7.3 Evaluating and Selecting Electronic Research Tools
6 min read•august 15, 2024
Electronic legal research tools are game-changers for lawyers. They offer powerful search capabilities, vast databases, and advanced features that make finding relevant information a breeze. From comprehensive platforms like to specialized databases, these tools revolutionize how legal pros tackle research tasks.
Choosing the right tool is crucial. Consider your specific needs, budget, and expertise. Weigh the pros and cons of comprehensive vs. specialized platforms, and don't forget about free resources. Remember, combining multiple tools often yields the best results for thorough research.
Electronic Legal Research Platforms
Comprehensive Services and Specialized Databases
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- Electronic legal research platforms include comprehensive services (Westlaw, , )
- Specialized databases focus on specific practice areas or jurisdictions
- Provide targeted, in-depth coverage of a particular legal domain
- May lack the breadth of resources found in comprehensive platforms
Key Features and Capabilities
- enables users to locate relevant documents quickly
- (, ) verify the current status of a case and identify related authorities
- Secondary source libraries offer valuable background information and analysis
- Include , , and
- May not be as frequently updated as primary law databases
- Case law and provide access to primary legal authorities
- Alert services help users track legal developments and stay current in their practice areas
Advanced Search Functionality
- , , and refine search results
- allows users to limit results by specific document sections or metadata
- Improves precision and relevance of search results
- Saves time by filtering out irrelevant documents
- Advanced search capabilities are essential for conducting efficient and comprehensive legal research
Collaborative and Analytical Tools
- Shared folders, annotated documents, and research trails facilitate collaboration and organization
- Allow users to work efficiently in teams and share knowledge
- Streamline the research process and reduce duplication of efforts
- , , and provide valuable insights
- Reveal legal trends, judge behavior, and opposing counsel strategies
- Support data-driven decision-making and strategic planning
Strengths and Limitations of Research Tools
Comprehensive Platforms vs. Specialized Databases
- Comprehensive platforms (Westlaw, LexisNexis) offer broad coverage across multiple jurisdictions and practice areas
- Well-suited for complex, multifaceted research questions
- Provide a one-stop-shop for most legal research needs
- Specialized databases may have more targeted, in-depth coverage of a particular legal domain
- Ideal for researchers with a narrow focus or expertise in a specific area
- May lack the breadth of resources found in comprehensive platforms
Free and Low-Cost Resources
- , , and court websites can be effective for quick searches or preliminary research
- Useful for locating known items or getting an overview of a topic
- May lack advanced features and editorial enhancements found in paid platforms
- Free resources should be used in conjunction with other tools for thorough and reliable research
Citator Tools and Secondary Sources
- Citator tools (KeyCite, Shepard's) are essential for verifying the current status of a case and identifying related authorities
- Ensure that cited cases are still good law and have not been overturned or superseded
- May not be available in all platforms, particularly free or low-cost services
- (treatises, practice guides, journal articles) provide valuable background information and analysis
- Offer expert commentary, practical guidance, and in-depth exploration of legal topics
- May not be as frequently updated as primary law databases, potentially impacting currency
Electronic Research Services: Cost vs Coverage
Pricing Models and Budgetary Considerations
- Flat-rate subscriptions provide unlimited access for a fixed price
- Ideal for frequent users or institutions with high research volumes
- May be cost-prohibitive for occasional users or small firms
- Pay-per-use or transactional pricing based on the number of documents accessed or time spent researching
- Suitable for infrequent users or those with limited research needs
- Can be difficult to predict costs and manage budgets effectively
- Low-cost or free services may offer limited coverage or functionality compared to premium platforms
- Potentially impact research efficiency and completeness
- Require additional effort to fill gaps in coverage or features
Evaluating Scope of Coverage
- Consider the specific jurisdictions, practice areas, and document types relevant to the user's research needs
- Ensure that the platform covers the necessary geographic areas and legal domains
- Verify the availability of specific document types (case law, statutes, regulations, secondary sources)
- Assess the depth of coverage within each category
- Look for comprehensive coverage of federal and state materials
- Check for the inclusion of administrative decisions, trial court opinions, and other specialized content
Usability and User Experience
- Intuitiveness of the search interface impacts ease of use and learning curve
- Look for clear, logical organization of search options and filters
- Assess the availability of natural language processing and autocomplete features
