Primary Sources
Legal rules enacted by authorized state authorities, whether by substantive legislation or subsidiary legislation. Primary sources state the law as it is, in its original form and have binding force on persons, groups, institutions, and other entities statutorily subject to their provisions.
Secondary Sources
Commentaries on or analyses of the primary sources. Secondary sources do not have binding force but can have persuasive force in influencing legal decisions, particularly court opinions and legislative actions.
Doctrinal Research
Library-based legal research that focuses on analyzing legal texts, principles, and theories without empirical data collection.
Non-Doctrinal Research
Legal research that incorporates empirical methods, often involving fieldwork and data collection beyond library resources.
Footnote
A note at the bottom of a page that provides source information for text in the main body, indicated by a superscript number in the text.
Bibliography
The systematic listing of published works consulted—books, journals, magazines, newspapers, theses, dissertations, etc.—arranged in alphabetical order containing information such as author, title, volume/edition, publisher, and year of publication.
Ibid.
From Latin "ibidem" meaning "in the same place." Used to repeat a citation that has been made in the immediately preceding footnote, provided there is no intervening footnote.
Cross-referencing
A method of referring back to earlier footnotes using the format (n...) where "n" stands for "note" and the number indicates the footnote where the information was first cited.
Superscript
A number that appears slightly above the normal line of text, used in legal writing to indicate a footnote reference.
Citation Signal
A number that appears in the text (called a superscript number or citation indicator) inserted just after quoted information or after the name of an author who has expressed an idea.
Abstract
A concise summary of a research paper, thesis, or dissertation. For undergraduate essays, it should not exceed 200-350 words; for master's dissertations, 400-500 words.
Preliminaries
The initial sections of a research document that precede the main chapters, typically including title page, declaration, certification, dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, list of cases, list of statutes, list of abbreviations, and abstract.
Literature Review
A critical analysis of published sources on a specific topic, demonstrating the researcher's knowledge of the field and how their research fits into the existing body of knowledge.
Methodology
The principles, strategies, and theoretical and philosophical frameworks that guide the researcher in gathering, analyzing, and presenting data/information.
Scope and Limitation
The boundaries of a research study, including geographical coverage, content coverage, and subject matter coverage, as well as the constraints or challenges encountered in conducting the research.
Law Report
A published collection of judicial decisions or case law, organized by year, volume, and sometimes part numbers.
Journal
A scholarly publication containing articles written by academics, practitioners, or other experts in a particular field.
Monograph
A detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it, typically published as a book.
Peer-reviewed Journal
A scholarly publication where submitted articles are evaluated by experts in the field before being accepted for publication.
Conference Proceeding
A collection of academic papers presented at a professional association meeting or conference.
NALT
Nigerian Association of Law Teachers, the professional body for law teachers in Nigeria.
NALT's Blue Book
The colloquial name for the NALT Uniform Format and Citation Guide, which provides standardized formats for legal research writing and citation in Nigeria.
OSCOLA
Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, one of the foreign citation styles that influenced the development of the NALT citation guide.
MLA
Modern Language Association style, one of the foreign citation styles that influenced the development of the NALT citation guide.
APA
American Psychological Association style, a citation style mentioned in the NALT guide as using endnotes for compiling reference materials.