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Want to browse the print book collection on jurisprudence? See the KA section in the Law Library |
This online guide highlights some of the key texts and journals you can use to support your jurisprudence research. Guidance is also provided on using Library Search and the online databases to find relevant books, articles and other full text information on jurisprudence related topics
| View the full Law Subject Guide for guidance on other legal materials |
Library Search
Search across the print and online collections for books, chapters, articles, journals and lots more.
Library Search will help you discover books, journals, articles, audio visual material and more on your chosen topic. This is a good place to start when you are beginning to research a topic as you can draw on content from a variety of different sources.
For more in depth research in databases and archives, use the A-Z Databases List.
You can search by them or topic by entering relevant search terms into the Library Search service. For example, you could try some of the following
| Jurisprudence | Feminist Jurisprudence | Sociological Jurisprudence | Law Society | Law ethics |
| Law natural | Law Philosophy | Law literature | Law Sociology | Law economics |
You can also search for materials using the name of the key jurisprudence writers / philosophers. Some examples are provided below. You can search for other philosophers by entering their name into the Library Search box above. You can also combine searching for an author and concept, for example: Hart mens rea.
| H L A Hart | Ronald Dworkin | Thomas Hobbes | John Locke | David Hume |
| Jeremy Bentham | Adam Smith | John Austin | Joseph Raz | John Rawls |
What are databases?
Research databases enable you to see what has been published in the area you are researching. They contain detailed records of thousands of journal articles, book references and conference proceedings. These records usually include the article title, authors, abstract (a brief summary), keywords (to enable your search to find it) and more.
Why should I use a database?
You will be familiar with using the Key Legal Databases for research on your other law modules.
You will also want to explore a range of non legal databases to research your jurisprudence topics. A few key resources are highlighted in the adjacent tabs.
There are many different databases. Their interfaces will all vary, and they may use different terminology.
However, they all have similar features. Once you are familiar with these, you'll be able to find your way around different databases. You can see the main features in the examples below.
This is an example of the Web of Science search screen and it is typical of a research database search interface.
Once you click the Search button, the results page appears so that you can look at materials that match your search topic.
You can browse or search the database list. The description beneath each database title indicates the content and coverage of the database.
You can select your subject from the drop down Subjects menu to see a subset of resources in that category.
The subject listings will highlight the 'core resources'; these are key databases that are likely to be of interest to anyone studying and researching in that area.
Your Subject LibGuide will also highlight recommended databases for you to explore.
You can select a database type from the drop down Types menu to see a subset of resources in that category.
For example, you may want to focus on news or official publications etc
Subject LibGuide
If you are researching across an unfamiliar subject/discipline you can use the relevant Subject LibGuide for guidance.
This will highlight recommended databases and other resources for you to explore.
This is a full-text database of selected primary source electronic editions in philosophy.
You can browse works by particular philosophers such as Aquinas, Hume and Locke. You can also search across the works on topics that interest you.
JSTOR is a valuable research resource for secondary resources. You can use it to search and find the full text of published books and journal articles.
Use the How to Search JSTOR LibGuide for an introduction to the service, or take a look at JSTOR's Vimeo channel for instructional videos.
You can browse/search for information related to law, sociology, philosophy, psychology, feminist & women's studies, plus many other subject areas.
The Philosopher’s Index™, produced by the Philosopher’s Information Center, is a current and comprehensive bibliographic database covering scholarly research in all major fields of philosophy. The Philosopher’s Index, considered the most thorough index of journal literature on the subject, features author-written abstracts covering scholarly research published in journals and books, including contributions to anthologies and book reviews. The Philosopher’s Index contains research published since 1940 including over 680 journals from more than 50 countries with content representing a variety of languages.
This video demonstrates how to use the Advanced Search function.
Web of Science is a large multidisciplinary research database covering all subject areas.
You can use it to discover the global literature on a wide range of topics. It is not a full text database, but you can use it to discover published material and follow links through to discover the full text available on other services.
University of Exeter LibGuide is licensed under CC BY 4.0
