Seminar Guide - Advanced Negotiations

The Basic Research Process:

Additional Tips: Public Policy Research

• Always be sure you are using the most up-to-date and accurate information. If your data is outdated, the credibility of your entire argument may be jeopardized.
• Whenever possible, use an original source. For example, if you're reading a report that quotes statistics that were collected by a government agency, find and cite the agency's data, not the report. You can never be certain that a non-original source is using the data correctly, so going to the original will avoid any potential problems of bias or inaccuracy.
• Be aware of the reputation of your sources. Some sources, especially think tanks or advocacy groups, are known as advocates for particular viewpoints. This may cause some readers to perceive their work as biased and discount your argument because you cited them, even if the work you're citing is nonpartisan. This is another reason to always use original sources if possible. This does NOT mean you can't or shouldn't use these groups' resources if they're otherwise credible - just be mindful of the effect it may have on your paper.

• Identify the resources that are the most relevant to your topic. The links in the rest of this guide will help you. Be sure to keep a record of what you've searched and what you've found, so that you don't waste time duplicating things you've already done.

• Evaluation of resources is important - make sure you're using sources that are reliable, current, and authoritative.

• Stay focused! You'll often come across interesting tangents during your research. While these may make great future paper topics, don't spend much time on them now. Note them down for later and move on.

Online Resources

Bluebooking Scholarly Legal Writing, Georgetown University Law Center (2016)

Citing Responsibly: A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism, George Washington University School of Law Committee on Academic Integrity (2020)

Richard Delgado, How to Write a Law Review Article, 20 U. San Francisco L. Rev. 445 (1986)

Publishable Notes Manual, Columbia Law Review (2011-2012)

Law Journal Notes Manual, Georgetown University Law Center (2018)

Books

all of these books can be found in the Law Library's collection

Jessica L. Clark, Scholarly Writing: Ideas, Examples and Execution (2nd ed. 2012)

KF250 .C5375 2012

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Anne Enquist, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation and Style for the Legal Writer (4th ed. 2013)

KF250 .E57 2013

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Lenné Eidson Espenschied, The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (2011)

KF250 .E86 2011

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Elizabeth Fajans & Mary R. Falk, Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review Competition Papers (5th ed. 2017)

KF250 .F34 2017

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Mary Barnard Ray, Beyond the Basics: a Text for Advanced Legal Writing (2013)

KF250 .R38 2013

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Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review (5th ed. 2016)

KF250 .V64 2016