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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
Special Techniques Search Special Techniques You are searching for materials which require special interpretive or inter-disciplinary skills. Budget, Census, Historical, International Law, Internet Law, Patents, Politics & Elections, Tax Forms, Technical Reports, Public Records. 

Subscription Databases

 

UMKC Law Library Subscription Databases Page

BNA -- ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct  - Accounting Policy & Practice Report and Series - Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report - Bankruptcy Law Reporter - BioTech Watch - Criminal Law Reporter - Digital Discovery & e-Evidence - Electronic Commerce & Law Report - Employment Discrimination Report - Environment Reporter - Family Law Reporter - Health Law Reporter - Intellectual Property Law Resource Center - International Trade Reporter - Labor & Employment Law Resource Center -  Patent Trademark & Copyright Journal - Securities Regulation & Law Report - Tax and Accounting Center - Tax Management Portfolios Plus - Tax Management State Tax Library - Tax Management Tax Practice Library - Tax Management Weekly Report - Tax Management Weekly State Tax Report - U.S. Law Week - White Collar Crime Report

CELEX -- EU Database

CCH IntelliConnect -- Advertising & Marketing Law, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Banking (Banking Compliance, Federal, State), Bankruptcy, Benefits, Commodities & Derivatives, Computer & Internet Law, Construction Law, Consumer Financial Services, Corporate Governance, Corporations & Business Organizations Law, Energy & Natural Resources, Exchanges & SROs, Financial Services,  Franchising & Distribution, Government Contracts, Insurance Coverage Litigation, Intellectual Property, International, International Investment Management, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Payroll, Pension, Privacy Law, Products Liability & Safety, Secured Transactions, Securities (Federal, International, Securities Compliance, State), Tax & Accounting (Accounting and Auditing, Federal Taxes, Financial and Estate Planning, International, Specialized Tax, State Taxes, Wealth Planning/Management) Transportation Law, UK Financial Services

RIA Checkpoint -- Premiere tax online service

Social Science Research Network -- working papers of accounting, financial, economic, legal, information systems,  management, marketing, research networks, negotiations, and social insurance 

University of Missouri Digital Library -- includes 17th-19th Century Religious, Political and Legal Tracts and historical news sources

UM Databases (Alphabetical)

AARP Ageline -- 1978 - present, with selected coverage 1966-1977

African-American Newspapers: The Nineteenth Century, Part I --Nineteenth century newspapers published by and for African-Americans.

Business & Company Resource Center

Contemporary Women's Issues -- 1992 to present

Dissertation Abstracts -- 1861 to present

EconLit -- Abstracts from 1969 and some full-text.

EDGAR -- Securities filing database since 1994.

Hispanic American Periodicals -- 1970 - present.

NCJRS: National Criminal Justice Reference Service --1958 - present

PAIS International (CSA) -- 1972 - present. Political, social and public policy issues with an international scope.

Proceedings First -- Academic conference index (1990 to present)

Project Muse -- Full text 1993 - present -- literature, history, the visual and performing arts, education, political science, and gender studies.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database -- world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from 1980 to present for abstracts and since 1861 for just bibliographic information.  Some full text dissertations and Theses are availabe.

Sage Urban Studies Abstracts (FirstSearch) -- urban studies 1998 - present.

Sage Public Administration Abstracts (FirstSearch) -- Public administration (1998 - present)

Social Work Abstracts (SilverPlatter) --- Social work and human services (1975 - present)

 

Research on the Web

Business, Finance, and Industry

Bloomberg Online (registration required but free) · http://www.bloomberg.com/welcome.html

CNET · http://investor.news.com

CNNMoney · http://money.cnn.com/

Company Research (Guide) · http://iws.ohiolink.edu/companies/

Corporate Information (registration required but free) · http://www.corporateinformation.com

Economic Census · http://www.census.gov/econ/census02

EDGAR (SEC Securities Filings) · http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm

Foreign Trade Statistics · http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/

Fortune 500 Lists · http://www.fortune.com/fortune/alllists

Hoovers (Companies & Industries) · http://www.hoovers.com/free

IndustryLink · http://www.industrylink.com/

Industry Research (Guide) · http://iws.ohiolink.edu/companies/indexindustryresearch.htm

