Step 2 – Map out your research strategy
Building on from step 1 where you narrowed down your research area, it is good to ensure you have a firm understanding of the area of law you are researching in.
Now that you have that grounding it is time to plan out your search strategy. Choosing the right search term/s is essential when researching online.
Identifying search terms
Strong search strategies to help you identify useful search terms include 'mining' your background reading, and 'Statsky's cartwheel' (The New Lawyer, 2nd ed, 2019)
'Mining' your background reading requires a focused approach to your background reading, to identify useful search terms, and relevant primary sources and other authoritative materials.
Statsky's cartwheel is a technique for identifying search terms, that involves various forms of word association with an original term to identify a range of relevant and useful search terms. It is described on p. 209-211 of The New Lawyer. (2nd ed 2019).
Watch the video (1:59) to learn how to identify your search terms.
Using Boolean operators: AND, OR & NOT
Law databases use boolean operators to make searching more effective.
Boolean operators allow you to combine your search terms in specific ways for effective results.
Caution
Different databases may use different boolean operators. Refer to the Basic Search Tips for Major Legal Databases document for a summary of the wildcards and connectors used in popular legal databases.
Your Task
Before you start researching for an assessment it is a good idea to plan out your search strategy. Use this downloadable search planner to get started.