Open AccessOnline Legal Research: A Practical Guide for Business Students and Professionals
Author(s) -
Jill M. Oeding,
Shan L. Hudson,
Jeanette Maier-Lytle
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of economics and public finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2377-1046
pISSN - 2377-1038
DOI - 10.22158/jepf.v3n2p258
Subject(s) - objectivity (philosophy) , online search , legal research , public relations , quality (philosophy) , government (linguistics) , online research methods , political science , descriptive statistics , psychology , computer science , world wide web , law , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology , statistics , mathematics
This article is intended to be a guide to business students and professionals in locating and assessing online legal information in the United States, providing a brief summary of primary and secondary sources of law and distinguishing between state and federal law as a backdrop to legal research. Researchers are encouraged to perform an online search with a tailored list of descriptive search terms. When evaluating online search results, a researcher should identify quality information based on its authority, accuracy, timeliness, objectivity, and coverage. If possible, online researchers should prefer government websites that provide timely, relevant information when retrieving online legal information. A researcher may begin an online search using secondary sources of law, but a successful search should conclude with the interpretation of primary sources of law.