Map of the Market · http://www.smartmoney.com/marketmap/

Motley Fool · http://www.fool.com/index.htm

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) · http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html

NY Times Directory to Business · http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/reference/busconn.html

SmartMoney · http://www.smartmoney.com/

Statistical Resources (Business & Industry) · http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/frames/stecinfr.html

Thomas Register (registration required but free) · http://www.thomasregister.com/

Trade Information Center (Industry & Countries) · http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/

Yahoo! Business Directory · http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Directories/Companies/

Census

Moody's Basic Census Sources · http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/mmoody/lis424/census.html

Census Bureau (also includes economic and trade data) · http://www.census.gov/

Crime Statistics (see also statistics "problem type" page)

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

Census Bureau--Criminal Justice Surveys · http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cj.html

Judicial Business of the United States · http://www.uscourts.gov/about.html

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

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

NACJD Related Sites · http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/links.html

U.S. Criminal Justice Resource Page · http://www.criminaljusticedegree.net/resources/the-us-criminal-justice-history-resource-page/

Cyberlaw and Intellectual Property

Professor Paul's Cyberlaw and Infosphere Web Links · http://www1.law.umkc.edu/Faculty/callister/Guides/CyberlawLinks.htm

Forms

LexisOne Forms · http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/legalguide/online_forms/forms_center_index.htm

Findlaw Forms · http://forms.lp.findlaw.com/

Juris International (Forms) · http://www.jurisint.org/pub/page00_en.htm

Federal Budget

Government Budget (GPO) · http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/

Moody's Basic Budget Sources ·  http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/mmoody/lis424/budget.html

U.S. Census Bureau--Federal, State & Local Governments · http://www.census.gov/govs/www/index.html

Foreign & International Law (see also Institutional tab)

Foreign Law & Governments 

Laws of Other Nations (UIUC) · http://library.law.uiuc.edu/sub/foreignr.htm

Web Resources for Foreign Law & Gov. (Emory) ·  http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/foreign.html

D'Angelo L. Lib. (U. of Chicago) · http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/foreign.html

Constitution Finder · http://confinder.richmond.edu/

Nations of the World (L. Lib. of Cong.) · http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/nations.html

Global L. Info. Network (L. Lib. of Cong.) · http://lcweb2.loc.gov/law/GLINv1/

Guide to Foreign & Int'l L. Databases (NYU) · http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/

Foreign Gov. (NWU) ·  http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html

NATLEX National Labor Law · http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home

International Law & Organizations

United Nations

UN Official Site · http://www.un.org/english/

UN Treaty Collection · http://untreaty.un.org/English/treaty.asp

UN Document Center · http://www.un.org/documents/

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

International Law · http://www.un.org/law/

Human Rights · http://www.un.org/rights/index.html

International Court Justice (UN) · http://www.icj-cij.org/

International Court Justice (Alternate Site) · http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/International_Resources/default.htm

International Criminal Court · http://www.un.org/law/icc/index.html

European Union 

EU Official Site · http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm

EuroLex Portal EU Law · http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html

EU in the US · http://www.eurunion.org/

EU Research Guide (Berkeley) · http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/gov_eu.html

Web Guide EU Info (Prof. Callister) · http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/seworkspace/callistr/424/ecweb/ECsite.htm

EU Courts J. & First Inst.· http://europa.eu.int/cj/en/index.htm

European Commission Libraries Catalogue (ECLAS) · http://europa.eu.int/eclas/

Other Regional & Global Organizations 

International Government Organizations Index (NWU) · http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/igo.html

Council of Europe · http://www.coe.int/DefaultEN.asp

European Court of Justice · http://www.echr.coe.int/

NAFTA Secretariat · http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/DefaultSite/index.html

NATO · http://www.nato.int/

Permanent Court of Arbitration · http://www.pca-cpa.org/

World Trade Organizations · http://www.wto.org/

World Intellectual Property Organization · http://www.wipo.int/index.html.en

International Labor Organization (Cornell) · http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/International_Resources/default.htm

Treaties & Other Primary Sources

UN Treaty Collection · http://untreaty.un.org/English/treaty.asp

UN Charter · http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ibasicdocuments/Basetext/iunchart.htm

Multilateral Treaties Project (Fletcher) · http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multilaterals.html

Oceana Online Treaties Index (registration required but free) · http://www.oceanalaw.com/gateway/main_Logon.asp?ID=23

UNIDROIT Conventions · http://www.unidroit.org/english/conventions/c-main.htm

Environmental Treaties & Resource Indicators · http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/entri/index.jsp

WIPO Treaties · http://www.wipo.int/treaties/index.html

GATT · http://www2.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/foliocgi.exe/GATT?

