The vast majority of legal research and advocacy relies heavily on citation. For the purposes of first year students, citation focuses primarily on cases, though statutes, articles and books are relevant as well. Reports Law Reports collect cases which extend a legal principle, clarify a controversial point of law or which contain a particularly good discussion of existing law. Cases in law reports include head notes which are written by the editor in an effort to summarize the facts, issues and judge's reasons for deciding a case in a particular way. A basic introduction to the English Law Reports is also included.
Law students rely heavily on primary materials such as case reports and legislation.
Secondary sources offer useful background information, summation of complex topics, and citations to the primary sources. This session covers the basics of searching the Library Catalogue for books and Journal holdings in the library system. Students are also introduced to electronic journal indexes accessible through WinSPIRs. This session also serves as an introduction to searching electronic databases in general and paves the way for more complex searching of online databases and CD-ROMs. Many legal research projects present the student with fact situations which must be expanded upon to discuss a particular legal issue.