Doing Legal Research: A Guide for Social Scientists and Mental Health Professionals (Applied Social Research Methods No. 43)

Finding and using the appropriate legal materials can help social researchers design and execute their research more appropriately as well as assist mental health practitioners seeking answers to legal questions that their practice increasingly presents. Where can social researchers and mental health practitioners go to learn these techniques? Doing Legal Research will enable researchers and practitioners to develop a proficiency in using legal materials by describing how to use the law library to find, cite, and track cases; statutes passed by the state legislatures or Congress; legislative history of these statutes; and administrative rules, regulations, and decisions promulgated by state and federal administrative agencies (such as the Environmental Protection Agency). In addition, the book includes exercises that give readers an opportunity to go into the law library and test developing skills on genuine legal questions. After reading this book, researchers will not only have the skills that will ensure the legal relevance of their initial research question but also the ability to conduct their own evaluation of the legal materials.

Professor Sales received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Rochester (psychology, 1966; psycholinguistics, 1971), and his J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law (1973). He joined IU in January 2009. Professor Sales is a pioneer in the application of psychological science for understanding the creation and implementation of law, legal systems and legal processes. Some of his recent books include: Courtroom Modifications for Child Witnesses: Law and Science In Forensic Evaluations (2008), Sex Offending: Causal Theories to Inform Research, Prevention, and Treatment (2008), Scientific Jury Selection (2007), Criminal Profiling: Developing an Effective Science and Practice (2006), Experts in Court: Reconciling Law, Science, and Professional Knowledge (2005). Two of these books have been translated into other languages and a third is currently being translated. Prior to coming to IU, Professor Sales was a Professor of Psychology, Sociology, Psychiatry, and Law at the University of Arizona, where he founded and directed its Psychology, Policy, and Law Graduate Training Program. He was the first person to receive a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to support J.D./Ph.D. Graduate and Post-doctoral Training in Law and Psychology. He was the first editor of the journals Law and Human Behavior and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association, is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and twice served as President of the American Psychology-Law Society. Professor Sales received the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology and Law from the American Psychology-Law Society, the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service from the American Psychological Association, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the City University of New York for being the "founding father of forensic psychology as an academic discipline."