Using Legal Encyclopedias to Start Your Research
Legal encyclopedias are excellent tools for starting your research.
Use them to select a topic, develop terms for searching other tools,
or to obtain references to primary materials (cases, statutes,
regulations) or secondary materials (annotations, texts, forms,
etc.). To effectively research in a legal encyclopedia:
The two major legal encyclopedias are:
- American Jurisprudence 2d (AmJur)
Law Reference KF 154 .A45
- Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)
Law Reference KF 154 .C65
Step One: Search for your terms in
the index volumes.
- Look up your topic using common words and phrases.
- Once you find the general topic, scan the entries for the more
specific topic.
- An entry will give you the text followed by topic §number.
For example, Zoning §12.
Step Two: Find the indexed topics & sections.
- If your topic is abbreviated and you are not sure what the
abbreviation means, look in the front of the book at the table
of abbreviations (AmJur) or abbreviations of
titles (CJS).
Step Three: Read the encyclopedia entry.
- The analysis (AmJur) or outline (CJS)
provides a full outline of the topic.
- The scope note (AmJur) or scope of
title (CJS) discusses what is and what is not covered
within the topic.
- American Jurisprudence 2d includes full cross references
to topics treated elsewhere. In addition, the introductory sections
for each topic include research references to
secondary sources such as the American Law Reports and
textbooks.
- Corpus Juris Secundum provides library references to
the West topic & key number system for finding
case law.
- Entries consist of explanatory paragraphs
with footnotes citing primary materials (cases, statutes, and regulations) which support the propositions
stated in the entry.
Step Four: Update your research.
- Both encyclopedias contain pocket parts, pamphlets
which are inserted in a pocket at the back of the volume.
- Consult the pocket part to find later materials within your
topic.
- Occasionally, you will find a supplementary pamphlet instead
of a pocket part on the shelf next to the main volume.
- Use the same topic §number that
you searched in the main volume.
Page maintained by Raquel Ortiz
Last updated: September 2006