Key to Link Icons
- Georgetown restricted access
- Interactive tutorial
- On Westlaw
(password required) - On Lexis
(password required) - PDF Document
Key to Images
- Study Aid - This is a useful resource to introduce or brush up on a new subject specialty.
- Preeminent Treatise - This is recognized by scholars and practitioners as one of the leading authorities on a specific subject.
Online or Books?
Use Westlaw or Lexis when...
- You have a unique search term, phrase or quotation
- You know a distinctive phrase from an authority
- Your fact situation is unique
- The area of law is new or emerging
- You are looking for the most current information
- You are looking for a known case
- You are looking for cases involving a certain party, attorney or law firm
- You are looking for unpublished opinions
- You are updating or verifying your research (Shepard's or KeyCite)
Use books when...
- You are researching a complex concept or legal theory
- You are researching a procedural issue
- Your issue can only be expressed in common words that occur frequently in the database
- Mandatory authority on point cannot be located, so you are researching analogous situations
- Too many synonyms are required to retrieve all relevant documents
- Your search terms are ambiguous
- You are researching statutes
Page last saved 23-Sep-2011
© Georgetown University Law Library.
These guides may be used for educational purposes, as long as proper credit is given. These guides may not be sold. Requests to republish or adapt a guide should be directed to the Head of Patron Services. Proper credit includes the statement: Written by Georgetown Law Library (current as of .....).