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RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW. Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian FSU College of Law Library February 2009. Refugee & Asylum Law Research. Step 1: Choosing a topic Step 2: Pre-emption check Step 3: Background research Step 4: Focused research .
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RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian FSU College of Law Library February 2009
Refugee & Asylum Law Research • Step 1: Choosing a topic • Step 2: Pre-emption check • Step 3: Background research • Step 4: Focused research
Step 1: Choosing a Topic Specialized current awareness BNA U.S. Law Week
Step 1: Choosing a Topic Specialized current awareness Sign up for BNA Email
Step 1: Choosing a Topic Specialized current awareness U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Step 1: Choosing a Topic Blogs • Online publication tools for posting commentary, news, opinions and debating issues • Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog • Immigration Prof Blog • Human Rights Blog • The Other World News • UN Dispatch
Step 2: Pre-Emption Check • Determine that nobody else has published on same thesis as yours • Use step-by-step handout • Consult cutting-edge resources • Scholarly papers
Step 2: Pre-Emption CheckScholarly papers Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Refugee and Asylum law Research is challenging! • Field is interdisciplinary • Research is found primarily in reports and working papers • Need for current information
Step 3: Background ResearchResearch guides Use research guides that organize the primary and secondary sources By Elisa Mason • Guide to Forced Migration Resources on the Web • Guide to International Refugee Law on the Web By others • Asylum Case Research Guide • Refugee Protection Research Guide(Georgetown)
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • News sources • Books and treatises • Journal articles • Reports • Statistics • Country Reports
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources Important Treatises • Texts • AILA’s Asylum Primer, 3rd ed. • The Refugee under International Law • Rights of Refugees under International Law • Loose-leafs • Immigration Law and Procedure, Lexis • Immigration Law Service, West
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • Online Catalog • WorldCat • IndexMaster • Digital Libraries • Westlaw & Lexis TOOLS FOR LOCATING TREATISES
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources WorldCat IndexMaster
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources DIGITAL LIBRARIES • UNHCR Library (17,000 records) • Forced Migration Digital Library(9,000 full-text documents) • Refugee Studies Centre Library(36,000 records)
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources LOCATE ARTICLES, after 1980 • Westlaw • Lexis • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals • Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) • Public Affairs International Service
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources ARTICLESbefore1980 • Index Legal Periodicals - Retrospective • Hein Online • JSTOR
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources LOCATING REPORTS • CIAOColumbia International Affairs Online • PAIS Public Affairs • UNHCR REFWORLD
Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • Scholarly papers • CIAO database
STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources • Treaties and conventions • Domestic legislation • Case law • Declarations, recommendations, resolutions
STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources FINDING TEXT OF TREATIES • Refugee Treaties – • RefWorld Legal Collection • U Minn Human Rights Library • Recent Treaties • International Legal Materials ILM • Hein Online
STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources DOMESTIC LEGISLATION • Search Westlaw or LexisNexis • REFLEG - UNHCR • Foreign Law Guide
STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources CASE LAW • US Law: Handout ,Westlaw, Lexis • International law • UNHCR RefWorld Case Law Collection • Refugee Caselaw U. of Michigan • Gender Asylum Case Law UC Hastings • International Law in Domestic Courts
Final Words Give yourself plenty of time. Review published research guides or review Pathfinder. Develop a research strategy and keep a journal of what you’ve searched and where. Lots on the Web but NOT EVERYTHING. ILL process may take a week or more Please ASK for help from Librarians!