LibGuides: Researching Latin American Law: Databases

About

The UIC law library and the UIC libraries system subscribe to a number of commercial databases that offer coverage of Latin America. These databases are listed below, and at right. UIC users will need to submit their NetID and password to gain access to these resources from off campus.

Dissertations & Theses

Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest)

Often overlooked by academic legal researchers, dissertations and theses contain exhaustive research and extensive bibliographies. The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database currently includes citations to over two million dissertations and theses from 1861 forward, and full-text access to over one million of these citations. The database's coverage is global, with numerous law-related papers available to download in PDF format. Searches may be conducted in various fields, such as title, author, citation and abstract, and degree awarded.

For open-access dissertations and theses, see:

DART-Europe E-theses Portal

Open Access Theses and Dissertations

Red de Repositorios Latinoamericanos

Tesis de Posgraduado Universidad de Buenos Aires

Theses Canada

Subscription Databases (Law)

Most of the law-related databases listed below are available through the law library's website via the "Subscription Databases" link.

Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World
This title has been a staple in the area of foreign legal research for more than a decade. Included are brief overviews of the legal systems of over 170 jurisdctions, as well as lists of each jurisdiction's codes, court reports, and other significant legal literature.
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books includes coverage of 850+ legal journals, law reviews, yearbooks, institutes, bar association publications, university publications, and government publications. Available in HeinOnline.
LexisNexis
In LexisAdvance, go to the "International" tab, and then select individual countries. Various Mexican federal and state laws are included, for example.
Westlaw
For law school subscribers, in Westlaw Precision, go to "Content Types," then "News," then "International," then "Latin America." There are also materials under "Content Types," then "International Materials."
World Constitutions Illustrated (via HeinOnline)
Although this database focuses on links to the texts of foreign constitutions (many in English translation), the texts of monographs, relevant law review articles, and historical documents are also included.

Subscription Databases (Non-Law)

For a complete list of interdisciplinary databases with coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean, see the UIC Daley Library's electronic research guide on " Latin American & Latino Studies."

ABI/Inform Global
International in scope, ABI/Inform Global is a searchable database of business journals, online business news, and financial newspapers. The database currently covers over 3,000 publications, with more than 2,000 available in full text.
Academic Search Complete
This is a popular interdiscliplinary database that indexes over 8,000 publications--the majority of which are available in full text.
Business Source Complete
This database includes the full texts of over 2,150 journals that collectively cover all business disciplines, as well as economics. Detailed country and company profiles are also offered. Coverage is international.
Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCO)
This database offers abstracting of over 200 criminal justice publications, as well as the full texts. Some monographs are also included, and the coverage is international.
EconLit with Full Text
EconLit is a database of journals, books, and working papers in the field of Economics. Coverage is international.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI Online)
According to the database description, HAPI Online contains "authoritative, worldwide information about Central and South America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States." The database is primarily an index (over 500 publications are included), but links to full text are provided when available.
JSTOR
JSTOR is a popular interdisciplinary database with scanned images of academic journals. JSTOR includes a number of publications that specifically focus on topics related to Latin American Studies.
Medline through OVID
Medline is a large database (1950-forward) with international coverage of medical literature,
Project MUSE
Project Muse is an interdisciplinary database of over 200 full-text academic journals.
Women and Social Movements International, 1840-Present
Collection of primary materials. Through the writings of women activists, their personal letters and diaries, and the proceedings of conferences at which pivotal decisions were made, this collection lets you see how women’s social movements shaped much of the events and attitudes that have defined modern life.
WorldWide Political Science Abstracts, 1975-Current
This database offers citations, abstracts, and indexing of political science literature, and related fields. Coverage is international.

Newspapers

Newspapers may be extremely helpful when researching Latin American legal topics. Westlaw and LexisNexis both have good coverage of U.S., international, and foreign newspapers. See also the subscription Access World News database for full-text access to newspapers. A historical archive of English and Spanish-language newspapers published in Latin America is available through the World Newspaper Archive. For a complete list of UIC databases that include news and newspapers, see this linked list.

See also under "Blogs & Current Awareness" within the "Web Resources" tab for additional ideas on current awareness sources.