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Law and Justice
Prof. Vides-Saade
Spring 2008
Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
Irene Kuchta
x7577
Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.
II. Finding Books at the Potter Library
- Catalog: use this to find books, journal titles NOT ARTICLES, government documents, reserve items, music,and movies owned by the Library. You may limit a search by language, year(s) of publication, type of material, etc. This may take a few seconds to load.
- Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
- For example: search for theory and justice to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your project
- To find secondary sources search for Rawls or Hart using subject browse and choose the proper person. Sometimes Library of Congress does not use the expected first name.
- Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature ONLY if you know the Library of Congress Subject Headings. For example: justice (philosophy).
- Start with broad searches. It is much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
- If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Subjects, etc tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
- Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.
Tips
III. Reference Material
- The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
- Some useful materials for your projects:
| Expand "Religion" | |
| Political philosophy: theories, thinkers, concepts | Ref JA71 .P6226 2001 |
| The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Political Thinkers | Ref JA83 .R725 1998 |
| Blackwell companion to law & society | Ref K370 .B554 2004 |
| Encyclopedia of Law & Society | Ref K583 .E53 2007 |
Tips
- Use reference books to browse for project ideas and to get started on your research.
- Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.
IV. Electronic Resources
- Some useful Databases for your projects:
| Westlaw | To find law reviews, check off the "Journals and Law Reviews" button then choose "All journals and law reviews" in the pull-down menu. |
| Lexis-Nexis | Choose "Legal " on the top. Law reviews are the default. |
| PAIS | Public Affairs Information Service |
| JSTOR | For secondary sources search by "H.L.A. Hart" |
| Academic Search Premier | For secondary sources search for "John Rawls" and look on the left at "Narrow subject By" and choose RAWLS, John, 1921-2002 |
(Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal).
Tips
- Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
- Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: suburbs and "united states" and culture
- Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.
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V. Interlibrary Loan
Both of these links can be found under QUICK LINKS on the library's homepage.
- Interlibrary Loan: allows students to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.
- Journal Finder: this provides information regarding if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm.
VI. Bibliographies
- Use Basic Legal Citations for examples of how to cite legal material
- Use the Citing Sources for non-legal citation styles.
VII. Web Sources
- Evaluating Websites: to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.
Top of Page
Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574 Use QandA NJ a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.