Legal Research Demystified – PDF

Legal Research Demystified (PDF) is a practical guide to legal research designed for first-year law students. This ebook guides students through eight essential steps for researching common law issues and ten for statutory issues, breaking down the research process into manageable pieces. This structured approach helps students overcome the usual frustration of learning new skills. The ebook not only clarifies legal research but also shows how different sources and tools are used and why they are important. It emphasizes the fact that legal research is often a back-and-forth process, preparing students to adapt their approach when needed.

Through its systematic method, students will learn how seemingly unrelated resources, like citators and the Key Number System, connect and can be used together to answer legal questions. Each chapter includes charts, diagrams, and screenshots that make understanding the research methods easier. Additionally, each chapter ends with a “summary of key points” section to reinforce important ideas.

This ebook provides law students and professors with a variety of ways to assess understanding. At the end of each chapter, there are true-false and multiple-choice questions to check comprehension. These questions are also available on the companion website, Core Knowledge, https://www.cases.com/landing/core-knowledge. Students can use the website for extra practice, get instant feedback, and see explanations for correct and incorrect answers. This lets professors keep track of student progress and decide if a topic needs more attention or if they are ready to move on. (New editions include a code to access Core Knowledge. People who buy used copies can buy the code separately.)

Core Knowledge offers even more assessment opportunities with interactive research exercises. These online modules guide students through research steps on Westlaw and Lexis Advance, allowing professors to use a “flipped” classroom model. With lots of screenshots and helpful tips, students can get familiar with both platforms outside of class, leading to deeper learning during lectures. Each exercise follows a realistic research scenario and has self-grading questions. One example has students use Westlaw to figure out if a client can sue for emotional distress after losing their dog. Students need to go through the research steps, find and analyze secondary sources on Westlaw, use the Key Number System, and do keyword searches to answer the client’s question.

Professor support materials (sold separately) include a Teacher’s Manual, sample syllabi, and example research exams to further aid in the learning process.

978-1531007843, 978-1531007836

NOTE: This sale only includes the eBook Legal Research Demystified: A Step-by-Step Approach in PDF format. No access codes are included.