sources of information and contacts Government Ministries Ministry of Agriculture - http://www.moa.gov.gm/ ; https://moa.gov.gm/contact Ministry of Youth Work and Sports - https://www.moys.gov.gm/ Ministry of Fisheries - http://mof.gov.gm/ Ministry of Transport and Works - http://www.motwi.gov.gm/about-us ; http://www.motwi.gov.gm/mandate Ministry of Energy and Petroleum - http://www.mop.gov.gm/home Ministry of Health and Social Welfare - http://www.moh.gov.gm/ ; http://www.gambia.com/ministry-of-health-amp-social- welfare Directorate of Health Research - http://www.moh.gov.gm/research Ministry of Interior - http://www.moi.gov.gm/ministry Ministry of Defence - https://gaf.gm/index.php/dhq/; http://www.accessgambia.com/information/defence.html Ministry of Environment - http://www.moeccww.gov.gm/Minister 82 Parliamentary Research Handbook Department of Forestry - http://www.moeccww.gov.gm/Department-of-Water- Resources-(DWR) Ministry of Justice - http://www.moj.gov.gm/, http://www.moj.gov.gm/aboutus.php Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science And Technology - https://moherst.gov.gm/ Ministry of Basic Education - http://www.edugambia.gm/ ; http://www.edugambia.gm/contact-us-be-in-touch-with- us/contact-us/ministry-for-basic-and-secondary-education International organisations World Bank Gambia - https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/gambia World Health Organisation Gambia - https://www.who.int/countries/gmb/en/ ; https://www.who.int/hac/network/who/co_gambia/en/ ; http://www.accessgambia.com/information/who.html UNDP Gambia - http://www.gm.undp.org/ IMF Gambia: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/GMB ; https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/GMB Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations - http://www.fao.org/gambia/en/ ; http://www.fao.org/gambia/en/ ; http://www.fao.org/gambia/programmes-and-projects/en/ 83 Parliamentary Research Handbook World Food Programme in the Gambia - https://www1.wfp.org/countries/gambia ; https://reliefweb.int/report/gambia/wfp-gambia-country- brief-april-2018 Research Resources University of the Gambia - https://www.utg.edu.gm/ ; https://www.utg.edu.gm/admission/ MDI - https://www.mdi.edu.gm/ ; https://www.mdi.edu.gm/admission/ ; https://www.mdi.edu.gm/admission/ ; https://www.mdi.edu.gm/departments/# GTTI - http://www.gtti.gm/ ; http://www.gtti.gm/programmes/ ; http://www.gtti.gm/2018/08/30/admission-into-new- courses/ Gambia College - http://gambiacollege.edu.gm/ 84 Parliamentary Research Handbook