Boley Law Library: Finding & Researching Your Paper Topic: Managing Research

Keeping Track of Sources

As your research progresses, be sure to keep track of all the sources you have consulted in a research log.

Items you might want to record in a research log include:

Author, title, edition, and publication year
Library call number and location (avoid looking it up again in the library catalog)
Web site address and date accessed
Words and phrases in the table of contents, index, or text that deal with your research topic
Citations to constitutional provisions, statutory and/or regulatory sections, cases, and other primary sources (when you notice the same sources cited repeatedly you know you are on the right track)
Other secondary sources that you want to consult
Database name or identifier from an online service
Notes about information found in each source
Date when you searched each source

Recording this information serves several purposes:

Helps you avoid duplication and saves time
Provides a list of words and phrases that are useful in searching other materials
Facilitates construction of Bluebook or ALWD citations
Speeds your return to a specific resource as your research progresses
Allows someone who is familiar with the topic to confirm that you searched the relevant sources OR that you missed critical sources

Research Log (Sample Template)

Facts:

Jurisdiction:

Key terms:

Legal concepts:

Question:

Source

Title & author/
Case name/
Statute title/ Website/
Database name

Date

of case or law or article/
Date website was accessed

Location

Call # /Web site address/
Citation to case or statute or
regulation or article

Best Search Terms

Results and Next Steps

Download research log templates:

We're here to help. Contact a research librarian for help with an assignment, project, or resource.