Research Guide(ance)

In addition to our webcast video tutorials on research (see Sunday's post), we also have online research guides on a wide variety of topics.  So, for example, you can find a guide to help you research for writing a paper, journals you now have your own dedicated guide and 1Ls, that ever useful 1L Law Library Survival Guide.

Check out the list of all of our guides.

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Surfing the Library

Take a quick web tour of the Library web resources.

The Library web page looks a little different than it did last semester.  First years (and more seasoned students) - there is lots of useful information and useful tools for your research.  For instance - did you know we have Research Guides for Paper Writing, Journal Cite Checking and a 1L Law Library Survival Guide ?

And this just scratches the surface.

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Sage Journals Online

Do you have a paper course this semester?  Writing a Note?  Don't overlook a great new source of online journal articles available to all Hofstra students--Sage Journals Online.  Multidisciplinary and strong in the sciences and social sciences, Sage Journals cover many law-related disciplines, such as health law and criminal justice.  Its 34 criminal justice titles, for example, include journals focused on juvenile justice, domestic violence, child and elder mistreatment, and discrimination issues from U.S. and international perspectives.

To access and search the Sage journals, just go to the Hofstra University Libraries page, click the "Research Databases" tab, and click to "browse the full A-Z list".  You will be prompted to log in to the Hofstra portal. Sage Online Journals is listed first under the "S" titles.   

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Academic OneFile

Just in time for paper writing, Hofstra has a new multi-disciplinary articles database: Academic OneFile. A premier source for full-text, peer-reviewed articles from the world's leading journals, Academic OneFile offers especially strong coverage of science and technology, health and medicine, economics, business and literature. Authoritative, comprehensive and updated daily, Academic OneFile brings together millions of articles from 1980 to the present, many of them available in PDF. Academic OneFile is an Axinn Library database accessible through the Hofstra Portal with a network password.
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Research web tutorials

Many of you are in the middle of researching for your papers. If you need a research refresher, check out our Research Instruction Webcasts off of the Library's homepage. You will find a link to a Paper Writing web cast - which will show you useful databases and techniques for your research. Other topic specific web casts are also available.

You will also find a Lexis and Westlaw web tutorial for a refresher on Lexis and Westlaw basics. As always, let us know what you think and if you have suggestions for web tutorials you would like to see.

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Cambridge Journals Online

It's paper writing time, and many of you will soon be looking for some great scholarly articles on legal and interdisciplinary topics. Don't overlook Cambridge Journals Online, a multidisciplinary collection of articles from 236 authoritative journals in political science, law, history, economics, and the sciences. Cambridge Journals Online is also strong in health policy and the behavioral sciences, and is useful for many areas where science and law intersect, such as the use of DNA evidence in criminal law. It has a helpful "advanced search" function and provides full-text articles in PDF. You can link to Cambridge Journals Online directly from the "Online Resources" list on the Law Library's web site. For off-campus access, you will be directed to the MyHofstra portal where you will need to use your network login.

Paper Topic ideas

Many of you are starting to write papers for your classes and may need some help finding a topic. While Lexis and Westlaw are o.k., the Library has some databases that you may not know about that can help a lot more. On the Library's Online Resources page, you will see a link on the left for BNA Online Resources. This will give you a subject listing of databases. The BNA databases are weekly newsletters on many topics which discuss current issues in that area. You can browse by issue or search key terms to hone in on your area of interest.

Other good sources for paper topic ideas are government agency web sites and organizations in your area of interest and law professor blogs. An "old fashioned" Google search will help you find these. Also, take a look at our blog roll on the right.

As always, don't forget to ask your favorite Reference librarian for help.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat