Introduction and General Guidelines
This selective guide highlights major electronic and print resources available to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law students verifying citations for the Cleveland State Law Review or Journal of Law and Health articles, faculty research assistance work, or their own student projects.
Please contact the Law Library's Research Services librarians during their Research Services hours, or via email to research.services@law.csuohio.edu for help with locating or using any of the resources discussed in this guide.
If you are trying to verify a short citation that relates to a citation in an earlier section of an article than the section you have been assigned, start by identifying the initial citation. Even if the initial citation is incomplete, it may provide information to help verify your assigned short citation. Your editorial staff or professor should be able to provide you with the initial citation.
The two main examples of short citations that relate to a citation in an earlier section of an article are:
Ibid - refers to the immediately preceding citation
Short Citations - usually the author's last name and a short version of a full title.
Authors often cite their own publications. If you are not having any luck determining a correct complete citation, consider reviewing footnotes in other articles by the same author.
Remember that citations can refer to items published or produced in a variety of formats. In addition to traditional print materials, you may need to use microform or audiovisual materials, as well as electronic databases and Web sites.
If you have an incomplete citation, or suspect a citation is inaccurate, use the information you have in a print or electronic index or database to try to determine the correct complete citation. For example, use keywords in the article title, journal title, book chapter title, or book title - as well as synonyms for those keywords - with the author's name.
Electronic databases often do not cover periodical materials published before 1980, but there are exceptions. Before using a database, consult its coverage or scope information to see if it will help you find the information you're seeking. See the Law Review, Journal, Periodical, and Newspaper Articles section of this guide for additional information on databases with pre-1980 periodical coverage.
Our Law Library may not own the item you need to verify a citation. Remember that you can search for and request items via the OhioLINK Library Catalog, but, in general, you cannot request entire journal issues via OhioLINK. If you cannot find a needed item in OhioLINK, or if OhioLINK will not allow you to request an item, talk to a Law Library staff member at the Information Services Desk. We may be able to refer you to a nearby library that does own the item, or contact a library to obtain citation verification information for you. You may also want to make an Interlibrary Loan request for the item. See the General Resources for Articles and Books section of this guide for additional information on Interlibrary Loan.
Citation Format Guides and Resources
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 18th ed. / Columbia Law Review Association, Harvard Law Review Association, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Yale Law Journal, 2005. KF 245 .B58
The Bluebook provides many examples of citation formats that may help you to understand the citations you are trying to verify. Other good sources for citation formats include the Columbia Law Review (K 3 .O46 & Electronic), Harvard Law Review (K 8 .A69 & Electronic), University of Pennsylvania Law Review (K 25 .N69 & Electronic), and Yale Law Journal (K 29 .A4 & Electronic), the journals whose editors compiled The Bluebook.
Legal Writing Citation in a Nutshell St. Paul, MN : Thomson/West, 2008 KF245 .T47 2008.
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, 5th ed. / William S. Hein & Co., 2001. KF 246 .P74 2001
Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed. / Thomson/West, 1999. KF 156 .B53
Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations, 2nd ed. / Donald Raistrick. / Bowker-Saur, 1993. KD 400 .R35 1993 [For Great Britain and United Kingdom.]
Legal Looseleafs in Print. / InfoSources Publishing. KF 1 .L43
Legal Newsletters in Print. / InfoSources Publishing. KF 1 .L44
These annual publications may help you verify a title and publisher, as well as provide an ISSN number for precise searching in library catalogs.
Note: For information on Ohio case citations since 30 April 2002, see Supreme Court Rules for the Reporting of Opinions As Amended Effective May 1, 2002, available from the Ohio Supreme Court Web site. In particular, see Rule 7. Form of Citation.
ALWD citation manual : a professional system of citation / Association of Legal Writing Directors and Darby Dickerson.
New York, NY : Aspen Publishers, 2006.
KF245 .A45 2006. An alternative system of citation. May be helpful if the Bluebook and Court Rules for citation do not address a situation.
General Resources for Articles and Books
Scholar
Use Scholar to find a print or electronic copy of a journal or book. Scholar is the electronic catalog for Cleveland State University's Law Library and University Library. If CSU owns the journal or book, Scholar will refer you to its print and/or electronic copies. Be sure to note the journal's or book's location and call number before heading to the stacks.
