CHAPTER 10 RESEARCH PROCESS EXAMPLES

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 10 Research Process Examples

Chapter 1 introduced a process of legal research, and subsequent chapters have explained details of how to search for particular documents (e.g., statutes, cases, secondary sources) using a variety of resources and search techniques. This chapter pulls all of that information together to illustrate how to research a single project. The illustrations here are generic so that they can be easily transferred to different projects.

Assume that you have to research an issue covered by Oregon state law, in a legal area that you have not researched previously. Your supervisor assures you that there are no constitutional provisions or administrative regulations on point.

The rest of the chapter outlines three possible approaches. The first uses Westlaw to conduct Boolean searches in selected databases. The second uses Lexis Advance to run guided word searches (sometimes called "open water searching"). The third uses a range of free online sources. Each of these three examples uses one service or type of sources—Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and free sources—to illustrate its use at each step of the research process. In practice, you are more likely to use a variety of sources in researching a single project, moving from Oregon BarBooks, to Westlaw's Key Number System, to Shepard's on Lexis Advance.

The following approaches are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, you should recognize that an approach described for one source is probably available for others. For example, the approach described below for West-law— using Boolean searches in selected databases— will also work on Lexis Advance. Moreover, each of the three approaches shows just one of many possible routes a good researcher might follow in each service or type of source.

I. Boolean Searching of Selected Databases (Westlaw)

In this approach, you will primarily use Boolean searches that you run in selected databases on Westlaw. You will thus exercise a great deal of control over the searches that the computer runs, with the goal of producing comprehensive but very focused results.

A. Conducting Pre-Research Tasks

Before opening Westlaw, complete four pre-research tasks. First, from the facts and research questions, develop a detailed list of research terms. Begin with broad brainstorming using either the journalistic or the TARPP approach, as explained in Chapter 1. Determine which of the terms are most likely to appear in the most useful documents. Second, using those terms, create Boolean searches by deciding which proximity connectors will be most useful. Will these terms likely appear within the same sentence or the same paragraph?

Third, decide which databases are likely to contain your target documents. In researching an Oregon state law issue, review the sources shown in Figure 10-1 and select appropriate databases at each step of the research process. Think critically about whether to use a general or specific database. You might decide to begin searching general secondary sources, as there are few specifically on Oregon law. Then you might decide to search only Oregon Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases, excluding cases from federal courts or the Oregon Tax Court.

Finally, create a folder in Westlaw where you will keep documents related to this research project. Either now, or as the need arises during your research, create subfolders. The subfolders could be based on different issues (e.g., if you have two tort claims and a related contracts claim), on the components of a single claim (e.g., the elements of negligence), or on general divisions that make sense to you (e.g., primary authority, secondary authority, unhelpful resources).

B. Researching Secondary Sources

From the "All Content" tab, go to "Secondary Sources." Because you are researching in an area of law that is new to you, consider beginning with a treatise or an encyclopedia found under "Texts and Treatises." When you select a database, its name will appear in a tab above the universal search bar.

Figure 10-1. Oregon State Sources on Westlaw

Source: Westlaw. Reprinted with permission of Thomson Reuters.

Enter your Boolean search query in the universal search bar. If you receive a large number of results, use the tools in the left margin to narrow your search results. Skim each document in the narrowed results list, reading the title and then the excerpt provided to determine whether it seems relevant. Look carefully at footnotes, where you are most likely to find references to cases. If a source seems relevant, annotate it briefly to state how it applies, and save it to your folder.

If you are finding nothing relevant, revise your search query or look in a different database. As examples, you might move from an encyclopedia to a treatise, or if you started in an Oregon-specific treatise, you might move to a general treatise. After spending twenty or thirty minutes skimming (depending on the complexity of the project, this time will vary), stop to read in depth the most relevant secondary sources. Make note of any cross references to primary authorities that you should read. Continue working with secondary sources until you have a good understanding of the...