What is a Pathfinder?
"A pathfinder is an organized body of material which identifies key resources and provides guidance in researching a particular question or discipline." - John Morello
General Instructions
- This will be a detailed research guide on a topic of your choice related to the law
- Should include:
- An overview of the law and topic
- A statement of the audience you are trying to reach (general public, business executives, attorneys with some knowledge of the general area of the law, etc.).
- Primary Law
- Secondary sources on the law
- Background on history of the law (Why is this here?)
- All sources cited should have summary of why it is important
- The guide should help anyone conducting research on your topic to do so
- If you’re currently working on an R&W or Law Review article on a relevant topic, it might make a good Pathfinder topic!
- For those of you in Professor Callister's Advanced Legal Research course, you may find the “Build Your Own Library” exercise in Unit 8 to be a helpful starting point
- The traditional format is a written outline (which can be electronic), with a narrative introduction/conclusion and summaries of the sources.
- Because finding a good pathfinder topic is a similar process to finding a good paper topic, see the Libguide, Finding a Paper Topic.
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