Paralegal

In Introduction to Legal Research and Writing, you may be asked to address any of the following course learning outcomes that require the use of your information literacy skills.

• Use traditional and electronic resources to conduct legal research

• Draft legal documents 

• Communicate effectively in writing 

Begin with a research question

Ask:

• What do I want to know?
• What does the assignment require?

Try:

• to make your question specific, without getting too specific.
• phrasing it as a question using the five W's and an H.  (Who, What, When, Where, Why, or How).  This format can help the task seem more manageable; asking a question in conversation is something most of us have been doing for a long time.

• For example

• Think about creating a concept map. I like this one but there are lots of them online.  Find one that works for you.

Constructing your search

• Pick out the most important words in your question.
• Use advanced search
  • Nearly all databases offer this option; you may have to look in various menus.
• Spell out abbreviations.  Enclose them in quotation marks to tell the database to search for all three words together. 

Too many results?

• Use filter options to
  • limit the publication dates
  • specify a specific journal or magazine
  • specify or exclude a region of the world or country
  • specify or exclude certain types of sources
  • specify or exclude a language

Not enough results?

• If there is an industry standard term, try a common term. This is especially important if you're searching materials written for a general audience rather than an academic or business audience.

  • For example, strategic decision-making is a specific industry term for the more general and common term planning.
• Change filter options (if you have applied any)

"Zoom out" for bigger picture

• The perfect article may not exist
• Consider looking for articles that are more broad

Use your sources' sources!

• Look at your current research sources for more sources
• Read literature reviews or skim reference lists
• Also consider looking at "Cited by" lists (some databases, like Natural Science Collection and Google Scholar, have this option to follow the research forward in time)

Looking for more help?  Library tutorials are available in Canvas here.  You can also see all of the Library Services orientation materials here

AI Usage Disclosure: This content was written and edited by a human with assistance from AI tools.. For more information on the extent and nature of AI usage, please contact the author liza.boman@slcc.edu

Develop a Topic / Research Question

Now that you’ve identified a general topic area, it’s time to develop it into a research question. Your background research should help with this step- consider questions you have about your topic that you’d like to explore. All research starts with a question!

How do I develop a focused topic?

In order to create an effective argument, you will need to focus on a specific aspect of your topic. Usually you will find that your topic starts out very broad ("alternative energy") and you'll need to narrow it down (perhaps to a specific alternative energy source like wind, solar, renewables, hydropower, etc.). Always pay attention to your instructor's guidance and assignment requirements while developing a research question.

The following video from Western Kentucky University provides a quick overview to developing a research question: