Doing Legal Research: A Guide for Social Scientists and Mental Health Professionals (Applied Social Research Methods)

This useful volume will help researchers and practitioners ensure the legal relevance of their initial research question as well as conduct their own evaluation of the primary legal materials. The book describes how to use a law library to: find, cite and track cases; uncover statutes passed by the state legislatures; examine the legislative history of these statutes and administrative rules and regulations; and discover decisions promulgated by state agencies. In addition it includes exercises that give readers an opportunity to go into the law library and test their developing skills on genuine legal questions.