Because of the Google-like interfaces of most major
databases, the students I work with often approach the database like they are
looking for an answer to a question in Google. They open up Westlaw, search for
something like: motion to dismiss Texas, get tons of results, and stumble
through them. Yet, because this shotgun-to-mosquito approach yields results,
they ultimately overestimate their confidence.
I recently read an article* suggested to me by fellow
DALL Member Ed Hart. It discusses an appropriately titled
“Shock and Awe” technique to teaching legal research. The idea being that one
way to combat pervasive overconfidence in law students is to provide an
uber-challenging research problem that will almost surely cause them to fail.
In effect, this “shock and awe” approach often happens to law students when
they start interning somewhere. They are given a research assignment, and they
don’t know where to begin; they are stuck in “find a case” mode. In fact, a
summer of struggles is one of the more common precursors to law students taking
an elective Advanced Legal Research course.
One of the ways that I create challenging problems is by intentionally using plain English terms in a question,
although the subject is discussed in resources using more refined legal
terminology. For example, recently I wanted students to locate practice
materials that discuss emancipation of a minor, but I asked them to find a
secondary source that will help an attorney needing to advise a young teenager
that wants the same rights as an adult.
The “shock and awe” approach is a good way to battle
overconfidence, but at the same time, I don’t want to go so far as to become
discouraging. I am happy to hear from librarians that have suggestions for
“shock and awe” questions that they have encountered when working with new
associates or any other related experiences that you would like to share.
* Karen Skinner, The
“Shock and Awe” Approach to Legal Research: Helping Students to Understand
Their Research Deficiencies So That They Are Better Prepared to Learn Legal
Research, 23 Persp: Teaching Legal
Res. & Writing, Fall 2014, at 47.
