Legislative Research Services
Looking for a specific statute? Trying to find out what regulations apply in a certain circumstance? Want to know what bills on a particular subject were introduced in the 17th Legislature? Then the infobases are what you need.
The collection of searchable databases known as Infobases contains a wealth of information. There are over 75 separate databases holding everything from the text of Alaska's statutes and regulations, to minutes of committee hearings, to the text of legislative citations and executive orders, to titles of previously completed Legislative Research reports. Most of these databases are available via the Legislature's homepage on the Internet; however, ALECSYS Infobases — the "local" version, available on legislative office computers — has a few that are not accessible on the web. You may also find the local version easier to use.
For help with searching and managing the results, select your method for accessing Infobases:Infobases Public Access
HELP for Infobases on the InternetYou can get into Infobases from any computer with World Wide Web access. From the Alaska Legislature's homepage (www.legis.state.ak.us), select INFOBASES. You'll be taken to a page divided into frames. The left most-frame, entitled "siteDirector Information," provides you with two important links. One link is to a Help feature that describes how to optimize your searches, or queries. This Help feature also describes the searchable components of each individual database. The other link is a QUERY utility for searching multiple databases simultaneously. If you wish to search a single database, select it from among those listed in the primary frame. You should then see its name at the top of the screen.
The following example provides you with some general querying tips. Although this example assumes you're searching only one database, the tips also apply if you are searching more than one at a time.
Perform a QUERY
After you've opened the database, click the QUERY button. Up will pop a box in which you type what you want to find. Remember that the results are only as good as your query; your search terms should be specific enough to get you a manageable number of "hits" but broad enough to capture what you need. Type in your search terms, and — before you click on the SEARCH button — select "Records with Hits Only" and "Headings with Hits." These two features will, in many instances, provide you with more manageable results. Once you've clicked on the SEARCH button, a summary of your query results will be displayed.
If you type fish tax |
You will get All documents with both exact words within the searchable components, in any order (and not necessarily together), will be returned. All documents
with the exact phrase "fish tax" within the searchable
components will be returned. |
Managing and Printing Your Results
Once the results of your query are displayed, you'll have two choices. You can go directly to your hits within the database by clicking on the icon that looks like an open book. To navigate, simply use the NEXT HIT button. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Table of Contents by clicking on the icon that looks like a page with an outline.Within the Table of Contents view, you'll see buttons 1-9 on the top of the screen, and you'll have the option of displaying your results in as many levels as are available. The database for Legislative Research Requests has only 2 levels — the number of the report and its title; pressing 4 gives you no additional information. The Alaska Administrative Code, on the other hand, has 5 levels — Title, Part, Chapter, Article, and Section. So if you want to know which regulations deal with "vandalism," for example, you'll need to press 5 in order to get a list of the pertinent sections. Printing the list is just a matter of using the PRINT button on your browser.
Give us a call at 465-3991 if you need additional help.
Legislative Research Services
Terry Miller Legislative Office Building, Room 305
Mail Stop 3101
465-3991
465-3908 (fax)HELP for ALECSYS Infobases
You should be able to access ALECSYS Infobases from a legislative office computer by going to your Windows START menu, then to PROGRAMS, then to ALECSYS Infobases. You should then be presented with a list of the databases available. If this doesn't work, or you don't have an ALECSYS Infobase option on your PROGRAMS menu, call the Help Desk folks at 465-4357.Perform a QUERY
After you've opened the database, click the QUERY button on the ToolBelt. Up will pop a dialog box in which you type what you'd like to find. Remember that your results are only as good as your query; your search terms should be specific enough to get you a manageable number of "hits" but broad enough to capture what you need.
If you type fish tax
|
You will get All documents
with both exact words within the searchable components, in any
order (and not necessarily together) will be returned. |
After you type your query (and before you click on the OK button), you'll see the number of results or "records with hits" (it may take a few moments to display the number of results). If you want to see those hits, click OK. You will then be transported into the database itself with the "hits" highlighted.
Managing Your Results
Once option for managing your results is to simply scroll through the hits by clicking on the NEXT button; however, this method can be time-consuming and confusing. We recommend the following to make your browsing easier:Open the VIEW menu and make sure that REFERENCE WINDOW, RECORDS WITH HITS, and RIBBON are checked. (Reference Window and Ribbon will remain checked for the next time, but you will need to check RECORDS WITH HITS for each query.) Once these features are checked, you'll see which record you're viewing listed at the bottom of your screen. For example, if you had typed the exact phrase "fisheries business tax" in a query of previous Legislative Research Requests, you would have received 6 hits. If you then went to the 2nd hit, you would see "hit 2/6" and also "record 2/6" on the bottom of your screen. When you check RECORDS WITH HITS, the scrolling becomes less cumbersome.
Another way to browse through your hits is to use the GO TO ToolBelt button. This allows you to go to a specific record. Again, you must have RECORDS WITH HITS checked or the record numbers will be far less useful (record 6,458/33,118, and the like). So, if you have the necessary tools turned on — the REFERENCE WINDOW on the top and the RECORDS WITH HITS at the bottom listing the hit and record you are viewing — navigating through the hits is straightforward.
Displaying and Printing the List of Hits on ALECSYS Infobases
Another tool to simplify your work is the TABLE OF CONTENTS. Once you've gotten the results from your query, go to the VIEW menu again. This time click on the TABLE OF CONTENTS option, and you'll see a list of your results rather than the documents themselves. At this point, make sure that you have check marks on the following VIEW options:SHOW EXPANDABLE BRANCHES
SHOW QUERY RESULTS
HEADINGS WITH HITS
RIBBONWhen using the TABLE OF CONTENTS, you should pay attention to the number of levels being displayed because information for each of the databases is categorized differently. For example, the Legislative Research Request database has only 2 levels — the number of the report and the title of the report. If you've checked the RIBBON feature, when you check TABLE OF CONTENTS, you'll see buttons 1-9 on the top of the screen, and you can see as many levels as you wish. In the case of the Legislative Research Request database, since only two levels exist, pressing 4 provides no additional information. The Alaska Administrative Code database, on the other hand, has 5 levels — Title, Part, Chapter, Article, and Section. So if you want to know which regulations deal with "vandalism," for example, you'll need to press 5 in order to get a list of the pertinent sections.
Once you're looking at a TABLE OF CONTENTS list, you can easily print it. From the Windows menu, select FILE, and then PRINT. Up will pop a box that allows you to specify your print criteria. Selecting "View" as the print range gives you a printout of the entire list.
Give us a call at 465-3991 if you need additional help.
Legislative Research Services
Terry Miller Legislative Office Building, Room 305
Mail Stop 3101
465-3991
465-3908 (fax)