Research Tips for BUAD 283:

Legal Environment of Business

Laura BerberianStafford Reference Librarian

lberberi@umw.edu

Business and Legal Databases:

• Access to business, financial, and legal information • Different databases will provide different information

Business Source Complete

Legal Collection

Can I use the databases from home?

jsmith

password

• You will have to log-in to the databases when off-campus

• Log in with your UMW email username and password (these are the same credentials you use to log in to Canvas)

Go to libraries.umw.edu/

Professional Studies Guide

From the “Browse by Subject” column, scroll down and select “Professional Studies”

Or, click on “All Guides” and select “Bachelor of Professional Studies”

BPS Subject Guide

• Click on the “Legal Resources” tab

• select the “LexisNexis” link

To research companies, enter a company name or ticker symbol under “Get Company Info” or select an option under the “Companies” tab to the left.

: Company Dossier Search

• Click the name of your company to find detailed business information

• Under “Company Type”, note the differences for parent vs. subsidiary, and public vs. private companies

: Company Dossier Search

: Company Dossier Results

• Use the Reports menu to locate additional information on a company

• Under “Legal,” click on “recent cases” for cases involving your company

: SEC Filings

Under the “Companies” tab, select “SEC Filings” and enter a company name or ticker symbol in the search field(s)

: Federal & State Cases

From the LexisNexis home page, under the US Legal menu, select “Federal & State Cases.”Enter your search terms in the search field(s). From the drop-down menu, you can limit your search to citation, party names, judges, attorneys, or legal topics.

: Legal Citation Results

• Enter your keywords• Use quotation marks for an exact phrase• Select the correct legal sources• Click “Search”

: Federal & State Codes

: Results List

• Full text links

• Sort by “Publication Date” or “Relevance”

• Print, email, save

• Results breakdown

• Edit searches and start new searches

• Search within your results list

• Different subject portals – business, legal, news

• Full text

• Searching:

• Boolean operators (AND, NOT, OR)

• Phrase searching – use quotation marks

• Truncation – use exclamation point (!)

• Natural Language – form of a question

• Save, print, email – in pdf, html, or word

: Search Tips

Legal Dictionaries:

• Oxford Dictionary of Law – online through the “Oxford Reference Online” database

• Black’s Law Dictionary – in print in the Stafford Campus Library (KF156 .B53 2004 REF)

Oxford Dictionary of Law• Start at the “Databases A to Z” page• Click on the letter “O”• Click “Oxford Reference Online Premium”

Oxford Reference Online

Click the Law selection

Oxford Law Sources:

• Search all of the law titles

OR• Select a

specific title to search

Interlibrary loan (ILL) – to request materials from the Simpson Library and other library systems

Create an ILL Account Make requests via online forms 20 free requests per semester 24-48 hour delivery from Simpson Library Books from Simpson Library are free $2 fee for articles located at Simpson

Go to Simpson and use your EagleOne Card

What if UMW doesn’t have what I need?

Need help? Have Questions?

Come to the Library Mondays - Thursdays 1 p.m. -

9 p.m. Fridays 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. Saturdays 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Contact the Library Staff stafflib@umw.edu 540-286-8025 IM: cgpslibrary

Set up a Research Appointment lberberi@umw.edu 540-286-8057 IM: staffordlibrarian

Served at 5:30Monday thru Thursday