Library

Legal Research

Below are suggested resources to use when researching a laws and codes. For research strategies and techniques, visit the resources linked from the menu at the left.

Getting Started | General Information | Finding Articles | Getting Fulltext | Finding Federal Laws and Court Decisions | Finding Legal Research on Specific Topics

Getting Started

Before jumping in and looking for research, it is a good idea to have a refined topic and to know a little about it. Start with broad resources like encyclopedias, bibliographies, and handbooks to start to get a sense of what is available on your topic in the universe of information.

Legal information: how to find it, how to use it
Ref KF240 .O365 1999

Finding the Law
Ref KF240 .B45 1999

Zimmerman’s Research Guide
http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/default.aspx
Browsing this index is a good way to find links on a legal or governmental topic.

General Information

Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law
Ref KF 387.G27 2003

The Oxford Companion to American Law
Ref KF154 .O96 2002

West's Encyclopedia of American Law
Ref KF154 .W47 2004

Black's Law Dictionary
Ref KF156 .B53 2004

Finding Articles

Search the following indexes to find articles. See individual Resources by Subject guides for more specific indexes covering topics within the broader field.

Academic Search Complete
A multi-disciplinary periodical database that indexes and abstracts both scholarly and popular content covering academic areas including social sciences, humanities, education, information science,engineering, language and linguistics, arts and literature, medical science, and cultural studies.Some coverage goes as far back as 1965, and over 4,000 titles are included fulltext. Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!

Contents Pages from Law Reviews
http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/tallons/content_search.html
Tables of Contents for 750 law reviews

Hieros Gamos
http://www.hg.org/
Worldwide legal directories.

Lexis Nexis Academic Legal Research
U.S. Federal and state case law, codes, regulations, legal news, law reviews, legal career information, patent research and international legal information and Shepard's Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1789.

Getting Fulltext

Access to most major American and Canadian law reviews is available electronically through the Simmons Library Catalog under the name of the law review.

Because not all indexes are fulltext--or 100% fulltext--you may have to look elsewhere to find an article for which you have a citation. Consult the resources below to find out how to get access to the articles you need.

Finding Federal Laws and Court Decisions

These sites link to documents for federal and state legislation, federal and state laws, and topical overviews with links to appropriate resources:

Lexis Nexis Academic Legal Research
U.S. Federal and state case law, codes, regulations, legal news, law reviews, legal career information, patent research and international legal information and Shepard's Citations for all U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1789.

Legal Information Institute (Cornell University)
http://www.law.cornell.edu

Findlaw
http://www.findlaw.com
FindLaw provides a comprehensive set of legal resources for legal professionals, corporate counsel, law students, businesses, and consumers. These resources include Web search utilities, cases and codes, legal news, an online career center.

Federal legislation

United States Code (35 vols.)
Ref KF62 .A2 1994

Legal Information Institute (Cornell University)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/

Major Acts of Congress
Ref KF154 .M35 2004

U.S. Laws, Acts, and Treaties
KF385.A4 U152 2003

How Laws are Made:
House: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
Senate: http://thomas.loc.gov/enactment /enactlawtoc.html

Congressional Record (Proceedings of House and Senate)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html

Supreme Court Decisions

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court
Ref KF8742 .W567 2004

Historic U.S. Court Cases: An Encyclopedia
Ref KF385.A4 J64 2001

The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States
Ref KF8742.A35 O93 2005

FindLaw Cases and Codes: Supreme Court Decisions
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
FindLaw's searchable database of the Supreme Court decisions since 1893 (U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: U.S. Reports 150-, 1893-). Browsable by year and US Reports volume number and searchable by citation, case title and full text. This is a free service that will remain free.

Legal Information Institute's Supreme Court Collection
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html

US Supreme Court website
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

The Supreme Court Compendium: Data Decisions, and Developments
Ref KF8742 .S914 2003

Other Federal Court Decisions

Findlaw Cases and Codes: U.S. Circuits
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/courts

Federal Administrative Law (Agencies):

Code of Federal Regulations
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html

Finding State laws and Court Decisions

Massachusetts:

General laws of Massachusetts
http://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/
Ref KFM2420 .M3

Other States:
State websites
www.state.XX.us, where XX is the 2 letter postal code for the state
(For example, for New Hampshire: www.state.nh.us)

National survey of state laws
KF386 .N38 2005

Finding information on Specific Research Topics

For more information on more specific topics, see Resources by Subject or contact a librarian.

