Good Questions, Good Results
How can you get the best results from your research request?
Try to be brief without sacrificing essential information.
- Try to avoid using planning jargon that may obscure the real nature of
your question. These terms are not always universal and can make it difficult
to find all of information that applies to your request.
- If your question is necessarily a long one try to organize the question
as much as possible. Consider using bulleted lists or numbered sections.
There are, of course, occasions when you may be dealing with a complex situation.
In this case, detailed background information is essential for the PAS researcher.
The more we understand about your specific circumstances the better able we
are to research the topic thoroughly and provide you with the results you need.
The PAS researchers are your partner in practice. Please help PAS to assist you in the most efficient and effective manner. When you place an
inquiry remember that good questions yield good results!
Improving Simple Inquiries
One of the most common problems with e-mail inquiries is that they are generally
too brief and too open to interpretation. Here are two examples of brief but
unclear questions:
Example 1
Original question: "Could you please send me any information you have
on joint use of public facilities?"
PAS might interpret this request in one of two ways: (1) the use
of a public facility such as a school or library for other uses after hours,
or (2) the shared use of a public facility by adjoining jurisdictions. This
question becomes clearer when the subscriber provides more detail:
Improved question: "We have a request from a neighborhood organization
to use one the local school buildings after hours. Could you please send
me any information you have on joint use of public facilities?"
Example 2
Original question: "I am looking for information on semi parking regulations"
This question seems straightforward, but is actually quite ambiguous. Is
the subscriber looking to regulate semi-trailer parking in commercial or
residential areas? Is overnight parking a problem? This question is easily
improved by providing a little more context:
Improved question: "Our community is having a problem with semi-trailers
parking in residential areas overnight. Can you please send me information
and sample regulations to deal with this situation?"
How to Place a Complex Inquiry
If your question is necessarily a long one, organize it if possible into bulleted
or numbered sections. Here is an example of a long but well-organized question:
"I've been delving into farm preservation and agricultural economics literature.
Specifically, I'm interested in these areas:
- Details of successful transfer of development rights and purchase of
development rights programs: What mechanisms do they use to create supply
and demand?
- Other innovative means to preserve farmland.
- Financial impacts (both adverse and beneficial) of farmland preservation
on the public and the landowners.
- Funding sources for public farmland preservation programs
- Has Tax Incremental Financing mechanism been used to fund an ag preservation
program?
- What are the basic principles of agricultural economics? How does one
describe an agricultural economy to include all the farmer's expenses,
incomes and the effect of the agricultural economy on the regional economy."
PAS Subject List
We have files containing plans, regulations, articles, municipal documents,
and reports on close to 500 subject areas. The PAS files are well-organized
and updated regularly.
A complete listing of our current subject
listings (pdf)
