The SEC has posted two useful guides to their Web site at www.sec.gov. The first guide provides an overview of how to research the federal securities laws through the SEC Web site and has been provided by the Commission as a service to investors and members of the public. This guide is organized to provide suggestions for researching items in the order prescribed below because while the federal statutes and the SEC rules and regulations have the force of law, other SEC-issued documents vary in degree to which they carry the force of law:

• Statutes (the Securities Laws)
• SEC Rules and Regulations
• SEC Concept Releases
• SEC Interpretive Releases
• SEC Staff Interpretations

This guide can be accessed by clicking on the following link- Researching the Federal Securities Laws Through the SEC Web site.

The second guide provides information on how to research public companies through EDGAR on the SEC Web site by providing tips and answers to frequently-asked questions. EDGAR provides free public access to corporate information and SEC filings. The guide states that to use EDGAR effectively, you should know which categories of information appear in which SEC filings and which search methods would work best. In addition, you should also understand the limitations of EDGAR. The guide will help you achieve this.

This guide can be accessed by clicking on the following link- Researching Public Companies Through EDGAR: A Guide for Investors.