Research Strategies for Seminar Papers

Preliminary and Exploratory Research

You will select a paper topic in consultation with your professor. However, you will likely need to do preliminary or exploratory research to find a topic that meets the requirements.

The criteria for a topic can include but are not limited to, timeliness, uniqueness, historical importance, or a lack of existing discussion or research. Preliminary and exploratory research assists in ascertaining if the topic you're considering meets the criteria and is an integral tool in choosing a topic efficiently. 

The resources listed below are particularly helpful for this process:

• Hot Topics & Emerging Issues
  • Bloomberg Law's In Focus pages
  • Law360's Expert Analysis
  • Lexis Legal News Hub  
  • Westlaw's Bulletins & Topical Highlights
• Circuit Splits
  • Congressional Research Service (CRS) Products: Congressional Watcher, Monthly Circuit Splits Reports
    • Monthly reports of circuit splits organized by legal area (e.g., Environmental Law, Immigration).
    • Use the CRS Products from the Library of Congress search page to create your own search, using descriptive keywords and the exact phrase "circuit splits."
  • United States Law Week 
    • Use the Circuit Splits Chart to pull up the list of monthly reports on circuit splits. 
    • Use Supreme Court Today to see lists of and status information for cases in which certiorari has been granted.
  • Seton Hall Circuit Review (see "Current Circuit Splits" column)
• News & Current Awareness
  • Legal news & newspapers found in Lexis & Westlaw, additionally Bloomberg Law News, Law.com and Law360
  • Major newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Other current news sources include: Opinion Archives and Politico Pro.
  • Legal blogs  
    • ABA Blawg Directory
    • Justia Blawg Search
    • Law Professors Blog Network
  • Conferences
    • Legal Scholarship Blog - listings available through a collaboration between the law schools at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Washington
    • Georgetown Law Events - listing scholarly events held at Georgetown Law
• Specific Practice Areas
  • Bloomberg Law's Practice Centers (find Practice Centers in the top Navigation Menu)
  • Topical reporters 
  • Web sites of non-profit organizations and associations
  • Web sites of government agencies (state and local, federal)