Chapter 2 · Practice

Database Practice

A few short scenarios to practice the mechanics of working in a database — where to begin, how to adjust a search, and how to read a citation as a retrieval address. This is practice, not a test.

Most of these have more than one defensible answer. Pick the option you would actually choose, then read why each option could or could not work. Nothing is scored, and nothing is saved — the point is to think through the trade-offs. Which source best fits a question is a strategy skill you build in Chapter 3; here we are just getting comfortable with the controls.

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The two ideas underneath all of this

A filter controls where the database looks (jurisdiction, court, date, source type); a search term controls what words it looks for. Reaching for the wrong one is the most common database stumble. And a full citation is a unique address: once you have the reporter citation, the party names and the year are confirmation, not requirements.

Ready to put a real chain of questions together? Head to Working the Chain in Chapter 3.