Secondary Sources - A Brief Overview: Expedite Your Research!
Additional Research Guides
- Secondary Sources (Harvard)ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews, Restatements, & Treatises
- Secondary Sources Research Guide (Georgetown)Legal Dictionaries, Legal Encyclopedias, Legal Periodicals, American Law Reports (ALR), Legal Treatises, and Restatements of the Law
Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources
Why should I use a secondary source?
- To get background information on a legal topic
- To get references to primary sources and other secondary sources
- To expedite your research - take advantage of the knowledge and expertise of an expert in the field
ALR (American Law Reports)
ALR (American Law Reports)
Why should I use ALR?
To find cases from many different jurisdictions on a very narrow topic. It allows you to see trends in case law across jurisdictions.
Available in print:
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American Law Reports(ALR)Call Number: KF132 .A...(Law Library Federal Core)The series includes: ALR, ALR2d, ALR3d, ALR4th, ALR5th, ALR6th, ALRFed, ALRFed2d.
See Index: KF132.6 .A47 (Federal Core – 2nd floor).
Be sure to update online-our print subscription has been cancelled.
Available Online:
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American Law Reports (ALR) (LEXIS)The ALR database contains the full text of the annotations included in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Federal, Federal Second, and Federal Third Series of the American Law Reports (ALR), all published by West
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American Law Reports (ALR) (Westlaw)Includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Federal, Federal Second, and Federal Third Series of the American Law Reports (ALR)
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American Law Reports (ALR) (Westlaw Campus Research)Includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Federal, Federal Second, and Federal Third Series of the American Law Reports (ALR)
Legal Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias
A great place to start your research, especially if you are researching a topic new to you. Footnotes will lead you to relevant cases and statutes.
Available in print:
- American Jurisprudence (Am Jur) 2dCall Number: KF154 .A42 (Law Library Reference)
- New York Jurisprudence (NY Jur) 2dCall Number: KFN5065 .N48 1979 (Law Library New York Alcove)
Available online:
- American Jurisprudence (Am Jur) 2d (Westlaw Campus Research)Covers "American law - state and federal, civil and criminal, substantive and procedural. The articles collect, examine, and summarize the broad principles of American law and,...provide direct leads to supporting cases, related annotations, forms, proofs, and trial techniques."
- American Jurisprudence (Am Jur) 2d (Westlaw)A comprehensive legal encyclopedia with "textual statements of law alphabetically arranged in more than 400 topics."
- American Jurisprudence (Am Jur) 2d (LEXIS)Published by West , this encyclopedia covers "both procedural and substantive American law, state, federal, criminal, civil and procedural."
- Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) (Westlaw Campus Research)A national legal encyclopedia, covering state and federal legal topics
- Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) (Westlaw)A national legal encyclopedia, covering state and federal legal topics.
- New York Jurisprudence (NY Jur) 2d (Westlaw Campus Research)An encyclopedia covering "the civil and criminal law of New York, both substantive and procedural, based on state statutes, and state and federal case law. "
- New York Jurisprudence (NY Jur) 2d (Westlaw)A legal encyclopedia providing detailed coverage of New York civil and criminal law, both substantive and procedural.
- New York Jurisprudence (NY Jur) 2d (LEXIS)An encyclopedia of New York law comprising over 400 separate titles on a broad range of legal topics.
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law 2nd ed.Provided information on more than 5,000 legal topics. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
- Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)Includes subject encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference works in more than 20 subject areas. Sample law titles are:
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice
Encyclopedia of Education Law
Encyclopedia of Law and Society
Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States
World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems
Treatises
Treatises
What is a treatise?
A one- or multiple-volume work on a particular legal area written by an expert. Excellent place to familiarize yourself with a subject and obtain references to primary sources. Two examples of treatises in print format in the Law Library:
- Nimmer on copyright; a treatise on the law of literary, musical and artistic property, and the protection of ideasCall Number: KF2991.5 .N5 1978 (Law Library General Collection)
- Criminal Law. Sixth edition by Call Number: KF9219 .L38 2017 (Law Library Circulation Desk)
How can I identify a treatise on a particular topic?
- Use a guide, e.g.:
Legal Information Buyer’s Guide & Reference Manual
by Kendall F. Svengalis KF 1 L427 (Law Library Reference Desk) - Search the UB Online Catalog and filter results for "Law Library"
- Check the annotations in annotated codes (e.g., USCA, USCS, McKinney’s, CLS…)
- Consult the Legal Research Guides (LibGuides) from the UB Law Library
- Consult Legal Research Guides from other Law School Libraries, e.g.Georgetown
Treatises online:
- LexisNexis Digital Library This link opens in a new windowLexis Nexis Digital Library provides access to selected primary federal law and New York law, as well as secondary sources such as treatises and legal study aids. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- West Study Aids This link opens in a new windowOnline access to more than 500 study aids including case briefs, outlines, overviews and exam prep titles. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
Restatements
Restatements
What are the Restatements?
Detailed summaries of the law of the United Stated published by the ALI (American Law Institute).
"Restatements are primarily addressed to courts and aim at clear formulations of common law and its statutory elements, and reflect the law as it presently stands or might appropriately be stated by a court." (from the American Law Institute (ALI) website)
Available in print:
- Restatement of the law, second--contracts 2dCall Number: KF801 .R47 1981 (Law Library Reference)
- Restatement of the law, second, torts 2d.Call Number: KF1249 .A4 R485 1965 (Law Library Reference)
Available online:
Pattern Jury Instructions
Pattern Jury Instructions
Why should I consult jury instructions?
These instructions are useful for background research because each instruction is followed by a comment which explains the legal rules and any cases the rules originate from. The language tends to concisely describe the laws and rules in "plain English."
Available in print:
- New York pattern jury instructions--civilCall Number: KFN6047 .A65 A83 (Law Library New York Alcove)
- Criminal Jury Instructions, New YorkCall Number: KFN6171 .A65 C65 1979 (Law Library New York Alcove)
- Federal Jury Practice and InstructionsCall Number: KF8984 .D4 2006 ( Law Library General Collection (Non-Circulating))
Available online:
Law Review and Journal Articles
Periodical Indexes and Full-text Article Databases
Law review and journal articles can be located by searching 'periodical indexes" or by searching databases with the full text of articles.
Links to law and law-related indexes and full-text article databases available at UB are located here:
Online Catalogs
Library Online Catalogs
A useful tool for identifying books and other materials on topics of interest.
A UB Online Catalog SEARCH will lead you to:
• Books on the shelf in all the UB Libraries
• Selected E-Books UB subscribes to
• Titles of Journals (in paper or electronic format)
• Websites (selective)
• Titles of Microform collections
Other Library Catalogs to Explore:
(WHY? If you can identify it, we can get it for you! Use Delivery+ to place a request!)
• Harvard Law Library (HOLLIS)
• Library of Congress
• New York Public Library
• British Library
Search thousands of online catalogs at once (3 versions of WorldCat):
• First Search WorldCat TIP: Click on “Advanced Search”
• WorldCat Discovery
• WorldCat.org (Free version)[once you click on a search result, enter your zip code under “Find a copy in the Library”]