- Filters and sorting options help users refine results and prioritize relevant documents
- Evaluate the granularity and flexibility of filtering options
- Consider the ability to sort results by relevance, date, court hierarchy, or other criteria
- Responsive customer support and high-quality user guides and training materials enhance the overall user experience
- Timely and knowledgeable customer support can minimize disruptions and improve productivity
- Comprehensive documentation and training resources facilitate onboarding and ongoing skill development
Mobile Access and Integration
- Mobile access and offline capabilities support research on the go
- Look for platforms with dedicated mobile apps or responsive web designs
- Consider the ability to save documents for offline viewing or annotate on mobile devices
- Integration with other legal software tools streamlines workflows and improves efficiency
- Assess compatibility with case management systems, document management platforms, or citation managers
- Evaluate options for exporting search results or documents to other applications
Selecting the Right Research Tool
Aligning Tool Selection with Research Needs
- Choose a research platform that aligns with the scope and complexity of the legal issue
- Consider factors such as jurisdiction, practice area, and document types needed
- Assess the depth of analysis required and the expected output format
- Urgency of the research task should guide the selection of tools based on their efficiency and
- Prioritize platforms with strong search capabilities and user-friendly interfaces for time-sensitive matters
- Balance speed with thoroughness to ensure reliable and complete results
Budgetary Constraints and Institutional Resources
- Available resources, such as institutional subscriptions or library access, may limit the range of feasible options
- Leverage existing subscriptions or memberships to maximize value and minimize additional costs
- Explore options for shared access or group licenses to expand coverage while controlling expenses
- Budgetary constraints may necessitate the use of free or low-cost alternatives
- Supplement limited resources with creative search strategies and cross-referencing techniques
- Collaborate with colleagues or librarians to share resources and expertise
Researcher Expertise and Proficiency
- Researcher expertise and familiarity with specific platforms may influence tool selection
- Capitalize on existing skills and knowledge to maximize efficiency and effectiveness
- Invest in training and professional development to expand proficiency and adapt to new tools
- Proficiency with advanced search techniques and platform-specific features can impact the speed and quality of research outcomes
- Develop a deep understanding of boolean operators, proximity connectors, and field searching
- Stay current with platform updates and new features to optimize research strategies
Combining Multiple Research Tools
- A combination of research tools may be necessary to fully address a legal issue
- Leverage the unique strengths of different platforms and resources
- Use specialized databases to supplement the coverage of comprehensive platforms
- Develop a strategic approach to research that incorporates multiple tools and techniques
- Begin with broad searches in comprehensive platforms to identify key issues and relevant authorities
- Refine searches using specialized databases, secondary sources, and citator tools to deepen analysis and ensure completeness
- Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of research tools and adjust strategies as needed
- Monitor the quality and relevance of search results
- Seek feedback from colleagues and clients to assess the impact of research on legal outcomes
Key Terms to Review (32)
Accessibility: Accessibility refers to the ease with which users can navigate and utilize electronic research tools, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can effectively access and engage with the information provided. This concept emphasizes the importance of designing resources that accommodate diverse needs, such as those with visual impairments, hearing difficulties, or cognitive challenges, ultimately creating a more inclusive research environment.
Bloomberg Law: Bloomberg Law is a comprehensive legal research platform that provides access to primary and secondary legal materials, including case law, statutes, and legal news. It integrates advanced technology and data analytics to enhance legal research processes and improve the efficiency of legal professionals in their work.
Boolean operators: Boolean operators are words or symbols used in search queries to combine or exclude keywords, enhancing the precision of search results. They are essential tools for refining searches in legal research, helping to narrow down or expand the range of relevant documents. Understanding how to use these operators effectively can significantly impact the quality and relevance of the information retrieved during research processes.
Case law database: A case law database is a comprehensive electronic repository that houses judicial opinions and legal decisions from various courts, providing easy access for legal research. These databases allow users to search and retrieve case law based on specific criteria, such as jurisdiction, citation, or keywords, which streamlines the research process and enhances the efficiency of legal practitioners and scholars in finding relevant precedents and legal rulings.
