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I think the hardest part of any research project is just getting started. Research is a process and if you don't think about it in that way, you can get yourself into trouble. Before I show you how to find law review articles, case law, and explore other sources, you need to do some background research! There are many approaches to doing background research: two you might consider are using reference materials in the library or you can look on the web. Once you have done your background research, then you can move on to more sophisticated searching. |
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In the library, we have a couple of different law reference sources that would be a good place to get started. When you're doing background research, look for vocabulary that is related to your topic. Look at the history of the topic. Identify any important names that come up. If you'd like to use reference books, you can explore the J and K sections of the reference collection, on the first floor of the library. We have West's Encyclopedia of American Law which would be a great place to start. We also have this available as an e-book, so you can search the library catalog and find an electronic copy of this encyclopedia! Another option is to search the web. I imagine that this is where most of you will start your research, and that's ok. I like to call it pre-research, where you are just trying to get familiar with your topic. I like to use the advanced search feature offered by Internet search engines, which allows you to limit your search and find better information. For example, you could go to Google's Advanced Search feature and limit your search to .gov websites. On the web, make sure that you pick quality resources: I always look at who is writing the information and when it was written. These criteria help me select good sources of information. |
