By this time in the semester, if you have heard it once you have heard it a thousand times, start your research with a secondary source. Easier said than done, right? With a library full of treatises and law review articles, it can be hard to nail down which source is the best source to use when beginning a research project. Believe it or not, one of the best sources (at least I think) to start your research with is the tried-and-true legal encyclopedia.
Now, this is not your parents’ encyclopedia – or maybe it is if your parents were attorneys. Vaguely similar to the encyclopedia you used to write grade school papers, the legal encyclopedia provides users with a concise overview of a variety of legal topics. Name one other resource in the library you can use that defines the basic elements of assault, explain consideration, and cites to primary sources? A legal encyclopedia is a treasure trove (not in the legal sense) of information. And the best thing about it is you can access it online or in print.
Popular Legal Encyclopedias
- American Jurisprudence 2d
- WestlawNext (WestlawNext ID and Password Required)
- Lexis Advance (Lexis Advance ID and Password Required)
- Corpus Juris Secundum
- WestlawNext (WestlawNext ID and Password Required)
- Georgia Jurisprudence
- WestlawNext (WestlawNext ID and Password Required)
The Blackacre Times 