Library Research Step by Step

For POLI 104J&K

The Research Process in a Nutshell

1. Start with a question or topic.2. Think about where the answer—or a piece of

the puzzle—might have been articulated.3. Choose tools that will help you find those

publications/information sources.4. Use those tools to find information you can

use.5. Repeat.

0. Before you get started

• The licenses for most of our research tools require that users are on UCSD IP addresses– Are you on the wireless network at UCSD?• Make sure you’re using the UCSD-PROTECTED network.

– Are you off-campus?• Make sure you’re using the VPN

1. Choose your research question, hypothesis, or topic and keywords

• Develop your research question, hypothesis, or thesis statement—or define your specific case– When is a restaurant owner legally liable under California’s version

of the Dram Shop Act? How does this compare with other states?• Break that statement into key concepts—don’t forget to think

about jurisdiction(s) that apply, – Dram Shop Act, California

• Think of other ways to phrase those concepts. Use synonyms. Consider more specific words (to narrow your focus) or more general terms (to expand your search), e.g.– Restaurant: establishment, server, owner…– Dram Shop Act

• Liquor: alcohol, intoxication…• Liability: liable…

– Jurisdiction:• California• Other States• US federal?

Brainstorm Keywords

Try it yourself – 2 minutes

1. Take 1 minute to jot down your research topic, so at least you have an idea on paper, even if it’s vague. (No one else will see this).

2. Take another 1 minute to brainstorm: What are some terms you would expect to see in a publication about your problem?

2. Choose tools that might be useful for this project.

• You want a variety of – Background sources– Exhibits or Evidence sources – Argument sources– Method or Theory sources

• Each tool helps you find a specific, limited kind and amount of information.

• Knowing which tools might help you find what you're looking for will save you lots of time.

Legal Materials

“The Law” is rules developed by• Legislative bodies• Administrative agencies• Courts

The Legal Research Process credit: Sarah Gotschall

Books (treatises, hornbooks)

Treatises are books or sets of books that cover a single legal topic in depth.Look in an online library catalog like (UC San Diego’s library catalog)• Tip: Many of the Library’s books are now ebooks.

Use to find the link.• Tip: Not enough at UC San Diego, or the book you

want checked out?– Try to request books from other San Diego

libraries– Try to request books from other University of

California libraries

Law Reviews

The scholarly journals of the legal world• Use these to– Get background info– Understand the legal discourse– Save yourself time• Avoid reinventing the wheel compiling primary sources• Discover other secondary sources on your topic

Primary Sources (Primary Authority)

• Legislation– Bills (proposed laws)– Statutes (passed laws)– US Code, state codes (laws arranged by subject)

• Court opinions• Regulations– Federal Register– Code of Federal Regulations

Other Primary Sources Primary sources are materials that document the event when it happened—or as close to when it happened as possible. Items in the Library are cataloged in

and other resources are available in specialized databases. Examples include:• News: particularly good for accounts of

sensational cases • Government publications and official

documents• First person accounts: diaries, letters,

oral histories, blogs…

Legal Databases

The Library has three major databases for finding law reviews and primary source material.• Westlaw Next

– Best bet for appellate level cases, law reviews, and other secondary sources. Has proprietary commentary.

• LexisNexis Academic– Best bet for appellate level cases, law reviews, and some

other secondary sources. Has proprietary commentary.• HeinOnline

– Best bet for primary sources and law reviews

Try it yourself – 5 minutes

1. Take 1 minute think about which types of sources (books, scholarly articles, news, reports, etc.) are most useful for this project.

2. Then spend 4 minutes reading descriptions of tools (databases) and choose at least 3 that look like they will lead you to useful sources.

The Librarian’s Favorites• Law Reviews

– HeinOnline; Westlaw; LexisNexis Academic• Legal primary sources: caselaw

– Westlaw; LexisNexis Academic• Legal primary sources: government information

– ProQuest Congressional, HeinOnline• Legal primary sources: state research

– HeinOnline (finding aids)– Westlaw; LexisNexis Academic (state codes)

• Scholarly articles– all ProQuest databases; all EBSCOhost databases– Melvyl

• News– Access World News; LexisNexis; Factiva

3. Choose your search strategies for each research tool.

• In most databases, you can combine terms with and (both terms must appear in the hit)and or (one term must appear in the hit—for synonyms or evenly weighted terms) – Dram Shop and California; alcohol or intoxication

• In many databases, you can use a symbol such as * or ! to take the place of letters to get hits with multiple endings of a word– intoxicat*

• In many databases, you can combine words together into phrases using quotation marks

• Example searches: california and dram shop california and (alcohol or intoxicat*) and liab*

Try it yourself – 1 minute

• Take 1 minute to develop a keyword search strategy using some of the keywords you brainstormed in part 1.– As appropriate, use AND’s, OR’s, truncation,

and/or phrases

4. Refine your search with limits.• Most databases have some sort of limits

you can apply, for example: – date ranges– publication types (e.g., scholarly articles, dissertations, book chapters, etc.)– languages– peer reviewed articles

• When you find good hits, look at the subject headings. These are controlled vocabulary assigned to describe the topic in the database. Also skim the abstracts for additional keywords. Try running new searches using those terms.

• Find more citations by looking at the bibliography/cited references of sources you find. Sometimes these citations are included in the database. (Also read the literature review in the article itself.)

• Find more citations by looking at sources that cite the sources you find. Look for a times cited link in the database. (If your database doesn’t have this, Google Scholar does.) This is an especially good way to find core articles (and theory!) on your topic.

Limits screenshot

5. Get the actual item.

• If the full text isn’t available in your search results. Look for the button.

• Link to full text if available.• No full text? – Try for the print

• No UCSD access at all? – You can usually request the item from another

library using the link.– For books, try or

6. Get the citation information. You need this for your bibliography.

You list the works you cite so that readers interested in your research can find and read the resources you used to draw your conclusions.• Email records to yourself as a backup.• Some databases can export the citation in a

specific format (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA)• Use Zotero, EndNote Web, or Mendeley to

manage, store, and format your citations

Most plagiarism that happens at UC San Diego is accidental.

7. Evaluate the items you find.• Does it answer the

question?• What are the

author’s credentials? – And what sources do

they cite?• Is the source current

enough for the kind of research you're doing?

8. Try different tools & repeat until you have enough

to write your paper!• Check the help screens or guides to each

database for specifics on combining your terms and whether your results are ranked by date or relevance.

• When you find good hits, look at the subject headings/descriptors. Try running new searches using those terms.

To Recap

1. Start with a question or topic.2. Think about where the answer—or a

piece of the puzzle—might have been articulated.

3. Choose tools that will help you find those publications/information sources.

4. Use those tools to find information you can use.

5. Repeat.