The Goodson Blogson

You read all the assigned chapters of Legal Research in a Nutshell during LARW. You collected thousands of reward points at Lexis and Westlaw trainings. You even attended the library’s annual “Research Refresher” classes to help prepare for your summer job. So why can this research stuff still be so hard sometimes? The landscape of legal information is constantly changing—materials may be available online in some sources but not others; or they may not be online at all. Different online sources offer different search technologies, from the simple keyword approach of Google Scholar to the algebraic field and connector searching in Lexis and Westlaw. As a result, successful search strategies in one database may not work in another…assuming that you are able to access a particular database at all! Fortunately, the Goodson Law Library has prepared a list of recommended Research Tutorials ( http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/tutorials/index ) to help you resolve common research issues, includin...

As most bar exam takers already know, songs can be effective ways to reinforce and retain important legal concepts. (BAR/BRI’s property instructor Paula Franzese, in particular, is well-known for her musical interludes during video lectures.) We’ve previously blogged about AudioCaseFiles , a source for auditory learners to hear, rather than read, the text of their casebooks. We’ve also recently covered the text-to-speech feature of Index to Legal Periodicals , which allows users to convert legal journal and newspaper articles into downloadable MP3 format. But the Goodson Blogson has never covered a legal source that sings to you— until now. The Law School Academic Support Blog recently pointed to Law Lessongs , a project of UConn Law School professor/musician/obvious They Might Be Giants fan Mark DeAngelis. DeAngelis has put some of the most fundamental legal concepts to the tune of adult contemporary hits, folk songs, and some original compositions. Check out the bouncy ode to “Due...

Researchers of international trade have a new resource at hand. The Duke Law community may now access WTO Reporter , a daily digest of the activities of the World Trade Organization and its member countries. The Reporter covers such subjects as accession to WTO, antidumping regulations, and taxation; a “topic index” provides quick access to articles on desired topics or geographic regions. The publication also includes regular analysis of domestic and international case law on trade issues. Access the WTO Reporter ’s current issues and article archive (back to 2000) through the BNA Publications Library ( http://library.duke.edu/metasearch/db/id/DUK02057 ). You can view issues on-site or sign up for e-mail delivery of upcoming issues. For more sources on the WTO and international trade, check out our recently-updated GATT/WTO research guide ( http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/gatt ).

When searching for law review and legal journal articles, researchers often make the choice between LegalTrac ( http://library.duke.edu/metasearch/db/id/DUK00130 ) and Index to Legal Periodicals ( http://library.duke.edu/metasearch/db/id/DUK00535 ) out of necessity: LegalTrac is available to off-campus users with a NetID, while Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) must be accessed from a computer on the Law School network. However, a new feature of ILP may be worth the trip to the Law School. For articles in ILP where full text is provided, the database’s ReadSpeaker tool converts the full text into a downloadable audio MP3. Like AudioCaseFiles ( previous blog post ), this is a great service for auditory learners or students for whom English is a second language, such as foreign LL.M candidates. How does it work? If you’re on the Law School network, view an article in ILP, such as this 2006 interview with recent Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor (from that link, click the option t...