Distance Learning Library Resources: Finding Laws

Arnold Bernhard Library Resources & Law Library Resources   

 

1)  Legal Reference Sources

American Jurisprudence 2d:  LexisNexis Academic 

• Open Search by Subject or Topic above search box
• Select Legal Reference in Legal section
• Open Advanced Options
• Uncheck all sources except American Jurisprudence 2d and click Apply  (Please note Ballentine's Law Dictionary was also a source) 
• Enter keyword(s) in search box, if a phrase enclose in quotes     

      This is an encyclopedic text of both procedural and substantive American law, state, federal, criminal, civil and procedural. Consisting of over 430 topic headings (titles), Am Jur 2d articles collect, examine, and summarize the broad principles of American law and, at the same time, provide direct leads to supporting cases, related annotations, forms, proofs, and trial techniques.

 

Black’s law dictionary   
      9th ed.  Bernhard Library Reference Collection   Ref KF156 .B53 2014
                  Law Library Reference                          Ref KF156 .B53 2014 

 

 

2)  Electronic Resources

The Library databases can be searched on campus and off-campus.  To do so you must go through the Arnold Bernhard Library’s homepage.  This can be accomplished on campus via the library’s homepage, which is linked from the University’s page  http://www.quinnipiac.edu/ .  Click on MyQ and then  >Log In.  Open Quick Links and click on Library-Arnold Bernhard or in the light blue bar mouse over IT & Libraries and click on Library-Arnold Bernhard. 

OFF-CAMPUS ACCESS TO THE DATABASES  Library users must authenticate themselves as Quinnipiac community members as required by database license agreements.  Once on the Library homepage select the database of interest.  A Library Database Login box appears and then type in your Quinnipiac network username and password.  Once this is done, the database should open and full capabilities for searching and opening full text articles will be available.  As long as you keep this window open, other windows can be opened for additional searching. 

 

3)  Resources for the Research Paper 

Please check the "Find Articles" page of this Guide for a listing of databases for your research papers. 

 

4)  Professional Association

• American Occupational Therapy Association    http://www.aota.org​
  • ​Check the "Advocacy & Policy" section for news on federal legislation and policies, state policies, health care reform, etc.
• OT Search (OT Bibliographic System)  http://www1.aota.org/otsearch/index.asp

 

5)  State Websites -> State Statutes

• State of Connecticut website    
  http://www.ct.gov
• For other state websites enter the two letter abbreviation in place of “ct” (for example: ny or nj).  Remember that each state may search a bit differently.

CT Search Example for licensure: Under Popular Links-->Professional Licenses and Registration.  Click on Search by Keyword in left margin and in search box type in occupational therapist.    

 

Searching the CT State Statutes specifically: Click on Legislative under Your Government, then click on Statutes and then Search Statutes.  Type keywords into the Document Text search box (note drop down menu options).  Examples: good samaritan or birth to three

Search Statutes link

Browse Statutes link

   PLEASE NOTE: PROFESSOR MERIANO RECOMMENDS SEARCHING THE CONNECTICUT STATUTES THROUGH THE "BROWSE STATUTES" OPTION SO THAT ONE CAN MOVE THROUGH DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
 

      State Websites -> State Agency Regulations or Administrative Code

• Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies: these are also from the State of Connecticut website, under Popular Links-->Regulations of State Agencies 
• Other states may use different terminology, such as Administrative Code 

 

***Remember:  Google is a good option for searching State websites since some are not as user friendly as others, and it is usually straight forward.  Check the domain for a site from the State government, for example ct.gov, ri.gov, but some states are subcontracting with private companies for certain services, like Massachusetts for licensing. Make sure that the State government site leads to the subcontracted site.

 

6)  Database with Legal Research Component

LexisNexis Academic: Search this database for federal and state statutes and regulations; federal and state cases; and law review articles, as well as legal reference noted above.

• Open Search by Subject or Topic above search box
• Select  appropriate Legal option
• Open Advanced Options below the search box
• Check appropriate source(s) to search and click Apply
• Enter a keyword(s) in search box, if a phrase enclose in quotes
• Click search and review results    

 

7)  Web Sites for Federal Information        

• Congress.gov:  Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative  information.  This is the place to look for Bills as well as other legislative sources such as public laws and committee reports.  
       On the homepage the default search is for "Current Legislation" and this may prove a good place to start.  Enter keywords for search and use quotes around phrases when appropriate, for example "occupational therapy" or "occupational therapists."    
          Can enter a Public Law number in this way: Public Law 114-95

 

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations - This is the freely available website from the Federal Government, the Federal Digital System. Keyword searching is available without entering a Title Number or selecting a Section.

 

• United States Code  - This is the freely available website from the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel.  Keyword searching is available.

   

 

8)  Law Library Internet Resources

The link below opens the Law Library Internet Resources page.  Browse for freely accessible legal sites for research and information.

• http://www.quinnipiac.edu/academics/colleges-schools-and-departments/school-of-law/about-us/facilities/school-of-law-library/research/internet-resources/

 

9)  Affordable Care Act: some selected sources are listed below

The complete name is The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) and was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Obama.

HealthCare.gov:  About the Law    http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html

AOTA:  check the Association

• Health Care Reform Implementation:  serves as a portal to information

 

​Non-governmental Sources of Information:  there are many articles, blogs, etc. on this topic and many more current articles.

 

 
10)  Statistics Sources

State Health Facts Online by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

• http://www.statehealthfacts.org

 

ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the US   Current Edition

• For earlier years:  http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ 

 

Federal and State Statutes 

Reference Example
A reference list entry for a federal statute looks like this:

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990).

Note: Et seq is a Latin abbreviation indicating that the section number is the first in a series of a few sections that codify this act.

In-Text Citation Example
The in-text citation format for a federal statute is similar to that for other APA Style references. Cite the name of the statute and the year:

• Narrative citation: Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (1990)
• Parenthetical citation: (Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990)

For more information, please visit APA Citation Help - Legal Citations, or Purdue OWL Legal References

In addition, the legal citation style manual is available in print copy only:
      The Bluebook: a Uniform System of Citation.  Ref KF245 .U55 2021 in the Bernhard Library Reference Collection and the Netter Health Sciences Library and the Law Library.