Step 5: Searching for Unpublished Articles
The publication process takes a long time—sometimes a year or more—so it's important to search for articles on your topic that have already been written but not yet published. SSRN and bepress are the best sources for unpublished articles and working papers:
- Social Science Research Network (SSRN) This link opens in a new windowTry starting with a broad keyword search, then use the "Search Within Results" search box to narrow your results.
- bepress Legal Repository This link opens in a new windowTry both a keyword search and browsing by "Subject Areas" to find articles on your topic.
- Google ScholarUseful for finding conference papers and other grey literature that is not published in article databases.
Searching for Conferences & Workshops
Check the Legal Scholarship Blog for conferences, workshops, and calls for papers on your topic. You may find that a law journal is hosting an entire symposium on your topic, or a law professor is currently researching your topic. This will alert you to potential preemption issues that may crop up down the road.
- Legal Scholarship Blog This link opens in a new windowUse the search box (top right corner) or browse the subjects listed under "Categories" to find conferences related to your topic.
Searching for Blog Posts
Search for law blog posts on your topic. While a blog post cannot preempt a scholarly article or paper on the same topic, it can help you identify scholars who are interested in your topic. You can then review their published and unpublished works, and set alerts to receive notification of their future publications.
- Justia BlawgSearchSort by date, instead of relevance, to see the most recent posts on your topic. If you get too many results with a keyword search, try browsing the subjects listed under "Categories."