Citation Analysis: Citation analysis is the examination of the references and citations within legal documents to evaluate their authority, relevance, and reliability. This process helps researchers understand how sources are interconnected and the influence they have within legal discourse. It’s crucial for determining which secondary sources hold more weight in legal arguments and assessing the credibility of electronic research tools in the legal field.
Citator tools: Citator tools are electronic research tools that help legal professionals track the history and treatment of legal cases, statutes, and secondary sources. These tools provide a comprehensive analysis of how a legal authority has been cited in subsequent cases, indicating whether it is still considered valid law or has been overruled or distinguished. They play a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of legal research by allowing users to assess the precedential value of a source.
Collaborative tools: Collaborative tools are software applications and platforms that enable multiple users to work together on projects, share information, and communicate in real-time. These tools enhance teamwork by allowing participants to contribute simultaneously, regardless of their physical location, making them essential for effective electronic research and information sharing.
Comparative analysis: Comparative analysis is a research method that involves comparing two or more items to identify their similarities and differences. This approach is crucial for evaluating and selecting electronic research tools, as it helps researchers understand the strengths and weaknesses of various options available in the legal research landscape.
Comprehensiveness: Comprehensiveness refers to the extent to which electronic research tools encompass a wide range of sources, materials, and functionalities that are relevant to legal research. A comprehensive tool offers users access to a full array of legal resources, including case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources, ensuring that researchers can find all necessary information without needing to consult multiple platforms.
Cost-effectiveness: Cost-effectiveness refers to the evaluation of the relative costs and outcomes of different options to determine which provides the best value for the investment made. In legal research, achieving cost-effectiveness involves not only assessing the financial costs of research tools but also understanding the value they provide in terms of time saved and improved research outcomes. It’s crucial to balance budget constraints with the need for comprehensive and efficient legal research strategies.
Data visualization: Data visualization is the graphical representation of information and data, using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps to make complex data more accessible and understandable. It helps in identifying trends, patterns, and outliers in data that may not be immediately apparent in text-based data or spreadsheets. This technique is crucial for effectively conveying empirical data and statistics in legal contexts, enhancing arguments with visual clarity.
Fastcase: Fastcase is an online legal research service that provides access to a comprehensive database of legal resources, including case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources. It is particularly known for its user-friendly interface and advanced search capabilities, making it a popular choice for both legal professionals and those involved in public interest law and pro bono work. Fastcase offers features like visualization tools and customizable alerts, which enhance the research experience.
Field Searching: Field searching is a specialized search technique that allows researchers to target specific sections or fields of a database, such as titles, authors, dates, or subject headings, rather than conducting a broad search across all available data. This method enhances the precision and relevance of search results by focusing on particular attributes that define the information being sought. By honing in on defined fields, users can streamline their research process, making it easier to find the most pertinent legal statutes or resources in electronic databases.
Full-text searchability: Full-text searchability refers to the capability of a database or electronic research tool to allow users to search and retrieve documents based on the entire text content rather than just specific fields or metadata. This feature is crucial for efficient and thorough research, enabling users to locate relevant information quickly, regardless of where it appears in the document.
Google Scholar: Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. It provides a simple way for users to broadly search for scholarly articles, theses, books, conference papers, and patents, making it an essential tool for academic research and evaluating resources.
Journal articles: Journal articles are scholarly papers published in academic journals, which present original research, reviews, or analysis on specific topics. These articles undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the quality and credibility of the content, making them essential resources for advanced legal research and evidence-based practice.
KeyCite: KeyCite is a legal research tool provided by Westlaw that helps users verify the current status of a legal case or statute and find relevant case law, citing references, and other legal resources. It enables researchers to track the treatment of a case over time, ensuring they are relying on valid and authoritative legal precedents. KeyCite is essential for updating case law and plays a significant role in enhancing legal research by connecting users to related legal documents and ensuring thoroughness in their findings.
LexisNexis: LexisNexis is a comprehensive online legal research database that provides access to a vast collection of legal resources, including case law, statutes, regulations, legal journals, and secondary sources. It is a critical tool for legal professionals and students to conduct thorough and efficient research across various areas of law.