OhioLINK
OhioLINK is a consortium of Ohio academic libraries that provides a central catalog of its member libraries' collections, as well as access to research databases, electronic journals, and digitized media. The OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center includes over 6,400 full-text journals. If the CSU libraries do not have a book, look for it in the OhioLINK Library Catalog. Note that the OhioLINK Library catalog may provide sufficient information to verify an entire book citation. However, if you need to get the book itself, request it by clicking on "Request This Item" in the book's catalog display. Then follow the instructions and prompts. OhioLINK requested items are usually delivered within several business days, and Law Library staff will notify you when your requested items arrive.
Cleveland Area Libraries
Cuyahoga County Public Library is part of OhioLINK, but the Cleveland Public Library CLEVNET system is not. If the CSU libraries and OhioLINK do not have a journal or book, consider searching the Cleveland Public Library Catalog for it. You may get what you need faster by directly calling or going to a library in the CLEVNET Library Consortium.
WorldCat
If you cannot find a journal or book using Scholar, OhioLINK, LexisNexis, or Westlaw try to at least locate the journal or book title in the OhioLINK research database WorldCat. The WorldCat database is a catalog containing over 43 million records of items in libraries all over the world (including all Cleveland area libraries). WorldCat catalog records may provide sufficient information to verify your entire book citation.
Interlibrary Loan
If you cannot get a book or a journal or newspaper article at a Cleveland area library, to get the book or article itself you will need to make an Interlibrary Loan request. You can do this in person at the Law Library Information Services Desk, or electronically by completing an InterLibrary Loan Book Request Form or Interlibrary Loan Copy Request Form.
Law Review, Journal, Periodical, and Newspaper Articles
See the Finding Articles in Law Reviews, Journals and Other Legal Periodicals guide for an explanation of the legal periodical indexes and databases available to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law students and the CSU community. That guide covers print and electronic indexes, as well as electronic full-text journals.
Use Scholar or Journal Finder to find a print or electronic copy of the journal or newspaper in which your article is published. Scholar is the electronic catalog for Cleveland State University's Law Library and University Library. Journal Finder is an electronic tool for locating journals, periodicals, and newspapers in the CSU libraries. If CSU has the journal or newspaper, Scholar and Journal Finder will refer you to its print and/or electronic copies.
CSU subscribes to HeinOnline, a searchable database of full-text articles in nearly 400 legal periodicals. Unlike many electronic periodical databases, Hein Online includes full publication years of its journals, a pre-1980 coverage unique to its service.
CSU subscribes to Index to Legal Periodicals via WilsonWeb, an electronic version of Index to Legal Periodicals and Books from 1908 to the present, as well as links out to full text articles in Hein Online.
If the CSU libraries do not have the journal or newspaper in which your article is published, try to verify your article citation by using LexisNexis, Westlaw, an OhioLINK resource, or a periodical index.
LexisNexis and Westlaw include thousands of full-text journals, periodicals, and newspapers, as well as Index to Legal Periodicals & Books and Legal Resource Index for 1980 to the present.
OhioLINK has many resources to aid journal article citation checking. Its Electronic Journal Center includes over 6,400 full-text journals; note in particular the Politics, Political Science, and Law electronic journal group. Its Law and Legislation databases includes LexisNexis Academic.
You may need to consult a print periodical index on select occasions, such as verifying pre-1980 citations. Print law-related periodical indexes in the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library:
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (1952- ) KF 8 .I54 & Electronic
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (1960- ) K 33 .I38
Current Law Index (1980- ; print version of Legal Resource Index) K 33 .C87
Sample Article Citation Verification
Forte: Marbury's Travail. (1996)
Is this to a book? Is this a complete title? What's the author's first name? What are the pages? Below is one method for verifying this citation.
(A) To see if this is a book citation, conduct a keyword search in the Scholar and/or OhioLINK and/or WorldCat electronic catalogs. [For more information on book searching, see the Books and Book Chapters section of this guide.] Since nothing is retrieved in these catalog searches, you can be fairly certain that this is a journal article citation.
(B) Use your citation's keywords in a print or electronic index or database to try to determine the correct complete citation. Since this is a post-1980 publication, it should be in an electronic index or database.
In LexisNexis, you would conduct your keyword search in the Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) or Legal Resource Index (LGLIND) files.
In Westlaw, you would conduct your keyword search in the Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) or Legal Resource Index (LRI) databases.
Using LexisNexis or Westlaw, you can determine that the complete citation is:
Forte, David F.: Marbury's Travail: Federalist Politics and William Marbury's Appointment as Justice of the Peace. 45 Catholic University Law Review 349 (Winter 1996)
(C) To be absolutely certain that the electronic index is correct, you may want to verify the article by seeing it in print or in Hein Online.
