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In this lesson, you will learn why secondary sources are useful, specifically dictionaries, encyclopedias, and guides.
What are Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Guides?
- A note about secondary sources
- Other secondary sources
- Legal dictionaries
- Encyclopedias
- Online guides
- Citation guides
Transcript
Legal dictionaries, encyclopedias, and guides are secondary sources. Secondary sources can help you understand issues, get background information, and so on, but they are not authoritative or binding on a court.
Though we\’re not dismissing other secondary sources, like reports, treatises, and law articles, we focus this lesson on dictionaries encyclopedias and guides because they are more useful for and more likely to be used by pro se litigants.
Let\’s begin with dictionaries. Everybody knows what a dictionary is. Their sources organized alphabetically that define terms. Legal dictionaries focus on terminology used in U.S. courts. In addition to definitions, they may have examples of term use and related cases, as well as links to more in-depth information.
You don\’t have to pay for a legal dictionary. Credible, tried and true online sources include free legal dictionary Black\’s Law Dictionary, and Nolo\’s free dictionary of law terms.
Encyclopedias are organized alphabetically and provide general information on a wide range of legal topics. They explain legal topics or concepts in depth, including background and history. Like dictionaries, they include sample legal cases. If you don\’t know where to start in your research, an encyclopedia is a good choice, Legal encyclopedias have evolved with the increase of online guides.
Still, there are two highly recommended free legal encyclopedias: Nolo\’s legal dictionary and encyclopedia, and the Wex legal encyclopedia from Cornell Law School.
Online guides are similar to encyclopedias in that they\’re organized by topic areas, supplement knowledge, and are good starting places for research.
They differ in that outside sources provide in-depth information via links from the host site. The best online guides are annotated and curated by librarians.
Four good sources for online guides include Emory Law Guide, George Mason University Law Guide, Duke Law Research Guide, and Justia.
There is a right way and a wrong way to refer to statutes, cases, dictionaries, and other sources in your legal writing. Citation guides show you the right way. They\’re more appropriately defined as how to guides rather than secondary sources, but they are critical to successful legal writing.
Some of the best sources for legal citation guides include Florida A and M Citation Guide, Cornell University Law Library, Georgetown Law Library, Library Bluebook Guide, and Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington.