Research Guides: Legal Research Guide: Welcome

Getting Started

Ask a librarian to help you find credible sources for your research assignment!

You can contact me directly for a consultation.

~ Katia

If you want to refresh your research skills, check out the Library's Canvas SkillShops, which can be completed at your own pace.

ProQuest Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Full text database to publications and public policy issues related to the U.S. Congress. Included in the searchable database are member information, bills, hearing transcripts, committee prints and other Congressional documents, the Congressional Record, public laws, the U.S. Code and Congressional news sources. Links to specific parts of ProQuest Congressional are found in the Statutory, Case and Administrative Law: Federal and California research guide.

Free Full-Text Online Law Review/Journal Search
Searches the free full-text of over 400 online law reviews and law journals, as well as document repositories hosting academic papers and related publications such as Congressional Research Service reports.

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Fulltext database containing the legal opinions of federal and state supreme, appellate and district courts. Also indexes law review journals. "Cited By" links lists subsequent opinions and other legal resources that have cited an opinion or law review article.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Indexes major scholarly journals and popular magazines in all academic disciplines. Includes more than 150 legal journals and magazines
OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new window
Indexes major popular magazines and scholarly journals covering general topics, business, humanities, general science, education, and the social sciences. Includes over 350 legal journals and magazines.
CQ Weekly This link opens in a new window
Weekly fulltext report of legislation and other activities in the U.S. Congress, including the status of bills, votes and amendments, and floor and committee activity. Coverage 1983 to the present.
NCJRS This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive database providing access to scholarly literature (abstracts) in the field of law enforcement, criminal justice, and criminology.

Keep current about new literature and developments.

Brief Citing Guide: Government Publications
University of Memphis Library
Citation Guide for Historical Legislative Materials
Library of Congress web site providing samples of historical legislative material citations according to several styles.
DocsCite (Arizona State University Libraries)
A step-by-step guide to putting government publication citations into proper MLA or APA format. Provides an easy to use dynamic template to generate a complete citations automatically.
Citing U.S. Government Publications
Indiana University-Bloomington Library

Listed below are resources that provide guidance in searching for legal information in LexisNexis Academic.

Areas of Law (LexisNexis) Provides guidance in searching specific legal areas, e.g., education law, consumer law, entertainment law.
Boolean Searching (LexisNexis) Lists options for connecting keywords and wildcard symbols for keyword truncation.
Common Legal Document Sections (LexisNexis) See Constructing a Segment Search for how to limit your search to a specific section of a document.
Legal Citation Formats (LexisNexis) Gives examples of the precise format that must be entered if you want to search using a legal citation.
Lexis Nexis Academic Legal Research Guide (University of Arizona Law Library) Gives a step-by-step approach for searching the different types of legal resources available in LexisNexis Academic.
Shepard's Citations (LexisNexis) Gives the procedure for how to determine the "status" of a case and to view all citations to the case.

Email Me

Contact:

(707) 826-4955

Subjects: Archives, Digital Humanities, Humboldt History, Local Newspapers, Maps, Northwestern California, Preservation, Primary Sources, Rare Books

Some of the content of this guide was created in another format by Robert Sathrum, HSU Librarian, retired 06/2013.