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Thinking About Legal Research Problems

By Paul D. Callister, JD, MSLIS

Library Director & Associate Professor of Law



Find out everything you can about the research problem.Determine whether primary, secondary or combined sources are most appropriate.For primary materials, determine the kind of law, jurisdiction and appropriate arrangement.Putting all of the factors together to find a relevant document.How to be thorough after you have found a relevant document.

Problems Type: Known Item · Subject · Institutional · Statistical · Special Techniques · News · Reference
 
Search Type
Used For
Example
Statistical Search Statistical You need statistical information from a government source. What's the percentage of children living below the poverty level in Los Angeles?

Subscription Databases

 

UMKC Law Library Subscription Databases Page

Statistical Universe (Lexis)--database of federal, state, and NGO statistical information.  Includes both tables and abstracting service

STAT USA--web format for US government statistical information.

 

Research on the Web

 

USA 

US Stat. Abstract · http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

Fed Stats · http://www.fedstats.gov/

U.S. Census · http://www.census.gov/

U.S. Courts Statistical Reports · http://www.uscourts.gov/library.html

Bureau of Justice Statistical Publications · http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm

National Criminal Justice Reference Center · http://www.ncjrs.org/

National Archive Criminal. Justice Data · http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/index.html

UIUC Government Statistics · http://www.library.uiuc.edu/doc/statistics.htm

UIUC Social Science Statistics · http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/webstats.htm

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) · http://www.icpsr.umich.edu

National Center for State Courts · http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/csp/CSP_Main_Page.html

University of Michigan Documents Center · http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html.  Premier site for locating government documents and statistics.

Foreign & International

CIA World Fact Book · http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

U.S. Department of State Background Notes · http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/

EuroStat · http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/

International & Foreign Statistical Agencies · http://www.census.gov/main/www/stat_int.html

InfoNation (UN) · http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm

United Nations Data Access System (UNdata) http://data.un.org/

World Bank Data & Statistics · http://www.worldbank.org/data/

Global Socioeconomic Data Applications Center (SEDAC) (lots of environmental data) · http://sedac.ciesin.org/index.html

 

Other Resources
 

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Last Update: 01/21/2011  



© 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Paul D. Callister