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In this lesson, you will learn how to search the Internet during legal research, and how to search legal dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Finding Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Guides
- Searching versus browsing
- Dictionary use sample
- Encyclopedia use sample
- Online guide use sample
- Citation guide use sample
Transcript
Two main ways to look for information on the web – searching and browsing – should be familiar to you.
To search, you type a keyword into a text box and get back results with that keyword. You can now narrow a search by using fewer words or broaden the search by using more.
To browse, you can scan down a page, scroll, and link where necessary.
Preston sued psychologist Merrill, alleging that Merrill suggested false memories of childhood rape to Preston\’s daughter, Gloria.
Merrill feels that since Preston was not his patient, he\’s not responsible for the other man\’s alleged emotional distress.
Merrill begins his search by using Nolo\’s dictionary to look for \”duty\”. With Nolo, he doesn\’t have to type any keywords. He only has to browse by linking to the letter \’d\’ and scanning the \’d\’ page.
Merrill adds \”standard of care\” and \”duty of care\” to his keywords but still wants more information about \”duty\” and \”care\”. He uses an encyclopedia, Wex, to search for these words.
This results in cases that use the word \”duty\” and the word \”care\”. If he wanted to be more precise, he can place \”duty of care\” in quotes. The results of that search in the small third box on the screen show that \”duty\”, \”of\”, and \”care\” are kept together. This narrows the search to only those cases that keep all three words together in order.
Preston\’s position is that even if he wasn\’t Merrill\’s patient, the psychologist owed him a certain level of care. He knows nothing about the topic and is not sure where to start.
He goes online to search George Mason Law Library\’s guide and finds other resources and guides that can help him understand his topic more and supplement his arguments.
Preston eventually finds a recent medical report that says exactly what he needs it to say about the responsibilities of therapists to third parties. He wants to use the report in a response to a motion to dismiss, but doesn\’t know how to cite the report in his motion. He consults Georgetown Law Library\’s Bluebook Guide.