Presentation slides covering legal research; creating a research strategy, building a search using online research databases, and an overview of various secondary sources of law useful to paralegals.
3. Don't panic!
Clarify your question
Evaluate the tools you have
Conduct preliminary research
There is no one “right” way
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4. You want to find everything, and do so
efficiently: In a word, you need to be
thorough.
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5. Begin with a written plan
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6. 5-W Method:
WHO is involved in the situation?
WHAT objects, acts, instruments, etc. does the
situation involve?
WHEN did the important acts or incidents take
place?
WHERE did the facts of your case take place?
WHY did the individuals or groups in your case act
the way they did? Why did certain things happen?
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7. TAPP method:
THINGS: Ask yourself what the relevant objects are
(e.g. "gun" in a murder case, "car" in an automobile
accident case).
ACTIONS: What did people do or NOT do in your
particular situation?
PEOPLE: Who were the individuals or groups
involved in the situation before you?
PLACES: Where did the relevant acts take place?
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8. TARP Method:
THINGS: Ask yourself what the relevant objects are
(e.g. "gun" in a murder case, "car" in an automobile
accident case).
ACTIONS:What did people do or NOT do in your
particular situation?
RELIEF SOUGHT: What kind of
relief/compensation/"justice" are the parties entitled to?
PARTIES: Who is the defendant? Who is the plaintiff?
Whose interests are aligned? Whose interests are
opposed?
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9. Rombauer Method
Perform preliminary analysis
Search for statutes, regulations
Find cases – Manadatory precedent
Find persuasive precedent
Refine, double-check, and update
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14. Full-Text:
For preliminary use to identify terms for
more focused searches.
As a final check to insure that you caught
everything using other search methods.
For areas of the law or for legal sources
which are poorly indexed.
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15. Field Searching
(e.g. search for
party name,
terms in the
case syllabus,
for justice who
delivered an
opinion)
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18. Most Sophisticated method
Search string comprised of “terms”
(words or phrases which express the
legal concept) and “connectors”
(instructions which tell the database how
to interpret the terms)
Allows for precise searching
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20. NOT W/n (rico NOT W/2 puerto)
NOT W/sent (market NOT W/SENT share)
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21. Selecting your terms
It is essential to plan your search before
running it using terms & connectors
Write down your key terms; think about
synonyms, antonyms, and related
concepts that might appear when
discussing the issue.
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22. Grouping with Parentheses
(liquor or spirits or alcohol)
(Bill w/3 Clinton) OR (George w/3 Bush)
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23. Processing order:
OR is first;
Proximity operators (/p, /s, /n) next;
AND is processed third;
NOT is processed last.
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24. Word variations:
wom*n – women, woman
Child! - children, childrens
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25. Too many results?
If available, use filtering features to look
for specific terms within your result set.
Consider separating issues.
Rethink your connectors. AND as well as
proximity connectors gives more control.
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26. Too few results?
Make sure terms are spelled correctly
Make sure you've formatted your search
to capture alternative words or forms of
words
Add additional terms after an OR
connector to broaden the search
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34. Looseleafs
The most developed sources of the law
Particularly useful for highly regulated
areas of law
(Banking, tax, employment law)
Combine statutory, regulatory, case law
with comprehensive indexing tools.
Often include forms/checklists.
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39.
Final Thoughts:
Discuss with others
Ask for help
Use secondary sources!
Always update
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40. You've got questions?
I've (hopefully) got answers!
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