Residential Institute
M.S. in Employment Law Program, Summer 2014
Avery Le
Emerging Technologies & Institutional Repository Librarian
Shepard Broad Law Library & Technology Center
ale@nova.edu
(954) 262-6203
Shepard Broad Law Library &
Technology Center
Reference Desk (research help, passwords)
(954) 262-6201
Circulation Desk (library hours, borrowing materials, interlibrary loan)
(954) 262-6202
Create a Research Plan
Stay Organized Throughout
the Research and Writing
Process
• Lexis Guide to Law Review Research:
http://w3.lexis.com/lawschoolreg/tutorials/lawreview/
• University of Washington Guide - Writing for & Publishing in Law
Reviews: Finding & Developing Topics
• https://lib.law.washington.edu/content/guides/lawrevs-top
• Keep a research log with notes and citations
• Use organizational tools on Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance, and
Bloomberg Law, e.g., folders
Select a Topic, Narrow Your
Topic, and Recognize When to
Consider a New Topic
Preemption Checking
Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library
http://library.law.yale.edu/preemption-checking
Selected Topic Selection Web Sites
Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law (News): e.g., on Westlaw Next, BrowseAll Content
tabNews
Newspapers: Go to http://www.nova.edu/library/main/databases.html, select “Students, Faculty, and Staff, scroll
to “Browse by material type”, and select “Newspapers”
SSRN (Social Science Research Network, working papers and forthcoming papers in areas of specialized research):
http://ssrn.com/
Check out Blogs and
Newspapers for Ideas
• Blogs:
• SCOTUSBlog (http://www.scotusblog.com)
• JustiaBlawg Search (http://blawgsearch.justia.com ;
Employment Law category)
• Law Professors Blog --- (http://www.lawprofessorblogs.com ;
Workplace Prof Blog)
• Newspapers and Newsletter Databases
• Westlaw/Lexis
• Bloomberg Law – Employment and Labor Practice
• BNA – BNA Law Reports
• ABA Journal
• US Law Week (available electronically)
• National Law Journal
• Use key term – “circuit splits” for controversial or hot topics
Generate Effective Search Terms &
Use Advanced Search Options
Natural Language Search v. Boolean Search
Example: (using Westlaw Next)
You are interested in researching whether or not current employers or potential employers
should have the right to know the passwords for your social media profiles (i.e. Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, etc.?)
Natural Language Search: facebook passwords and employers
Boolean Search; (go to advanced): (employers /s ask) & “Facebook passwords”
Note: When searching in an online database, make sure the proper jurisdiction is selected
and remember to use a citator, e.g., KeyCite or Shepard’s.
Resources and Services at
the Law Library &
Technology Center
Shepard Broad Law Library’s Collection
NovaCat (to search for library materials): www.novacat.nova.edu
Employment Law LibGuide: http://nova.campusguides.com/employment
Electronic Resources:
Databases & Journal
Finder
Go to: www.novacat.nova.edu
•
•
Click on “Electronic Resources”
In the “Electronic Resources” menu, you will find a link for
both Databases and Journal Finder
Electronic Resources:
Databases
To access databases provided by the NSU libraries, select
“Databases” from the menu under “Electronic Resources” on
NovaCat.
•
•
Click on “Students, Faculty, and Staff”
Browse databases alphabetically, by subject (e.g., law) or by
material type (e.g., newspapers, statistical sources).
Electronic Resources:
Journal Finder
Journal Finder has two primary uses for researchers: (1) to check whether you have
access to an electronic journal through the NSU libraries; or (2) to locate the full text of
an article when you have a citation.
Select “Journal Finder” from the menu under “Electronic Resources” on NovaCat.
Search for titles using the search box and search options.
Google Scholar
http://scholar.google.com/
*If you use Google Scholar on campus (when connected to the NSU network), you will see links to full text articles
available to NSU students through the library. If you are not on campus, these links will not appear. So, if you run a
search on Google Scholar, but the full text of the article is not available, you can use “Journal Finder” to see
whether you can access the article through a database.
Example: Google Scholar Search for Articles
Westlaw Next
www.lawschool.westlaw.com
1-800-WESTLAW (937-8529)
Topic Search Tools:
Go to “News” and “Secondary Sources” and look at Law Reviews
& Journals, Legal Newspapers & Newsletters. From the
“Secondary Sources” link, you can also look at Westlaw Bulletins &
Topical Highlights, which discuss recent developments in a variety
of legal areas.
Lexis Advance
www.lawschool.lexis.com
Customer Support: 1-800-45-LEXIS (53947)
Bloomberg Law
http://www.bloomberglaw.com/
Register for an account (using your NSU email address; no activation code
required): http://bloomberglaw.com/activate
24/7 Help Desk: 1-888-560-BLAW (2529)
Suggested Resource: On Bloomberg Law, under the Practice Center tab, click on
“Labor & Employment”
Source Selection &
Evaluation
You should pay special attention to source evaluation when you are
researching on the Internet. For some general information about
selecting and evaluating online sources, see:
http://virtuallylegal.net/how-to-determine-if-a-website-is-a-crediblesource-of-information/
Citations, Style, and
Proofreading
The Bluebook:
Understanding and mastering The bluebook : a guide for students and practitioners / Linda J. Barris
http://novacat.nova.edu:80/record=b2129918~S13
OWL Online Writing Lab, Purdue University
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Florida Style Manual, Florida State University
(Bluebook supplement for Florida specific citations)
http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/downloads/floridastylemanual.pdf
Publishing
Resources: Books
Fajans, Elizabeth & Mary R. Falk. Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes and Law Review Competition
Papers. St. Paul, MN: West, 2011.
Volokh, Eugene. Academic legal writing : law review articles, student notes, seminar papers, and getting on law review. New York:
Foundation Press, 2007.
Strunk and White. The Elements of Style. New York, NY [u.a.] : Longman, 2012.
NovaCat:
http://novacat.nova.edu:80/record=b2247776~S13
http://novacat.nova.edu:80/record=b1838667~S13
http://novacat.nova.edu:80/record=b2331192~S13
Resources:
Library Guides
Library Guides
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Library
Nova Employment Law LibGuide: http://nova.campusguides.com/employment
University of San Francisco, Dorraine Zief Law Library
Finding a Topic for Your Law School Paper or Law Review Comment/Note:
http://legalresearch.usfca.edu/FindingATopic
To find other law library guides on your topic,
run a search using Google for “employment law” and “library guide”.
Questions?
Rob Beharriell
(954) 262-6224
beharriellr@nsu.law.nova.edu
Alison Rosenberg
(954) 262-6215
rosenberga@nsu.law.nova.edu
Eric Young
(954) 262-6211
younge@nsu.law.nova.edu
Carolyn Brown
(954) 262-6171
cbrown3@nsu.law.nova.edu
Mitchell Silverman
(954) 262-6223
silvermanmi@nsu.law.nova.edu
Reference Desk
(954) 262-6201
Becka Rich
(954) 262-6237
richr@nsu.law.nova.edu
Mary Paige Smith
(954) 262-6213
smithm@nsu.law.nova.edu
Circulation Desk
(954) 262-6202