Introduction to Law: Library Legal Resources

Legal analysis involves the following steps:

1. Identify the legal issue(s) raised by the facts of a case 
2. Research to determine the rule (or rules) applicable to resolution of the issue
3. Apply the rule to the facts of the case and develop a reasoned conclusion
4. Conclude by directly answering the legal issue raised in step 1, above.

There are a number of sources that are relevant to legal inquiry that are held in the UCA Libraries.  A first step in locating these resources must be the Library Catalogue.  This will bring up both print and electronic resources, including eBooks and journal articles. 

You can find out more about searching, accessing, finding, evaluating and referencing from the relevant LibGuides.  

 For a start, it is recommended you begin your search in the Library Catalogue and then search the individual database listed below:

EBSCO ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER -  This is a multi-disciplinary database (mostly full-text) which indexes  legal/law journals and some popular magazines and newspapers.

JSTOR (Legal Collection) - This database provides full-text access to thousands of articles from archived academic journals.  Date coverage varies by individual journal title, but a typical coverage range is from the beginning of the journal until 3 years ago. 

TAYLOR & FRANCIC ONLINE - This is a multi-disciplinary database (which includes law and is mostly full-text). It provides access to 38152 legal articles from 63 legal journal titles. 

ELGARONLINE - This is a multi-disciplinary database which includes Law Academic and Law Professional subject areas with accessible content to 28 books, 6 journals, 6 handbooks, 2 Research Reviews. 

IMF eLibrary - The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) eLibrary simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. This database also includes the following legal issues: Arbitration, Negotiation, Mediation, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Business and Financial, Contracts, Corporate, Environmental, Health, International, Judicial Power, Labor and Employment and Public. 

SAGE JOURNAL PREMIER 2016 - This is the natural home for leading authors, editors and societies. Publishing more than 1,000 journals, from a wide range of disciplines, SAGE is here to meet your needs. Sage Journal collection includes Law, Culture and the Humanities journal  3 issues per year from 2005 to present. 

GOALI - GLOBAL ONLINE ACCESS TO LEGAL INFORMATION is a new programme providing free or low-cost online access to legal research and training in the developing world. It incorporates academic and professional peer-reviewed journals, publications and databases in selected subject areas of law from the world's leading academic publishers. GOALI is  accessed via Research4Life portal. To access this database, approach a librarian at the reference desk for login and password. 

CREDO - Credo Reference contains dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks of law.

Resource page