Diana Human Rights Project (Yale) · http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diana/index.html

International Court of Judicial Decisions · http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idecisions.htm

TRIBLEX ILO Administrative Tribunal Cases · http://ilis.ilo.org/ilis/trib/ilintrtr.html

IOLEX Digest of International Labour Standards · http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english

Moody's Basic Treaty Sources · http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/mmoody/lis424/treaty.html

General Sites, Libraries & Guides

European Commission Libraries Catalogue (ECLAS) · http://europa.eu.int/eclas/

Foreign & International Legal Index (Washburn) · http://www.washlaw.edu/forint/forintmain.html

Foreign & International Legal Index Research (U. of Co.) · http://spot.colorado.edu/~thompsje/intlaw.htm

Foreign & International Legal Sources Ann. (Cornell) · http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/International_Resources/foreign.htm

International Resources (FindLaw) · http://www.findlaw.com/12international/

Foreign & International Legal Databases (NYU) · http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/

International Legal Guides (LLRX) · http://www.llrx.com/international_law.html

Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Catalog) · http://www.mpil.de/eindex.cfm

Peace Palace Library (Catalog) · http://www.ppl.nl/

Sources International & Foreign Law in English (Williams) · http://library.law.uiuc.edu/sub/foreignr.htm

International & Foreign Law Resources (Callister) · http://www1.law.umkc.edu/faculty/callister/intl/

Historical

Abraham Lincoln at the Library of Congress · http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html

American Memory · http://memory.loc.gov/

Avalon Project at Yale Law School:  Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy  · http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm

A Century of Law Making for a New Nation · http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

Digital Library Federation:  Public Access Collections · http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/b/bib/bib-idx?c=dlfcoll

The Founder's Constitution · http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/

Hypertext of American History · http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/usa.htm

Linder's Famous Trials (UMKC) ·  http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/ftrials.htm

National Archives and Record Administration · http://search.nara.gov/

National Security Archive (Repository FOIA Documents) · http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/

Statutes at Large (1789-1873) · http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsl.html

Thomas Historical Documents · http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/mdbquery.html

Tobacco Control Archives · http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/

Yahoo History of Law · http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/Law/History/

Interdisciplinary and Other Disciplines

Google Scholar · http://scholar.google.com

MOspace · https://mospace.umsystem.edu

OpenThesis · http://www.openthesis.org

Native American Law

Research American Indian Law · http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/profiles/stancel/indian.htm

National Indian Law Library · http://www.narf.org/nill/Nillindex.html

Native American Legal Resources · http://www.law.ou.edu/indian

Indigenous Peoples Law (Google) · http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Law/Legal_Information/Indigenous_Peoples_Law

Natural Resources and Environmental Law

Natural Resources Web Links (U. of Denver) · http://www.law.du.edu/naturalresources/weblinks

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

Earth Trends · http://earthtrends.wri.org

Politics and Elections

Center for Governmental Studies · http://www.cgs.org/

Congress.org · http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/

Democracy Network · http://www.congress.org/congressorg/e4/?

Election Law @ Moritz (Ohio State Law Library) · http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/

Government Guide · http://mygov.governmentguide.com/mygov/index.html

U. Michigan Document Center--Political Science Resources ·  http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psusp.html

Tax Law Resources

Tax Law Resources (Prof. Callister) · http://www1.law.umkc.edu/faculty/callister/tax_resources.htm

Technical Reports

Moody's Basic Technical Report Sources · http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/mmoody/lis424/trptso.html

Technical Reports (University at Buffalo) · http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/collections/technic.html

Government Research Center · http://grc.ntis.gov/

NTIS Catalog · http://www.ntis.gov/search/index.asp

Department of Transportation: Online Publications · http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPWeb.ASP

 

Other Resources
 

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Last Update: 01/21/2011  



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