Best Bets for Starting Your Research in...
:: Law ::
Use databases to find articles on your topic. These databases are the best place to start.
- LexisNexis Legal
Access to federal and state case law, federal and state code and regulations, international legal materials, tax law, patents, legal news, etc.
Date coverage: 1949-present.
- ABI/INFORM
Contains international, national, local, and regional business news coverage for 60,000+ public and private companies. Information on advertising, marketing, finance, economics, human resources, taxation, computers, etc., plus industry news. Related issues include economics and trade, business and environmental topics, government and law, and even social issues as they relate to business.
Date Coverage: 1971-Present
 Listen to a fun podcast "interview" with this database: iTunes
RealPlayer
- LegalTrac
Students, faculty and legal researchers will all find the legal publications they need in LegalTrac. Drawing on a wide variety of the most highly regarded legal publications, LegalTrac provides indexing for more than 1,400 titles including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals. Each title included in LegalTrac is selected on the basis of criteria provided by a special advisory committee of the American Association of Law Libraries. LegalTrac also contains law-related articles from over 1,000 additional business and general interest titles.
Date coverage: 1980-Present
- Westlaw
Includes American Jurisprudence 2d and American Law Reports. Also includes U.S. Code Annotated, all federal, state, and Supreme Court cases, plus state statutes and regulations and 800 law reviews and journals. Covers U.S. law only; news sources are not included.
Click "I agree" at the bottom of the Agreement page to access Westlaw.
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Tips: When searching databases, use AND, OR, and parentheses to focus your search.
The asterisk * symbol will search for all variations of a word. For example: legal* will search for legalized, legal aid, legal system, legal standards, legal studies, etc.
Combine synonyms with OR and put them inside parentheses, like this:
(legal OR judicial) AND (ethic*OR statistic*)
Here's another example:
law AND (interpretation OR administration)
Already have the citation? Find an article with citation linker!
Did you know...
Databases are basically just search engines for articles on specific subjects.
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Find books using the library catalog. Browse these subjects to get general information on your topic.
- Constitutional Law
- Criminal Law
- Business Law
- Legal Studies
- Jurisprudence
- Legal History
Search the library catalog! Find books, media materials, and more.
Other searches:
Browse | Advanced Search
Tips: When searching the library catalog with keywords, use the dollar sign ($) to search for a word and all of its variations.
For example: Jud$ will search for Judge and Judical.
Did you know...
- WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of libraries around the world!
- If a book isn't in the Fairfield University catalog, search WorldCat and request the book from another library. Just click on the Interlibrary Loan button.
- You can search ReQuest to search just the libraries in Connecticut.
- Contact John
Cayer, Interlibrary Services, with questions.
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Reference tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are good places to start your research because they provide an overview of the topic as well as keywords, dates, and facts.
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Tips: Try looking at the bibliography at the end of the entry for a list of other sources such as relevant journal articles and books.
When you have found books on your topic, look at the books on the shelf nearby to see if they are related to your topic.
Did you know...
Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, so make sure you use another source to confirm the information you find there.
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These web sites have been evaluated by librarians (that's a good thing) for your use in an academic setting.
Did you know...
There are billions of web pages and Google only finds a fraction of them (about 15%). The rest is held in what's called the "Invisible Web", which is made up of dynamically generated information, password protected sites, and databases-driven sites!
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Still have questions?
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Ask a Reference Librarian
(203) 254-4000 ext. 2178
reference@mail.fairfield.edu
IM the Reference Desk at FairfieldULib - AOL and Yahoo
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