Overview
This guide will lead you to different aspects of sociological and legal research - and will introduce you to some of the most important databases and resources.
"But to live outside the law you must be honest"
- Bob Dylan, "Absolutely Sweet Marie"
Selected Reference Sources
Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and LibertiesCall Number: Ref KF4748 .E53 2006ISBN: 0313327580
Indexes and Databases
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowNexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
- Legal Research through Nexis UniThis link takes you directly to the Law Reviews & Journals search screen. Find an array of legal resources, including state and federal case law, patent law, and law school directories.
- Supreme Court of the United StatesThe official web site of the Supreme Court, with current and historic court opinions and other information about the workings of the Court.
- Cornell's Legal Information InstituteThis link takes you to the Supreme Court section of Cornell's site. This is a good current awareness tool, with an archive of cases going back to 1990. Links to related resources, like court briefs and oral arguments, are included.
- Law Library of CongressProvides access to court cases, legal information, and legislative resources - from the Library of Congress.
- Legal Periodicals Full Text This link opens in a new windowIndexes articles from over 1,100 legal journals, yearbooks, institutes, bar associations, law reviews, and government publications originating in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Includes book reviews. Covers August 1981 to the present. Link will launch OmniFile Full Text Mega.
- Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new windowIndexes over 300 English-language periodicals covering anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, and related fields. Covers 1983 to the present.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowCovers the international literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Publications from 1952 - present.
- JStor This link opens in a new windowA collection of full-text articles from over 3000 scholarly journals, many dating from the nineteenth-century to the last 4 or 5 years. A growing number of titles are available through the current issues, as part of their "Current Scholarship Program". Select Advanced Search to strategically search amongst 45 disciplines. Choose PDF from within JStor to properly view and print articles. For convenience, JStor is now searchable on Facebook.
- Westlaw Next This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive database of legal materials, including state and federal court cases, statutes and regulations, plus the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence (2nd edition) and the publication American Law Reports.
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Research Help
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How to Find Court Cases
The fastest method is to use NEXIS Uni(see above).
- Select "Cases" from the menu box on the left side of the page
- Then select either Federal Cases or State Cases
- If you don't have the citation to the case, you can search by parties and put in the party names.
- The results will be a mix of Supreme Court decisions and decisions from lower federal courts.
- The only drawback to using NEXIS Uni is that you have to scroll through much summary and head-notes material before you get to the actual opinion of the court. However, this added material can be very helpful in understanding the significance of the case.
We also still have U. S. Supreme Court cases in print!
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- United States Reports (569 vols., so far)
- Ref. JK 1561 .U5 (located in the compact shelving on the Ground Floor)
The official compilation of U. S. Supreme Court opinions. Recent opinions are available on the Supreme Court's web page.
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