Research Tips
Before starting your research:
- Clarify what it is you are researching and why. Ask questions.
- Try to spot the important issues
- Identify your jurisdiction
- Brainstorm some keywords to use as search terms
- Make a research plan: where will you look, and why?
Some helpful tools:
- Burton's Legal Thesaurus - use this to broaden your list of search terms
- Black's Law Dictionary - to understand the meaning of a legal word or phrase
Contributuions
This LibGuide was originally authored in 2013 by Laura Hartnett, Faculty Services Librarian at Northeastern University School of Law. It was updated by Alfreda Russell, Law Librarian at Northeastern University School of Law, in 2017.
Introduction
This LibGuide will help you locate the primary and secondary sources that are relevant for researching criminal law, including state and federal statutes, case law, and rules of criminal procedure. 1L's will find the Model Penal Code (MPC) to be a useful source for understanding criminal law, since most states have adopted portions of the MPC and the majority of criminal cases are heard in state courts.
How to Use this Guide
This guide is intended to introduce you to some of the key resources available at the Northeastern University School of Law Library for researching criminal law.
Here are some suggestions:
- Need ideas to start your research? Try the Secondary Sources page
- Looking for primary sources? Visit the Cases & Statutes page
The U.S. criminal law and procedure materials mentioned in this guide -- except where classified as Reference, Reserve or Database -- are most often found in the KF9201-9827 range on the 4th Floor of the Law Library.
Massachusetts criminal law and procedure materials are generally found in the KFM2961-2998.8 range on the 4th Floor of the Law Library; many are published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE).
Get Help
Reference Librarians are available to help you with your research questions
3rd Floor Law Library at Info Desk
