Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

MEL’s Database of the Week for 10/1/10

October 1st, 2010

Welcome to this feature from the Management & Economics Library (MEL).  These database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

Database name: LexisNexis Academic Legal, from LexisNexis.

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: LexisNexis Academic Legal provides the means for legal research.

Start with this hint: The LexisNexis Academic Easy Search page has 2 ways to begin your legal research.  In the top row center panel, called Look up a Legal Case, there are options to get a case By Citation, By Parties, or By Topic.  A Google-type keyword search is not a good choice for legal research.  The best way to find a case is to search by citation number. When you search by citation, it must be in Bluebook format, which includes punctuation… you can see the difference if you search with their example twice, once as U.S. (note the periods) and once with just US.  You could also search by one or more of the names of the parties involved.  A search by Topic will likely result in a huge number of hits.  The second option for legal research is accessed through the panel on the left of Easy Search.  Click on US Legal, select an area from the expanded list, and use the resulting form to select options such as time span and jurisdiction.

Why you should know this tool: LexisNexis Academic includes federal cases and some state cases.  It also includes Statutes, Codes, & Regulations, as well as the full text of many Law Review journals, which provide case background, analysis, and opinions.

How this will help students: The expanded list of US Legal options includes Landmark Cases.  This is a unique opportunity for students to locate and read the actual Supreme Court cases that have been landmarks in the history of the US judicial system.

Cost: LexisNexis Academic is a subscription service paid by the Libraries annually; for more information contact mdugan@purdue.edu.

Database of the Week comes to you from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.