1. RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian FSU College of Law Library February 2008

2. Refugee & Asylum Law Research Step 1: Choosing a topic Step 2: Pre-emption check Step 3: Background research Step 4: Focused research

3. Step 1: Choosing a Topic

5. Interpreter Releases (West) Weekly publication Summarizes fed & admin opinions Legal articles Proposed regulations; pending legislation Establish WestClip account Also in print KF 4802.I68 Step 1: Choosing a topic Interpreter Releases

9. Step 1: Choosing a Topic Specialized current awareness BNA U.S. Law Week

12. 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 UN Dispatch

14. Step 1: Choosing a Topic Other sources Immigration Law in the Ninth Circuit: Selected Topics, Jan 2008 Immigration Portal www.ilw.comwww.ilw.com 300+ page document Summarizing important cases Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 110 th Congress, Nov 2007

15. 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

16. Step 2: Pre-Emption Check Scholarly papers Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

18. Refugee and Asylum law Research is challenging! Field is multidisciplinary Research is found primarily in reports and working papers Need for current information

19. Step 3: Background Research Research 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 Research Guide to Aliens and the Law Asylum Case Research Guide

22. News sources Books and treatises Journal articles Reports Statistics Country Reports Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources

23. Important Treatises Texts AILA’s Asylum Primer, 3 rd ed. The Refugee under International Law Rights of Refugees under International Law Loose-leafs Immigration Law and Procedure, Matthew Bender Immigration Law Service, West

24. Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources Online Catalog WorldCat IndexMaster Digital Libraries Westlaw & Lexis TOOLS FOR LOCATING TREATISES

25. Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources UNHCR LibraryLibrary (17,000 records) Forced Migration Digital Library (9,000 full-text documents) Forced Migration Digital Library Refugee Studies Centre Library (36,000 records) Refugee Studies Centre Library DIGITAL LIBRARIES

26. Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources

28. LOCATE ARTICLES, after 1980 Westlaw Lexis Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) Public Affairs International Service Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources

30. LOCATE ARTICLES PRE-1980 ILP Retrospective Hein Online JSTOR Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources

32. LOCATING REPORTS CIAO Columbia International Affairs Online CIAO PAIS Public Affairs PAIS UNHCR REFWORLDREFWORLD Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

33. Scholarly papers CIAO database Step 3: Background Research Secondary Sources

34. STEP 4: Focused Research Primary sources Treaties and conventions Domestic legislation Case law Declarations, recommendations, resolutions

35. 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 Research Primary sources

36. DOMESTIC LEGISLATION Search Westlaw or LexisNexis REFLEG - UNHCR REFLEG Foreign Law Guide STEP 4: Focused Research Primary sources

37. CASE LAW US Law Handout Westlaw and Lexis International law Refugee Caselaw U. of MichiganU. of Mich Gender Asylum Case Law UC HastingsUC Hastings Annotated Refugee Convention International Law in Domestic Courts

44. 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!

45. Questions?