How to Choose a Topic and Perform Research for the Advanced Writing Requirement: Performing research

Formulating and executing your research plan

• Step One:
  • Start with what you have. Look over it. Read. Take Notes.
• Step Two:
  • Think about what the material is. Is it a case?  A statute?  A regulation? A law review article? The type of resource you start with will influence your research plan. 
• Step Three:
  • Formulate a Plan. Generally, you can formulate a research plan by reading what you already have and using it to:
    • Gather concepts and vocabulary.
    • Analyze for relationship to other resources.
    • Look at sources referenced by your material
    • Find citing sources.
    • Understand the history of your topic
    • Think about what the future of the topic might be
    • Find commentary
• Step Four: Look at Secondary Sources: 
  • Looking at secondary sources can help you understand more about your subject and what the current discussions on it are. Look at law review articles, books, treatises, nutshells, ALRs, etc...
• Step Five: Prepare for your Research Plan: 
  • ​​​​​​​Don't just hop into the writing process. Make sure you've done your research first. Have you:
    • Read at least one resource on your topic.
    • Determine the area of law related to your topic (statutory, common law, regulatory, state, federal).
    • Formulate effective search strategies using the vocabulary and concepts you have identified.
    • Identify electronic databases that may contain the relevant primary or secondary sources you need;
      • HeinOnline (older resources, law reviews, international legal resources, etc.);
      • Westlaw or Lexis;
      • Non-legal (background, public opinion);
      • ProQuest Serial Set (U.S. government documents and legislative history);
      • LegalTrac (periodical index);
      • BNA collection (subject specific legal current events and news)
• Step Six: Start your Research: 
  • ​​​​​​​If you've gone through your topic and you feel ready to start the research process here are some tips to help you stay organized and keep you from becoming overwhelmed.
    • Formulate effective search queries for electronic searching using the vocabulary and concepts you have identified.
    • Perform your search.
    • Evaluate your results.
    • Repeat until you keep getting the same relevant results over and over again from multiple sources.

Books on Writing

Updating, Evaluating, and Knowing When to Stop

• Update each primary source electronically using KeyCite or Shepards to make sure your case or statute is still good law.
• Evaluate each resource to decide how you want to use it in your writing.
  • Is it the right jurisdiction?
  • Is it current or outdated?
  • Is it very broad with just a mention of your topic?
  • How often has the resource been cited too?
  • Is the author well-known? An expert?
  • Where was it originally published?  A prestigious journal or little known internet blog...
• Stop when you keep retrieving the same relevant resources and when those resources begin to repeat the same citations and quote the same authorities in footnotes, etc. 

Books on Research

Recommended Articles