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International Team Project: China Research Checklist

Introduction

This is a selective list of resources prepared for students participating in International Team Project: China at Northwestern Law in the Spring 2005 semester.

Also use the Conduct Research portion of the law library web site. In particular, see the Foreign and Comparative and International sections.

Note: the law library does not collect materials in Chinese (unless included in a bilingual work). However, many Chinese language sources are available online. Materials in this checklist are primarily in English, unless otherwise noted.

Contents

Key to call number locations:

  • I,REF = international reference area, 3rd floor of Rubloff
  • R,REF = reference room, 2nd floor of Rubloff
  • REF = shelving area under grand staircase, 2nd floor of Rubloff
  • D,USG = government documents shelving area, 3rd floor of Rubloff
  • I,MON = international and comparative law books, 3rd floor of Rubloff
  • I,PER = international periodicals, 2nd floor Rubloff
  • Asia Chin = the old call number for China, located on the basement level of the Coon Library (limited materials). Closed stacks, see librarian for assistance.
  • N,HCP = the new location symbol for China, located on the third floor of the Rubloff building.

General Country Information

  • Europa World Year Book I,REF JN 1 .E84 2004

    Information on China Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community also available on the online version.

  • Political Handbook of the World I,REF JF 37 .P63 2005/2006
  • World Factbook I,REF G 122 .U56a 2004

    Also available via the Internet (see China).

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica R,REF AE 5 .E363 2002

    Information on China also available through Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community .

  • The Economist Intelligence Unit provides reports on business conditions in China Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community .
  • The U.S. Dept. of State provides background notes on China.
  • China: A Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; edited by Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan, 1988. (An excellent series, but note publication date.)

    Asia Chin 41 C539 1988

Asian Studies web sites and Databases

  • Asia-Studies Full-Text Online. Full-text reports on business, government, economic, and social issues in the area of modern Asia-Pacific studies, from regional research institutions.
  • Bibliography of Asian Studies Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community . From the Association for Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. Western language articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971, on all subjects, especially in the humanities and social sciences.

Governmental web sites of the People's Republic of China

Laws and Legal System

Introductions/Research Guides/Links:

  • The Legal System of the People's Republic of China in a Nutshell, by Daniel C. K. Chow (2003) (West Nutshell Series)

    N,HCP KNQ 68 .C46 2003 (ON RESERVE)

  • Chinese Law and Legal Research, by Wei Luo (2005). An excellent, comprehensive discussion of Chinese legal research in its broader context. Note: among other useful features, includes a bibliography of books published in English since 1979 on the Chinese legal system and legal reform.

    N,HCP KNQ 47 .L86 2005

  • A Complete Research Guide to the Laws of the People's Republic of China (PRC), by Wei Luo and Joan Liu (2003).
  • Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World Must be used within Northwestern Law buildings by Reynolds and Flores. For each country, includes background on the legal system and legal publication, as well as citations to laws on particular topics and English language translations. An indispensable source for foreign law research.

    Also available in print; shelved in office of Foreign and International Law Librarian. Online version is more current and includes links.

  • Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia.
    China: Vol. 1, pages 296-301

    I,REF K 48 .L44 2002

  • Law and Judicial Systems of Nations. World Jurist Association.
    China: pages 103-106

    I,REF K 583 .L375 2002

  • "The Legal System of China" by Marut Bunnag and Preben A.F. Aakesson, in Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia, volume 9.

    I,REF K 48 .M62 1988

  • China Law Digest, in Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest. Digest of various areas of substantive law, especially useful for company, corporate, and tax law.

    I,REF K 68 .M37

    Also available on LexisNexis Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community (INTDIG file)

  • Guide to Law Online (Law Library of Congress)
  • World Legal Information Institute: China
  • Law links from China WWW Virtual Library--Internet Guide for Chinese Studies (Click on "general")
  • Annual Review of Population Law Abstracts of laws, sometimes full-text, in the area of family law.

