Check all appropriate digest volumes, pocket parts, and pamphlets to be sure that your research is thorough and up to date. Use specialty features of digests such as the table of cases or the defendant-plaintiff table when appropriate. Use other sources such as annotated codes or treatises to help you begin research using digests. There are a variety of ways to find topics and key numbers to lead you to cases on point. Some approaches use finding aids within the digest itself, such as the descriptive word index.
Some methods rely more heavily on the researcher's previous knowledge.
To make your research more effective, make use of the information you already have to find cases in the easiest way. Remember that you will probably find more than one relevant key number. Once you have found one or more topics and key numbers that seems on point, you should consult the topical analysis outline in the digest volumes to see if there are other key numbers under that topic that may also be relevant to your research problem. If you know the case name, use the Table of Cases in the appropriate digest. Citations can also be found using Shepard's case name citators.