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Researching and Writing Your Upper Level Paper: Finding Articles

Based on the LibGuides "Developing a Topic" from Creighton School of Law and "Researching Your Seminar Paper" from Boston University Law School.

Finding Legal Articles

If you are not sure about what terms to use for searching, schedule a research appointment or ask a librarian. 

Search the text of articles on:

  • Westlaw and LexisNexis (both late 1980's-present)
  • HeinOnline Law Journal Library which offers most law journals going back to their first volume.
  • Google Scholar which allows you to use the power of Google searching to locate free and subscription-only articles
    • Use Settings- Library Links and select Florida A&M University to find full-text articles.
  • SSRN which allows you to search unpublished or forthcoming scholarly working papers

Use a periodical index for focused searching:  

Google Scholar Search

Finding Non-Legal Articles

FAMU has a plethora of non-legal research databases. Using the box to the right, explore these by subject to find a database that fills your research needs. Common subjects include News and Current Events, Public Affairs/Law and Government, and Social Sciences.

The FAMU Catalog has a tab to search articles. Run your search in the box to the right to find articles in journals FAMU owns. 

As always, ask a librarian if you need help!

Citation Indexes

Using a citation index is like Shepardizing a case; you can find out which articles have cited the article you're looking at. HeinOnline's ScholarCheck is the best way to track these citations. Simply click on the ScholarCheck icon, and you will be given links to all citing articles. This is useful to see what tack others have taken on the subject, and to find support for your own ideas.

Find Resources

Click here for Databases A-Z

 Click here for eJournals and newspapers