Non-traditional secondary sources are published in a less formal way than traditional sources like encyclopedias, articles, and treatises.
Examples described on this page include:
Non-traditional secondary sources do not typically follow a rigorous publication process. But this means that they are often much more current than traditional secondary sources, which can lag behind the law by months or years after they have gone through peer review, editing, or other quality control measures.
This trade-off means that non-traditional sources have great value as a research tool—especially if your research topic is a recent development in the law—but must be used with caution due to high variation in quality.
When looking for non-traditional sources, researchers need to use their critical evaluation skills to gauge whether information is current, accurate, and authoritative. The following resources provide guidance on how to evaluate sources:
Many lawyers, legal practitioners, and academics author law blogs that can easily be found online. In addition, many law firms publish regular updates or news letters in their area of specialty.
►See the list of Access Points: Law Blogs and Updates on this page.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) resources include conference materials, presentations, and seminar papers. They can also be referred to as Continuing Legal Education (CLE) materials.
These useful resources tend to be educational in nature, as they aim to equip lawyers and paralegals with information on a particular legal topic or an emerging area of law.
Resources from professional associations can typically be found on associations' websites or in their library catalogues.
►See the list of Access Points: CPD Materials on this page.
Grey literature refers to materials produced outside traditional publishing and distribution channels. This means that it is not controlled by commercial publishers, nor does it go through a peer review process. Rather, grey literature is produced by different groups like organizations, governments, and NGOs.
►See our Grey Literature guide for more information.
With the introduction of generative AI tools to legal research platforms, researchers are starting to use genAI as a starting point for learning about the law and finding relevant primary sources—in effect, they are using it as a secondary source.
While this is a rapidly developing area, there are some major caveats for using AI-generated content as a secondary source. We will explore this more in the next chapter.