Litigation analytics: Litigation analytics refers to the use of data analysis and statistical methods to evaluate and predict outcomes in legal disputes. By examining past case data, litigation analytics helps attorneys and legal professionals understand trends, assess risks, and make informed decisions about litigation strategies. This approach combines legal expertise with quantitative analysis, allowing for more effective planning and resource allocation in the context of legal proceedings.
Needs Assessment: Needs assessment is a systematic process used to identify and evaluate the needs of a particular group or situation, focusing on gaps between current conditions and desired outcomes. This process is crucial when selecting and evaluating electronic research tools, as it helps determine the specific requirements users have for effective research outcomes and helps in making informed choices.
Practice Guides: Practice guides are specialized secondary legal sources that provide practical advice, guidance, and insights on how to navigate specific legal issues or procedures. They often include step-by-step instructions, sample forms, checklists, and references to relevant laws and cases, making them invaluable tools for practitioners in various areas of law.
Primary Sources: Primary sources are original documents or firsthand accounts that provide direct evidence or firsthand testimony about a legal issue, fact, or event. They are essential in legal research as they establish the law and provide a foundation for legal arguments, serving as the most authoritative reference in the legal research process.
Proximity Connectors: Proximity connectors are search operators used in legal research that allow users to find terms within a specified distance from each other in search queries. These connectors help refine searches by ensuring that relevant terms appear close to each other, which is especially useful when looking for phrases or ideas that are contextually linked. By leveraging proximity connectors, researchers can enhance the precision of their searches across various legal texts, making it easier to locate pertinent statutory provisions, case law, and regulatory materials.
Retrieval speed: Retrieval speed refers to the efficiency and quickness with which an electronic research tool can access and provide relevant information from its database. A high retrieval speed is crucial for researchers as it impacts their ability to gather information rapidly and make timely decisions, especially in fast-paced environments where time is of the essence.
Search accuracy: Search accuracy refers to the degree to which the results returned from a search query effectively match the intended or relevant information sought by the user. High search accuracy is crucial for efficient research, as it ensures that users can quickly find pertinent resources without sifting through irrelevant results, enhancing the overall effectiveness of electronic research tools.
Secondary Sources: Secondary sources are legal materials that interpret, analyze, or summarize primary legal sources, such as statutes, case law, and regulations. They provide context, commentary, and guidance for understanding the law and are often used to support legal arguments or research.
Shepard's: Shepard's is a legal research tool that provides citation analysis, helping users verify the status and authority of legal cases, statutes, and other legal documents. By using Shepard's, researchers can quickly determine if a case has been overturned, affirmed, or cited in subsequent decisions, which is crucial for ensuring that legal arguments are based on valid and current authority.
Statutory Databases: Statutory databases are organized collections of statutory law, which include statutes and legislative acts that have been enacted by governmental bodies. These databases are essential for legal research as they provide easy access to current and historical statutes, allowing legal professionals to reference the exact language of the law and understand legislative intent. They serve as crucial tools for evaluating the applicability of laws to specific legal issues or cases.
Treatises: Treatises are comprehensive written works that systematically cover a specific area of law, providing detailed explanations and analyses of legal principles, statutes, and case law. They serve as a critical secondary source in legal research, offering in-depth perspectives and guidance for practitioners, scholars, and students alike, connecting legal concepts with practical applications.
User interface: A user interface is the point of interaction between a user and a computer system, designed to facilitate user engagement with software applications or tools. It encompasses various elements such as menus, buttons, icons, and other visual components that enable users to navigate and control digital environments effectively. A well-designed user interface enhances usability, allowing researchers to efficiently access and utilize electronic research tools.
Westlaw: Westlaw is a comprehensive online legal research service that provides access to a vast database of legal resources, including case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources. It serves as an essential tool for legal professionals, offering features that enhance the research process through advanced search capabilities and detailed analysis.
Wildcard symbols: Wildcard symbols are special characters used in search queries to represent one or more unspecified characters. These symbols help broaden search results by allowing researchers to find variations of a term, making them essential in electronic research tools for improving search efficiency and effectiveness.