Updated Aug. 30, 2004.
Prepared by Mary Whisner for Bridge the Gap.
Introduction
Lawyers’ research often encompasses more than "legal research."
Litigators, scholars, and policy makers need to know something about the real world -- so
they might need statistics, news stories, scholarship from other disciplines, and
information as basic as addresses and phone numbers.
Since law touches on so many aspects of life, some legal researcher may need to get
information about almost anything -- from engineering (technical specifications about a
piece of equipment involved in litigation, for instance) to medicine, anthropology to
zoology.
Strategies
As you work on your various legal projects, be open to nonlegal information. Recognize
that you will sometimes need to look beyond legal sources and might even need to leave the
law library.
Become familiar with some standard tools (for instance, some of the sources we will use
today). Remember the tools you used as an undergraduate and in the other work you did
before law school. When you try out a new tool, look for a table of contents, an index,
and an introduction that explains how to use it.
Explore nonlegal databases. For instance, through your law school account, you may have
access to your university’s subscriptions to economics, business, and medical
databases. LexisNexis and Westlaw both have many nonlegal databases. If you are working
in a commercial setting, be aware of the pricing. Some of the nonlegal
Westlaw databases,
for instance, have a different price structure than the legal databases.
Ask a librarian for help. For instance, if you need business information, go to the
Foster Business Library at the University of Washington and ask a reference librarian to
suggest sources. Consult Chapter 10,
Nonlegal Resources, in the Washington Legal Researcher's Deskbook
3d. KFW75.W37 2002 at Reference Area & Reference Office.
The UW Libraries Resources by Subject page,
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/, provides lists of recommended
resources for several dozen topics, including American Indian studies,
business, China studies, economics, environmental sciences, government
publications, international studies, Japanese studies, medicine, political
science and public affairs, and public health,
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Directories
- Encyclopedia of Associations. HS17.G334 current at Staff
Office;
previous at Reference Office. Available on Westlaw:
EOA.
- U.S. Government Manual, annual. JK421.U57, latest edition at
Reference Area & Reference
Office,
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html. Available on Westlaw:
US-GOVMAN.
- Who's Who in America. E176.W642 current at Reference Office. Available on
Westlaw:
MARQUIS. On Westlaw, also try Biography Master
Index (BIOGRAPHY), an index of many biographical sources.
- Washington State Yearbook. JK9230.W38 current at Reference Area
& Reference Office
- USWest Dex, White Pages for the Entire Seattle Area,
http://www.dexonline.com/.
- Switchboard: http://switchboard.com.
Handy source for phone numbers and addresses.
- Access Washington Online Telephone Directory, http://dial.wa.gov/EmployeeDirectory/LocalFrames.asp.
A directory of State of Washington employees.
- UW Libraries, Directories,
http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/directories/.
See also the People-Finding guide for additional directories and biographical sources. For specialized
directories search the Law Library's catalog, MARIAN.
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Statistical Sources
- Fedstats, http://www.fedstats.gov/,
links to many federal agency statistical sources.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States,
annual. HA202, current at Reference Office, http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-01.html.
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of
Criminal Justice Statistics. HV7245.S68, current at Reference
Office, http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/.
See also various statistical
tables and charts on the Bureau of Justice Statistics website, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/.
- U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the
United States (Crime in the United States, annual. HV6787.A3, current at
Reference Office, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.
- U.S. Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control, The DataWeb, http://www.thedataweb.org/.
A network of data libraries covering census data, economic data, health
data, income and unemployment data, population data, labor data, cancer
data, crime and transportation data, family dynamics, and vital
statistics data.
- U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Background Material and Data on
Programs Within the Jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee
(The Green Book),
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wmprints/green/index.html, provides
"descriptions and historical data on a wide variety of social and economic
topics, including Social Security, employment, earnings, welfare, child
support, health insurance, the elderly, families with children, poverty
and taxation."
- The World Almanac and Book of Facts, annual. AY67.N5W7, current
at Reference Area & Reference Office
- American Bar Association, Market Research Department, Statistical
Sources, http://www.abanet.org/marketresearch/resource.html,
links to sources for statistics about lawyers, law students, legal
education, and related topics.
- Nationmaster,
http://www.nationmaster.com/, offers graphs comparing national
statistics on a wide variety of topics.
- Westlaw: Public Opinion Online (POLL)
is a collection of U.S. public opinion surveys.
English Usage Sources
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th
ed. PE1625.A54 2000 at
Reference Office, http://www.bartleby.com/61/.
- The Gregg Reference Manual, 8th ed. PE1479.B87S23 1996 at
Reference Area
- Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form. PE1591.K54
1992 at Reference Office
- Roget's II: The New Thesaurus. PE1591.R737 at Reference Area &
Classified Stacks
- Roget's International Thesaurus, 3d ed. PE1591.R73 1992 at
Reference Area
- The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage.
PE1421.N46 1994 at Reference Area
- Bryan A. Garner, Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, 2d ed.
KF156.G367 1995 at Reference Office
- UW Libraries, Reference Tools,
http://www.lib.washington.edu/research/, includes online dictionaries,
encyclopedias, and related sources.
See also Legal and General Resources
with citations to print and online sources.
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Quotation Sources
- Familiar Quotations [Bartlett’s], 16th ed. PN6081.B27 1992 at Reference
Area. The
10th edition of Bartlett’s (1919) is at http://www.bartleby.com/100/.
- Fred R. Shapiro, The Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations. KF159.S53
1993 at Reference Area & Reference Office
- Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations Requested from the
Congressional Research Service. PN6081.R435 1989 at Reference Area
- The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations. PN6080.O94 1991 at
Reference Area
- Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 4th ed.
PN6080.O95 1992 at Reference Office. Available on Westlaw (3d ed.):
QUOTATIONS.
For other quotation sources, search the Law Library's catalog, MARIAN,
for the subject heading "quotations".
Medical Sources
- Physicians' Desk Reference: PDR. RS75.P5, current at Reference
Area
- Physicians' Desk Reference for Nonprescription Drugs.
RM671.A1P48, current at Reference Area
- Medical Abbreviations: 8600 Conveniences at the Expense of Communications and Safety,
6th ed. R123.D35 1993 at Reference Area
- Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 25th ed. R121.S8 1990 at
Reference Area
- Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 15th ed. R121.T3 1988 at
Reference Area
- Westlaw: Attorney's Medical Deskbook (MEDDESK).
See also the UW Health Sciences Libraries, Healthlinks,
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/.
Reference Tools on the Internet
For more reference tools on the Internet, start with:
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