Legal Databases by Subject: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
Encyclopeda & Dictionary Databases
This is a selective list. Other databases may include access to additional encyclopedias and dictionaries.
United States Law
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American Jurisprudence 2dOnce you enter the Westlaw Campus database, click on "Secondary Sources." Under "By Type," you will see the link to American Jurisprudence 2d, a major encyclopedia of American law.
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Corpus Juris SecundumOnce you enter the Westlaw Campus database, click on "Secondary Sources." Under "By Type," you will see the link to Corpus Juris Secundum , a major encyclopedia of American law.
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WexWEX is a collaboratively-edited legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School. "It is intended for a broad audience of people, ranging from lawyers to law students to people who have no experience with the law!"
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Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)Full-text entries from encyclopedias and reference works published by Gale Group More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
Gale Virtual Reference Library includes many law-related encyclopedias. Sample titles include:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman, eds. 2nd ed. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2004. 13 vols.
- American Law Yearbook (2005, 2006) An annual supplement West's Encyclopedia of American Law
- Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice Joshua Dressler, ed. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 4 vols.
- Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities Mary Bosworth, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2005. 2 vols.
- World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems George Thomas Kurian, ed. 2nded. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2007. 2 vols.
- Encyclopedia of Education Law Charles J. Russo, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2008. 2 vols.
- Encyclopedia of the American Constitution Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst, eds. 2nd ed. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 6 vols.
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases: The Most Influential Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States Richard A. Leiter and Roy M. Mersky. 2nd ed. Facts on File Library of American History New York, 2012. 3 vols.
- Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States David S. Tanenhaus, ed. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 5 vols.
- Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives David S. Clark, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2007. 3 vols.
State Law (U.S.)
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New York Jurisprudence 2dOnce you enter the Westlaw Campus database, click on "Secondary Sources," then "New York," and under "Texts & Treatises," click on "New York Jurisprudence." It is a major encyclopedia covering New York law.
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Other State Legal EncyclopediasThe Westlaw Campus database includes secondary sources for each state, and encyclopedias for many. These include:
California Jurisprudence,
Florida Jurisprudence 2d,
Georgia Jurisprudence,
Michigan Civil Jurisprudence,
New York Jurisprudence 2d,
Ohio Jurisprudence 3d,
Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d, and
South Carolina Jurisprudence.
Once you enter the Westlaw Campus database, click on "Secondary Sources," choose a state, and click on the desired title.
International and Comparative Law
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Encyclopedia of Human RightsOffers in depth coverage of all aspects of human rights theory, practice, law, and history. More InfoUB ONLY
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Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional LawA comprehensive online resource containing analytical comparative articles offering a global overview of constitutional law. More InfoIN-HOUSE
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Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law OnlineFully revised online Encyclopedia is written by over 650 scholars and practitioners from around the world. More InfoIN-HOUSE
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Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal HistoryCovers legal history from ancient to modern times. More InfoUB ONLY
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Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International LawA reference work covering numerous international law topics including diplomatic law, criminal law, human rights, and more. More InfoUB ONLY
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New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics OnlineReference tool on economics and other related disciplines. More InfoUB ONLY
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Dictionaries & terminology databases from the UN and related agenciesDatabases include these and others:
--AGROVOC - controlled vocabulary covering all areas of interest to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO)
--ICRC Online International Humanitarian Law Dictionary
--INIS Thesaurus- The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) multilingual thesaurus
--IPCC Glossary- Glossary of terms used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
--Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use
--Terminology of Telecommunications - maintained by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
--UNBIS Thesaurus- The multilingual terminology used in subject analysis of documents relevant to United Nations programmes and activities
--WTO Glossary -The World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) glossary of tourism terms
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Reminder
Don't forget to also consult
"Key Legal Databases"
for your research!
Key to Symbols
UB ONLY - Restricted to current UB-affiliated students, faculty and staff.
LAW ONLY- Restricted to current LAW students and LAW faculty.
IN-HOUSE- Accessible only in designated location (UB library or building).
PUBLIC- Free resource on the Internet, available to everyone.
LexisAdvance (UB law students only)
Westlaw Edge(UB law students only)
In-House
Public
UB Only