Finding Legal Research Guides   Tags: legal_research, research_guides, secondary_sources  

Legal research guides can be great sources for starting research. They may provide important background information, such as explaining key concepts and structure in an area of law. They also note the available research resources and how to access them and may suggest search strategies.  

A federal tax research guide, for instance, may explain the various kinds of regulations issued by the Treasury Department, their numbering scheme, the purpose of the preamble, where regulations are published, and how they can be located. 

General guides to legal research, cover the field broadly, and may include sections on specialized but widespread areas, such as employment law or environmental law. There are also a wide variety of specialized guides.

See Finding Library Materials for more information on how to find materials referenced in this guide.

Here are some of the newer general legal research guides in the library's collection. Additional guides published as books can be found through a catalog search.

• Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies by Amy E. Sloan
  Library location: Reserve KF240 .S585 2009
• The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet: Conducting Effective Investigative and Legal Research on the Web by Carole A. Levitt & Mark E. Rosch
  Library location: KF242.A1 L478 2008
• Find It Free and Fast on the Net: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web by John D. Goodhue, Benjamin P. Roach, and Brett J. Trout
  Library location: KFI4275.5 .A76 2008
• Finding the Law by Robert C. Berring & Elizabeth A. Edinger
  Library location: KF240 .B45 2005
• Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Research by Dana Neacsu
  Library location: KF240 .N42 2005
• Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It by Kent C. Olson
  Library location: KF240 .O365 1999
• Legal Information and the Development of American Law ed. by Richard A. Danner and Frank G. Houdek
  Library location: KF240 .L3755 2008  
• Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law  by Stephen Elias and Susan Levinkind
  Library location: KF240 .E35 2007
• Legal Research Made Easy by Suzan D. Herskowitz and James E. Duggan
  Library location: KF240 .H47 2005
• Legal Research Methods in the U.S. & Europe by J. Paul Lomio and Henrik Spang-Hanssen
  Library location: K85 .L66 2009  
• Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis by Michael D. Murray and Christy Hallam DeSanctis
  Library location: KF240 .M873 2006
• Fundamentals of Legal Research by Roy M. Mersky et al
  Library location: Reserve and Stacks KF240 .J32 2007
• Legal Research in a Nutshell by Morris L. Cohen & Kent C. Olson
  Library location: Reserve KF240 .C54 2007
• The Process of Legal Research by Christina L. Kunz et al
  Library location: KF240 .P76 2000
• Real World Research Skills: An Introduction to Factual, International, Judicial, Legislative, and Regulatory Research by Peggy Garvin
  Library location: ZA5110.G37 2006
• Where the Law is: An Introduction to Advanced Legal Research by J.D.S. Armstrong and Christopher A. Knott
  Library location: KF240 .A76 2009

This guide is for your benefit so tell us what you think.  Suggestions are welcome!