In Scholar, you would conduct a title search for Catholic University Law Review to determine its call number and location in the Law Library.
In Hein Online, you would conduct a search using the volume number, journal title, and page.
Note: You could have also gone with a hunch that this was a journal article citation and used Hein Online to conduct a search with your citation's keywords. [Once connected to the Hein Online Law Journal Library, simply click on Search at the upper left, then follow the directions and prompts.]
Books and Book Chapters
Editions
If your book citation specifies a particular book edition, be sure to locate that specific book edition. If you use a different edition, it may or may not contain the information or exact quote used by your author.
Reprints
Classic and older books are often reprinted. In many cases the pages are printed as in the original publication. If you cannot find an original publication of a book, it is generally acceptable to use a reprint publication of it.
Book Chapters
Electronic library catalogs sometimes include contents notes for books, and you can often use keywords from a book chapter title to search for a book. However, if your book chapter title keyword search is unsuccessful, you will need to search for the book itself to verify the chapter information. Also remember that books can be edited by one or more individuals, and the chapters within such edited books can be authored by one or more individuals.
Sample Book Citation Verification:
Mules, Madonnas, Babies. (2003)
Is this to a book? Is this a book chapter? Who's the author? Who's the publisher? Below is one method for verifying this citation.
(A) To see if this is a book citation, conduct a keyword search in the Scholar and/or OhioLINK and/or WorldCat electronic catalogs.
(B) Conducting such a search in Scholar retrieves the book Critical Race Feminism: a Reader, 2nd edition, edited by Adrien Wing (New York: New York University Press, c2003), with one contents note that indicates Linda L. Ammons authored one of its book chapters - "Mules, Madonnas, Babies, Bathwater, Racial Imagery, and Stereotypes: the African-American Woman and the Battered Woman Syndrome."
(C) Conducting such a search in OhioLINK retrieves the same book, but with much more complete contents notes, including the note that this particular book chapter begins on page 261. Conducting such a search in WorldCat retrieves the same book, with more complete contents notes than the Scholar record, but less complete contents notes than the OhioLINK record.
US Government Publications
US Government publication citations - particularly administrative and legislative materials - may appear complex when first encountered. To verify such citations, you may need to use an agency name, report/document title, report/document number, and publication date, as well as the Superintendent of Documents number or another agency numbering system. Talk to a Research Services Librarian. The Law Library is a Federal Depository Library, and the Research Services Librarians can help you identify and locate U.S. Government publications. For a comprehensive description and discussion of administrative and legislative materials, including GPO Access, see the Administrative Law and Legislative History research guides on the Law Library Publications page.
LexisNexis Shepard's BriefCheck and Brief Suite
LexisNexis Shepard's BriefCheck is a Web-based cite-checking tool that checks citations against information in the LexisNexis Shepard's Citations service and Get A Document feature. To connect, log on to the LexisNexis for Law Schools Web site. Once logged on, click on "Download Tools" in the left navigation list, then "Cite-Checking" in the side menu. At the next page, click on "Access Shepard's BriefCheck" (at bottom of page).
The system will display a 4-part "New Session" template. Here you will be asked to:
(1) Upload a document to be checked (by browsing your computer directory structure) or enter citation(s) to be checked.
(2) Specify your Shepard's, Get (ie, document delivery), Quote, Citation Content, and Report options.
(3) Review the citations and specify any revised Report options.
(4) Specify your Report Delivery options.
(5) Click on the red "Create Report" button (at bottom right).
When in Shepard's BriefCheck, also note the Session History tab (next
to "New Session" tab). Here you can access your past citation sessions. The system stores each session for approximately 84 hours after it was initiated.
LexisNexis Shepard's Brief Suite is a 4-part package of cite-checking software. It includes:
(a) Shepard's Link - retrieves Shepard's Signal indicators of legal citations, and creates links to items in LexisNexis.
(b) Shepard's CheckCite - verifies quoted case law against language in the opinion.
(c) Shepard's StyleCheck - checks citations against Bluebook or California Style Manual format.
(d) Shepard's FullAuthority - creates Table of Authorities.
If you are a faculty member or student at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, you will not be able to download to your office computer or to the computers in the Library PC Lab. You will need to download to your home computer.
To download the Shepard's Brief Suite software,
log on to the LexisNexis for Law Schools Web site. Once logged on, click on "Download Tools" in the left navigation list, then "Cite-Checking" in the side menu. At the next page, click on Download Shepard's Brief Suite (at top of page). At the next page, click on the arrow to the right of the "Software" box, select "Shepard's Brief Suite," then click on the right arrow icon to the right of the "Software" box. Then continue to follow the directions and prompts.
