Researching Legal Issues Content

Getting Started: Understanding Legal Research

• What is legal research?
• Resource types in legal research

What is the law?

• Types of law
• What is jurisdiction?

Finding and Using Secondary Sources

• Books
• Journal articles
• Forms

Finding Statutes

• What is a statute?
• Iowa statutes
• Federal (or United States) statutes
• Legislative history

Finding Regulations

• What is a regulation?
• Iowa regulations
• Federal regulations

Finding Local Ordinances

• What is an ordinance?
• How can I access ordinances?

Finding Case Law

• What is case law?
• Iowa case law
• Federal case law

Finding Court Rules

• What are court rules?
• Iowa court rules
• Federal court rules

Evaluating Online Legal Information

• Reliability: Who hosts the website and what is the website's purpose?
• Currency: How current is the information on the website?
• Content coverage: What information does the website provide?

Getting Help from Librarians

• Getting help from librarians
• Accessing subscription legal research websites