Why start with secondary sources?
Using a good law review article, legal treatise, or legal encyclopedia can jump start your research. These sources, written by legal experts, will provide an overview of the legal issues you are exploring and cite the most important statutes and court cases you need to explore.
- Encyclopedias and Handbooks-- concise overviews of legal topics. An encyclopedia range from basic explorations of the law that cite a few key cases to comprehensive in-depth explorations of the law with references to many cases and statutes.
- Treatise -- book that explores an area of law or a legal topic in depth.
- Law reviews/Scholarly Law Journals -- Academic journals that cover legal topics. A particularly good place for current and emerging issues in law.
Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
- Gale Encyclopedia of American LawBasic law encyclopedia. Brief descriptions of major issues, cites to major cases and major statutes. Includes a dictionary.
- Westlaw Campus Research - Law This link opens in a new windowUse the secondary sources link in Westlaw to find the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence and American Law Reports. Both give in depth analysis of legal issues with links to important cases. Also explore the individual states, which will often have state focused legal encyclopedias, e.g. Pennsylvania Jurisprudence.
- American Jurisprudence in LexisNexis Legal ReferenceAmerican Jurisprudence is an in-depth legal encyclopedia. It is available full text in the Legal Reference collection. Click on the "Advanced Options" Link under the search box to choose just Am.Jur.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International LawPeer-reviewed articles on every aspect of public international law
Handbooks
- Oxford Hanbooks Online: LawA series of scholarly research reviews on a broad range of topics from comparative constitutional law to health law. Particularly strong in international law.
- Oxford Companion to American LawPlaces legal issues in social and historical context. Cites key statutes and cases.