Basic Research Tips

Background

  • Communicate regularly with your editor and colleagues. Sharing information can save time and avoid frustration. Your editors will be the best resource for guidance about application of citation rules in The Bluebook, information on sources that have already been gathered, acceptable formats for source-gathering, and more.
  • Note to Editors: The Reference Librarians can review a manuscript (and identify sources that may be difficult to obtain) before it has been distributed to journal staff for source gathering. To submit a manuscript for tech check preview, please e-mail an electronic copy to the reference department.
  • The BU library catalog is the most important research tool for work on your tech check assignments. Use the online catalog:
    • to determine what books, journals, newspapers and other items are owned by BU libraries (including but not limited to the BU Law Library);
    • for holdings information for journals and other periodicals, including which volumes are available, and the most recent issue received;
    • to identify the format(s) in which an item is available, including print, microfiche/film, and electronic (for some article databases, links to the electronic database are provided from the catalog record for each journal); and
    • to determine the shelf location (call number) of the item, and whether it is checked out or currently available.

Working on Your Source Gathering Assignment

  • When you receive a source-gathering assignment, use the BU library catalog to make a preliminary check of the sources cited in your footnotes. Note the library, location, and status of each cited item, and identify which sources may not be available at campus libraries. This can prevent unnecessary, repeated visits to libraries.
  • Consult the The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed. 2005). In addition to citation rules, The Bluebook identifies the preferred source for many publications, including statutory codes and many foreign and international materials. Copies of The Bluebook are available in Law Dictionaries and Law Reserve, KF245 .B55 2005.
  • Where possible, consult the complete article text and footnotes when working on your assignment. The text and footnotes that are not assigned to you may help in your work on the footnotes that you are working on. This is especially true for later portions of an article that contain many “supra” cites and other references to sources that were cited earlier in the article.
  • Many abbreviations in legal citations can be deciphered using the following:
    • Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Dictionaries, KF246 B46 2001)
    • The Tables (blue pages) in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Dictionaries, KF245 B55 2005)
    • The World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Reference Desk, K89 W67)
  • Ask questions at the Law Library’s reference desk (visit the library reading room or call 3-3151 and ask for reference). Among other services, reference librarians can:
    • help you interpret a citation;
    • assist with library resources, including the library catalog, electronic databases, microform reader-printers;
    • advise you on options for gathering hard-to-find sources, including interlibrary loan; and
    • assist you to gain access to other Boston-area law libraries, for resources that are not available at BU libraries, where access policies require it

Print and Other Formats (microfiche/film, the Internet):

Library staff understand that journal staff members, like other library users, need authoritative, accurate, and stable sources for legal texts. Consider these options:

  • Microfiche and microfilm provide exact images of the print originals, including page numbering and graphics. The library has many basic sets in microform, including Supreme Court Records and Briefs, many UN documents, and a collection of Nineteenth Century Legal Treatises.

    See the guide to microform materials in the Pappas Law Library.

  • Not all electronic formats are alike. A growing portion of legal documents on the Internet are provided in portable document format (PDF), which provides an exact copy of the original, including page numbering and graphics. (Example: Compare a law review article provided in PDF by Hein Online with the print original; the two are identical.) This is in contrast with Lexis and Westlaw (and other electronic resources), which may provide the full text and hyperlinks to other documents, but not always the same pagination, footnote formatting and graphics as the print publication.

  • Note: Some documents provided on Lexis and Westlaw are available in PDF. Notably, Westlaw provides many of the cases from West's National Reporter System in PDF. When working with www.westlaw.com, the link to an available PDF file will display when viewing the report of the case.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL):

Basic ILL Etiquette

  • Refer to your journal's procedures before submitting requests for items via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Understanding how the ILL service works can help to have realistic expectations about processing time and likelihood of success. The earlier a request is submitted, the more likely that the item (or a copy thereof) can be provided by the date needed.

Give Complete Information

  • Incomplete or inaccurate citations frequently result in unsuccessful ILL requests. Before submitting an ILL request, please do what you can to verify the citation. For articles, use indexes such as Index to Legal Periodicals. For books and other items, Worldcat can help to provide complete bibliographic information.

Why ILL Requests Are Unsuccessful

It may be difficult or impossible for the Law Library's circulation staff to obtain some items from another library. Some common examples are:

  • Items that are owned by few (or no) U.S. libraries
  • An item requested with incomplete information (so that the circulation staff cannot identify a record for it, or that requires additional work by staff at a lending library)
  • Items identified with inaccurate citations, including the wrong volume or page number for an article, or the wrong publication date for a book
  • Paper copies of materials that are primarily or exclusively distributed online, including documents of organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • Copies of newspaper articles, especially smaller papers or those with such common names (such as “The Independent” or “The Evening Post”) that they may be very difficult to identify
  • Newsletters, pamphlets, and other publications that may not appear in library catalogs
  • Government documents, including Congressional committee reports and hearing transcripts
  • Foreign laws, including English translations thereof
  • Unpublished documents, including drafts, internal agency memos, personal correspondence, notes or other documents that an article’s author may have created or obtained through personal or professional contacts
  • Books published very recently and forthcoming publications
  • Generally, items that do not circulate under the policies of the library (or libraries) that own them. Among these are:
    • Multi-volume sets (or volumes thereof)
    • Periodicals in print, either individual issues or bound volumes (though photocopies of articles are frequently provided)
    • Reference books or items placed on reserve by the owning library
    • Rare or old books, or other items that may be of significant value or difficult/impossible to replace
Guide maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: August 2007