For additional information on Shepard's BriefCheck and Brief Suite, log on to the LexisNexis for Law Schools Web site, click on "Download Tools" in the left navigation list, then "Cite-Checking" in the side menu. You can also consult the Cite Checking with LexisNexis guide.
Westlaw WestCheck.com
WestCheck.com is a Web-based cite-checking tool that checks citations against information in the Westlaw KeyCite Citation service and Find feature. To connect, you can:
(a) Connect directly to WestCheck at https://westcheck.com
- or -
(b) Log on to the lawschool.westlaw.com Web site. Once logged on, click on "Adv. Westlaw Features" in the top blue navigation bar. At the next page, click on Westcheck.com.
The system will display an "Extract or Enter Citation(s):" template (as well as links to information about WestCheck).
Here you will be asked to upload a document to be checked (by browsing your computer directory structure) or enter citation(s) to be checked. Click on "Next" button to continue.
At the next page:
(a) Indicate what options (ie, KeyCite, Find, and Table of Authorities) you want WestCheck to use when checking the document.
(b) Select KeyCite options for cases and statutes.
(c) Select report format and display/delivery options.
(d) Enter your Westlaw password and a client ID.
(e) Click on the purple "Go" button (at bottom right).
You can also download the WestCheck software. However, if you are a faculty member or student at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, you will not be able to download
to your office computer or to the computers in the Library PC Lab. You will need to download to your home computer.
To download the WestCheck software, connect to the Thomson West Web site. Once connected, click on "Products & Services" in the top navigation bar. At the next page, click on "Software Downloads" in the left navigation area. At the next page, under "Utilities for Westlaw Users" and "WestCheck.com," click on "Get the software now." At the next page, click on "Get this version of WestCheck." Then continue to follow the directions and prompts.
For additional information on WestCheck.com, connect to the Thomson West Software Download Center Web site.
Citations in Materials of Other Disciplines
As with legal citations, for citations in materials of other disciplines use Scholar or Journal Finder to find a print or electronic copy of a journal or book.
CSU also subscribes to Index to Legal Periodicals and Books on WilsonWeb, which also allows one to search electronic versions of education and social sciences periodical indexes, as well as links out to full text articles.
You may need to consult a print periodical index on select occasions, such as when verifying pre-1980 citations. The CSU University Library has scores of print periodical indexes, including Chemical Abstracts (QD 1 .A51; 1907- ), Education Index (Z 5813 .A22; 1929- ), Religion Index (Z 7753 .A5; 1977- ), Science Citation Index (Z 7401 .S365; 1961- ), and Social Sciences Citation Index (Z 7161 .A3; 1969- ).
If the CSU libraries do not have the journal or newspaper in which your article is published, try to verify your journal article citation by using LexisNexis, Westlaw, an OhioLINK resource, or a periodical index.
LexisNexis and Westlaw include thousands of full-text journals, periodicals, and newspapers in a wide variety of disciplines.
LexisNexis includes source files in over 50 topical areas of law; business, medical, and statistical source files; as well as hundreds of news source files.
Westlaw includes includes databases in over 40 topical areas of law; medical, social sciences, and statistical databases; as well as scores of business and news databases.
OhioLINK has many resources to aid non-law article citation checking.
The OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center includes over 6,400 full-text journals in a wide variety of disciplines.
The OhioLINK Research Databases cover numerous academic areas and disciplines. For example, its Medicine and Health databases include MEDLINE (1950- ), Biological Abstracts (1980- ), CINAHL (Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, 1982- ), PsycINFO (1872- ), and Science Citation Index (1980- ).
WorldWideWeb Resources
If you do not have an exact URL (ie, Web site address) for a Web site, use a WorldWideWeb Search Engine such as Google or ClustyVivisimo to try to connect to the site. See the Web Searching guide for a comprehensive review of Web search principles and search engines.
Remember that Web sites change over time. You may have a citation to an item on a Web site that no longer exists. The Internet Archive may help you to verify such items.
Law Library Contacts
Cleveland State Law Review and Journal of Law and Health Law Library Liaisons:
Amy Burchfield, Access & Faculty Services Librarian amy.burchfield@law.csuohio.edu
Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian
laura.ray@law.csuohio.edu
Interlibrary Loan:
Tom Hurray tom.hurray@law.csuohio.edu
Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian
Marie Rehmar, Head of Research Services
March 2008 |