Abortion

Censorship

The Encyclopedia of Censorship
KF4774 .G73 2005

Children’s issues
(custody, abuse, adoption)

Handling child custody, abuse, and adoption cases
Ref KF547 .H38 1993

Civil rights

Consumer law

Consumer Protection and the Law: A Dictionary
Ref KF1607.5 .K76 1995

Copyright issues

The Copyright Handbook : How to Protect and Use Written Works
Ref KF2995.F53 1992

Discrimination
(sex, age, sexual orientation, disabilities)

Sex Discrimination Handbook
Ref KF3467 .S47 1992

Americans With Disabilities Act Handbook
Ref KF3469 .P47 2003

Massachusetts ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act Architectural Barrier Removal &
Compliance Manual
Ref KF3469 .J67 1998

Election law issues

Handbook of United States Election Laws and Practices: Political Rights
Ref KF4749 .B625 1990

Initiative and Referendum Almanac
Ref KF4881 .A4 2003

Employment issues

The Employee Rights Handbook: The Essential Guide for People on the Job
Ref KF3455.Z9 S23 2000

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook
Ref KF3570 .I44 2001

Family law issues

Family Law in a Nutshell
Ref KF505.Z9 K7 2003

Domestic Violence: From a Private Matter To a Federal Offense
Ref KF9322 .D66 1998

Freedom of Information Act Requests

Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts
KF5753 .G85 1986

Gender and Sexual Orientation

Supreme Court Cases on Gender and Sexual Equality, 1787-2001
KF4758.A7 A96 2002

Women’s Legal Guide
Ref KF478 .W674 1996

The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People : The Authoritative ACLU Guide
to a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Person's Rights
Ref KF4754.5.Z9 H86 2004

Health issues
(healthcare management,
patients’ rights, Medicare, AIDS)

Quick Index to Health Administration Laws, Regulations and Guidelines
Ref KF3821 .H44

AIDS Practice Manual: A Legal and Educational Guide
Ref KF3803.A54 A957 1991

The Rights of Patients: The Authoritative ACLU Guide to the Rights of Patients
Ref KF3823 .A96 2004

Law and the Mental Health System: Civil and Criminal Aspects
Ref KF3828.A7 R44 2004

Legal and Ethical Dictionary for Mental Health Professionals
Ref KF3828 .A934 2003

Memory, Trauma Treatment, and the Law
Ref KF9323 .B76 1998

The Essentials of Massachusetts Mental Health Law: A Straightforward Guide for Clinicians of
all Disciplines
Ref KFM2765 .B44 1998

Homeland Security

Homeland Security Statutes
Ref KF9430 .A3 2003

Homelessness and Poverty

Down & Out: A Manual on Basic Rights and Benefits for Homeless People in Massachusetts
Ref KFM350 .H65 2000

The People’s Budget: An analysis of the Massachusetts budget for its impact on programs and services for at-risk children, low-income families, frail elders, and disabled persons
Ref KFM2484.5.P6 P57 2005

Immigration

Immigration Law and Procedure in a Nutshell
Ref KF4819.3 .W4 1998

Internet law

Internet Law: The Complete Guide
Ref KF390.5.C6 I568

Journal of Internet law
[electronic resource through Simmons Library Catalog]

The Internet lawyer (1995-2000)
e-journal

Social Work

Managing the long term care survey process : enforcement guidelines and regulations
Ref KF3608.A4 M36 2000

Long Term Care Regulatory Guide to OBRA Regulations and Interpretitive Guidelines
Ref KF3821 .H44 v.1
[also on CD-ROM at Reference Desk]

Resource Manual: Social Workers and Social Work Services As Defined in Medicare Law and Regulations
Ref KF3721.Z9 R47 1991

Student Rights

Student Rights: A Reference Handbook
Ref KF4150 .H56 2001

Taxation

The Complete Internal Revenue Code
Ref KF6276.558.A19 U53 2002

Page updated: April 17, 2007

 

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