Developed and tested at the University of North Carolina School of Law and around the country for almost a decade, this unique textbook offers an active learning approach to the fundamentals of legal research using guided self-instruction. Using this book, students teach themselves how to do legal research using non-electronic materials. By the time they finish the last assignment, students will know how to think about a client's legal problem and how to find and update common law, state statutes, federal statutes, administrative law, and secondary resources. The background reading and hands-on lessons allow flexibility in program design while maximizing students? investment in their own learning. Recognized by the Law Library Journal as one of the best legal reference books of 1996 in its first edition, the new fourth edition also offers new research problems, a comprehensive index, cross-references to major citation rules, computer-assisted legal research (CALR) tips, and hands-on CALR introductory lessons.