Previous research illustrates the largely negative experiences of black people in the psychiatric system in Great Britain in that black people were disproportionately involved in mental institutions. Subsequent research claimed that the cause of black overrepresentation rested in genetics, adverse reactions to white racism, or cultural dichotomy between the black patient and the white practitioner. Studies carried out since the late 1980's have taken a broader perspective, while continuing to focus on the overrepresentation of black people in the psychiatric system. The process of involuntary admission to psychiatric units has received considerable attention. The author conducted a small study of race and psychiatric referrals in magistrates' courts of an inner city. The research was hampered by a lack of ethnic information in both court and psychiatric records. Future research should adapt the methods to suit the issue being studied while recognizing and responding to the problems in previous research. Notes