The Process of Legal Research, Fifth Edition [Paperback]

I teach a legal research and writing course with this textbook at UCLA and have found it very helpful. The book is well organized, has good homework problems, reasonably clear writing and fine illustrations. My students find it very helpful in their studies. Its only two flaws are that it does not use California law in its problems and has only one problem at its end to test all of the student's research skills. In a perfect world, two comprehensive research problems would be included to ensure that students have fully grasped the principles involved. While I have used the 4th edition over the last 3 years with great success, I am confident that this 5th edition (which I have read and am presently using in my class) will be equally effective. I only give it four stars because of the two flaws described above and the limited answers to homework problems given in the teacher's edition.

This book explains to the first year law student how to go about legal research in the library and on the internet. It has practice exercises in the back of the book to facilitate the learning process. It is a quick read on all the main sources of legal research and general legal writing. It breaks down the elements of research into small, easy to manage parts that don't make you feel totally overwhelmed during your first research paper. I think it is a great tool for the first year law student.

One can obtain copies of previous editions for as little as 1 USD

(enter the ISBN of the sixth edition 073553666X and view listings

for the approximately five versions/incarnations; click on Used).

Unless you 'must' have the most recent edition (the 6th), go USED

The Process of Legal Research, Sixth Edition

by Christina L. Kunz, Deborah A. Schmedemann, Matthew P. Downs, Ann Bateson

Published: 6/30/2004

ISBN: 073553666X

Format: Paperback

Description

The revision of the first legal research text to take a process approach to the subject offers important new material in the proven effective format that has made the book a continual bestseller. The Process of Legal Research, Sixth Edition, leads students to a deep and meaningful understanding of the "what," "how," and "why," of conducting legal research. The text is skillfully structured to engage student interest:

a complete introduction to the process of legal research aquaint students with sources and vocabulary, along with how each source works, how to combine different sources, and how to resolve legal problems through effective research techniques

extensive illustrations and examples of actual research problems -- including an ongoing text example involving smoking in the workplace -- give students a preview of the realities of practice

the authors emphasize best research practices and discuss how to choose the appropriate source and media for particular types of problems

coverage of electronic research is integrated into the text, with guidance on when and how to make the choice between paper and electronic research, and how the choice of media results in different means, scope, and currency of materials

extensive, well-researched problem sets appear on perforated pages for easy use

the authors demonstrate the interrelated process between tasks of research and writing

Changes for the Sixth Edition facilitate teaching and learning:

thoroughly updated text reflects ongoing developments in research, media, providers, and sources

strengthened discussion of overarching cognitive tasks improves student understanding of the research process as they maneuver through a bewildering array of sources

streamlined book offers enhanced graphics and less dense text, with unnecessary detail eliminated

coverage of ALWD Citation Manual as well as The Bluebook

more emphasis on the Internet and Loislaw, with less discussion of CD-ROMs

expanded coverage of legal ethics, including several more cases on unethical research

reworked problem sets retain the "greatest hits" from previous editions and introduce brand-new problems

new co-author Susan Catterall draws on her experience as a research/instructor at a prominent law firm and as a reference librarian and assistant professor at Drake University of Law School

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