Legal encyclopedias are a good source when beginning a search of the law in an unfamiliar area.
They can provide background information as well as references to cases and other sources for continuing your research. Legal encyclopedias contain only summaries for a topic and should not be relied on as a complete or current statement of the law. While some courts cite to them for background information, they are not primary authority. These works are aimed at providing a very general overview of the law. They contain brief statements of the law with footnotes to cases supporting those statements.