Summer RA Workshop - 2025

As a Research Assistant, you may need to find articles for your faculty member using limited information about the article, including title, author, citation, partial citation, or publication year. You may also need to find articles in order to learn about a topic that is new to you, to develop a literature review, or to conduct research on a particular question or topic.

This guide covers:

• Popular Databases: Law review/journal article research using Hein Online, Lexis+, and Westlaw. Each database has its pros and cons, but which one you use ultimately depends on how much information you have about your article and the format of the article (like PDF!). Be sure to explore each of these legal databases to see which is best for each situation. 
• Emory Access Resources: Databases, eJournals and Articles+. You will use these resources if you are doing research beyond law review/journal research, including if you are working for a faculty member whose work cuts across more than one discipline to focus on issues at the intersection of law and policy, law and public health, law and technology, law and history, and so on.
• Google Scholar: Google Scholar can be a useful tool for finding scholarly articles for a variety of subjects, particularly if you use it in conjunction with other resources.
• SSRN: SSRN is most useful for preemption checks, and it can be useful if you are interested in finding works that have not necessarily gone through peer review or have not yet been published.
• Emory's Cool Tools: including LibKey Nomad, FindIt@Emory, and Unpay Wall.
• Organizing Articles: To organize your articles, check out Emory guides on using EndNote and Zotero to organize your research and store PDFs for future reference.

Hein Online

Contains over 100 million pages of legal history available in an online, fully-searchable, image-based format. The most popular HeinOnline libraries include the Law Journal Library, the Session Laws Library, and the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, with exact page images of the documents in PDF format just as they appear in the original print.

FINDING ARTICLES: WESTLAW

To use Westlaw and Lexis+ efficiently and effectively, it is useful for you to become familiar with advanced search options that are available for each database. Here are some basic search options that are useful:

As an Emory student, you have access to a number of resources through Emory Libraries (libraries.emory.edu), including more than 1,000 databases, Articles+, and eJournals.

A-Z Databases
Emory has more than 1,000 databases that are available to you. You can narrow the set of databases to search by limiting the "subject" (such as business, public health, history, and anthropology) and/or the "type" of database (including government information, newspapers, dissertations, E-Books, etc.). 

Articles+
An Articles+ search will provide you with articles as well as results from other types of materials, such as book chapters. It can be a useful option, particularly if you want to conduct a broad search on a topic you are not especially familiar with. You can select Articles+ from the main Emory Libraries search page.

eJournals
If you are looking for a particular journal, you can search using eJournals and then find that journal at Emory or browse back issues of a specific journal. You can select eJournals from the main Emory Libraries search page.

General Tips for Using Databases:

• Do a variety of searches by trying out different keywords, subject terms, and by using limiters and advanced search tools available to you.
• For example, you may be able to limit your results to peer reviewed articles, materials published before, after, or during particular dates.
• If you find results that are on-point and useful given your particular research project, check to see if the database or resource you are using provides you with ways to find similar results -- you may be able to view a list of sources that cite to your source or you may be provided with sources that are cited by your source.
• In addition, many databases will provide you with suggested "similar results" or options to "find similar results." Using such tools will help you continue to pursue relevant research paths.

Google Scholar 
Google Scholar can be a useful tool, particularly if you use the advanced search option.

If you click on the three bars in the left-hand corner, you will be able to open the advanced search screen.

As is the case when searching databases, Google Scholar's Advanced Search option will allow you to include specific terms or phrases, author names, dates, etc. in order to find more targeted, relevant results:

Once you retrieve results in Google Scholar, you can check to see if a particular article or paper is available to you through Emory Libraries, online via an institutional repository, or through Hein Online.

SSRN
SSRN (formerly the Social Science Research Network) is primarily useful for preemption checks because it can provide you with useful information about upcoming scholarly publications. Works available through SSRN are often white papers, early drafts of articles, or something other than the final, published version of a scholarly article. 

Efficiently track your legal research by using automated citation and article organization tools. There are many tools supported by Emory University you may use to keep track of your article research, including EndNote and Zotero. 

• EndNote - Automated organization and formatting of citations and bibliographies. Connect to online sources including catalogs and article databases
• Zotero - collect, manage and cite research sources. This tool can pull and store PDFs from open access sources or allows you to upload your PDFs attached to your citation. Zotero allows you to organize your research into collections and may assist with your bibliographies.  

Although great for organization, remember to never rely on automated citation tools for accuracy in your Bluebook citations!

Faculty Research Question?
Please complete our Faculty Request form.

Student Research Question?
Please complete our Student Research Request form. 

Still have questions? 
Stop by our Reference Desk to chat with us in person.

MacMillan Library Hybrid Research Services:

          Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm
          Saturday - Sunday: Closed 

MacMillan Library Building Hours (May 12, 2025 - August 18, 2025)*:

Monday - Friday: 9am - 6pm
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
*May 5 - 9: 8am - 8pm; May 12: 9am - 3pm

Reference Desk:
Monday: 1pm - 3pm 
Tuesday: 1pm - 3pm (Virtual only) 
Wednesday: 10am - 12pm
Thursday: 10am - 12pm (Virtual only)
Friday: Closed
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

IT Help Desk:
Monday - Friday: 
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Emory Law Archives:
Physical archives: By appointment only.
Digital archives: More information available here. 
Limited remote services are available on a case-by-case basis. 
Questions?  Email Anna Sturgill, Law Librarian for Archives and Assessment Services