This article appears in Law Library Journal, v. 101:1 (2009-1).
Legal research is one of the foundational skills for the practice of law. Yet law school graduates are frequently admitted to the bar without adequate competence in this area. Applying both information-foraging theory and current standards for optimal web design, Ms. Jones considers, through a heuristic analysis, whether the user interfaces of Westlaw and LexisNexis help or hinder the process of legal research and the development of effective research skills.
Date of Authorship for this Version
legal research, information-foraging, user interfaces, Lexis, LexisNexis, Westlaw, research skills, law school graduates, lawyer competence
Jones, Julie M., "Not Just Key Numbers and Keywords Anymore: How User Interface Design Affects Legal Research" (2009). Cornell Law Faculty Publications. Paper 121.