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Research Tour Review

Thanks for attending your Research Tour of Pappas Law Library. Below you will find a review of the resources, including federal and state materials and secondary sources, which you saw during your tour, to help you with your print research assignments. There are also additional resources you might wish to consult.

Be sure to consult the Pappas guide to Frequently Requested Materials (.pdf), available near the circulation desk.

Don't forget to use Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Law Ref, Law Ref Desk, Law Annex Ref K 89 .B53 2001) to decipher any abbreviations you may encounter. Quick Tips for Deciphering Legal Citations and Frequently Used Case Reporter Abbreviations may also help you.

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Federal Materials

Federal law, the law of the United States government, includes laws promulgated by the Congress, called statutory law, regulations issued by administrative agencies and decisions of courts, known as case law. Take a look at these helpful guides or refer to the appropriate chapters in your legal research text book:

• Statutory Research (USC, USCA, USCS)

• Regulations (Federal Register, CFR)

• Case Law
  • Federal Case Law Finding Tools
  • Finding Cases Using the West Key Number Digest System
  • Updating Case Law
  • Explanation of the Key Number system (from West)
  • Using the digests (from West)

 

State Materials

Each state has its own legal system which, for the most part, mirrors the federal system. Take a look at Massachusetts, for example. State cases are published in official state reports and/or unofficial reports. In most states, the unofficial reports is one of West's regional reporters.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are a helpful place to start legal research. They provide explanations of topics and include citations to relevant primary sources (cases, statutes, and regulations). Some important secondary sources include:

• Law review articles
• Legal encyclopedias
• Books
  

Additional Resources

• CALI Lessons in Legal Writing and Research: self-paced online tutorials related to legal research and writing. See a reference librarian for the password.
• Legal Research Definitions from Georgetown University Law Library: Quickly find out what ALR, annotated code, and more mean.

The MOST important of all is to remember that the reference librarians are here to assist you with your legal research. Never hesitate to ask us questions!