    I,PER K 1 .N584

  • The Constitution of the People's Republic of China, 1982 (as amended to 1999) is reprinted in Constitutions of the Countries of the World, vol. 18.

    I,MON K 3157 .A2B58 1971 v.4

    Also available electronically Must be used within Northwestern Law buildings (Search for "China" in "Location" box)

Legislation -- Online Sources:

  • isinolaw Must be used within Northwestern Law buildings Database of Chinese law. Includes "most authoritative English translation of statutes, judicial interpretations, cases, arbitration awards and other legal matters." Note: in the English version, only translated documents are listed. [Chinese and English]
  • China Law and Practice Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Published by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC; Includes texts of new legislation. Available from ABI Inform (ProQuest). July 2002- [English and Chinese.]
  • English translations of selected laws are available from the governmental web sites listed above.

Legislation -- Print Sources:

  • China Laws for Foreign Business. Business Regulation. Published by CCH Asia/Pacific. [Chinese and English.] N,HCP KNQ 914 1993 vols. 1-4
  • The 1997 Criminal Code of the People's Republic of China / with English translation and introduction by Wei Luo (1998)

    N,HCP KNQ 3794 .31997 .A6L6 1998

Court System and Case Law

Research Centers

Periodicals, current awareness

  • China Law Update. Articles on legal developments; texts of selected legislation; digests of legislations. Published by CCH Hong Kong, Limited. (1998-2003) [Chinese and English]

    N,HCP K 3 .H4725

    Title changed to China Legal Watch (2004-)

    N,HCP K 3 .H4733

  • China Law. Bimonthly magazine published in Hong Kong by China Law Services (H. K.) Ltd., "The Hong Kong incorporated window company of the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China towards the outside world..." Articles on legal issues, notices of new laws, full-text of some laws. [English and Chinese]

    N,HCP K 3 .H749

Finding Books on China

  • Szladits' Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in EnglishThrough the supplement for 1989-90 it provided references to books, journal articles, and essays published in collections, in English. It included a section citing to the texts of laws (including constitutions) in translation, published in both books and articles. This index now covers only books, not periodical articles. Statutes are now usually excluded.

    I,REF K 38 .S94 1955 and supplements

    I,REF K 38 .S94 1990

    I,REF K 38 .S94 1995/1996

    I,REF K 38 .S94 1997/1998

  • To find books at Northwestern University:NUcat, the catalog of Northwestern University libraries, provides various ways to find books on a topic. These include searching by keyword (for which there are several methods) and searching by subject (using Library of Congress subject headings).

    (Note: NUcat can be used to find out whether the library owns a particular periodical, but it is not used for finding articles within periodicals; for this, you use a periodical indx, described in the following section.)"Guided Search" tab: It is sometimes easiest to start with a "guided" search, using words or phrases that are likely to appear in the record for a relevant book. From the NUcat screen, click on the "Guided Search" tab. Guided searches allow you to search for words or phrases in specific parts of the bibliographic record (e.g., author, title, subject) or as keywords; to use connectors (e.g., and, or); and to limit your search (e.g., by location, date, language). The search screen is set up in such a way as to guide you through the search formulation process and minimize the amount of typing. Searching in "keyword anywhere" is usually the best. For example, to search on human rights in China, you might try:

    Search for: china, select "all of these," search in "keyword anywhere"

    AND

    Search for: human rights, "select "as a phrase," search in "keyword anywhere"

    "Search" tab: Keyword searching is also available under the "Search" tab by clicking on "keyword search" or "keyword phrase search." You must formulate and type in the search, both terms and connector, yourself. An example of a "Keyword" searches is:
    China and (law? or legal)
    Once you have found a relevant book, you can look at the record in "long view" to find the Library of Congress subject headings for the book. You can then do a subject search by clicking on the link. This will sometimes retrieve additional relevant books that were not found by the keyword search. You may also do a subject heading search from the "Search" tab by choosing "Subject Heading." An example of a Library of Congress subject heading is:
    Constitutional history--China
    Note: Materials on the law of a particular country on a particular subject might be found either in books devoted to the jurisdiction or in materials devoted to the subject. An example of a work classified (i.e., shelved) by jurisdiction is:

    Understanding China's legal system : essays in honor of Jerome A. Cohen N,HCP KNQ 74 .U54 2003

    Examples of books and looseleaf services, etc., on a specific subject, which include discussion of more than one jurisdiction:
    Constitutions of the Countries of the World I,MON K 3157 .A2B58 1971-Copyright Laws and Treaties of the World I,MON K 1419.2 1956-Digest of Commercial Laws of the World I,MON K 1005.4 .D54 1996-International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations I,MON K1705.4 .I58
  • To find books at other libraries: WorldCat Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community This international database contains records from thousands of libraries.I-ShareThis database contains records for many Illinois libraries.

    The library catalogs of many other institutions may be accessed via our law library catalogs and homepages page.

Finding Articles: Legal Topics

  • LegalTrac Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Current Law Index R,REF K 33 .C87 LexisNexis Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community : Legal Resource Index (LAWREV;LGLIND)Westlaw: Legal Resource Index (LRI) Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community The most comprehensive periodical index for U.S. legal research, this index, which began in 1980, can also be used to find articles on international and comparative law topics. It covers more than 850 journals from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia.
  • Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (ILP) Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community R,REF K 33 .I5342

    A bibliographic database that cites articles from legal periodicals and indexes law books. Indexes periodicals from United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Also indexes university publications, yearbooks, institutes, and government publications. Subjects covered include international law. Dates covered: 1981 to present; ILP Retro (searchable alone or in combination with ILP) covers periodical articles 1918-1981.

  • Current Index to Legal Periodicals (most recent five issues) Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Current Index to Legal Periodicals R,REF K33 .C865Westlaw Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community : CILP database (most recent eight issues)

    A current awareness service, published weekly by the University of Washington law library. More up-to-date than LegalTrac.

  • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals I,REF K 33 .I529

    This index, which began in 1960, covers more than 550 selected legal periodicals, most of which are published outside of the United States, as well as collections of essays, dealing with international law (both public and private), comparative law, and the domestic law of countries worldwide. It does not attempt to cover the legal systems of the United States, the British Isles, and the British Commonwealth. The web version covers 1985 onward.

  • Asian Law OnlineFrom the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne, this database is "a collection of English language materials on Asian laws available throughout the world and includes books, chapters in books, journal articles and theses. It does not include newspapers, magazines, conference papers or unpublished articles."

Finding Articles, Papers, Proceedings, etc.: Non-Legal Topics

Note: The following is a selective list of useful finding aids. For a complete list of finding aids available at Northwestern, see the University Library's Electronic Resources database.

  • Bibliography of Asian Studies Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community From the Association for Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. Western language articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971, on all subjects, especially in the humanities and social sciences.
  • China Academic Journals Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Most materials indexed are in Chinese.
  • PAIS International (1972 - present) Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community and PAIS International Archive (1937-1976) Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community PAIS International in Print REF Z 7163 .P9223

    Published by Public Affairs Information Service. Indexes and abstracts public and social policy literature published in over 120 countries. Includes such areas as economics, finance, law, education, the military, political science, public administration, international law and relations, the environment, and demography. The materials indexed include journal articles, books, reports of governmental, private, and intergovernmental organizations, statistical directories, research reports, conference reports, selected microfiche, and selected Internet resources originally published in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

  • CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Citations, abstracts, and selected full-text articles covering topics in international affairs, collected largely from university- and foundation-funded research institutes, non-governmental organizations, and academic conferences. Includes working papers, conference proceedings, journal and book abstracts, and links to related resources.
  • OxResearch Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Short articles by Oxford Analytica in the areas of business and management, economics, and political science.
  • EXAC (Expanded Academic ASAP) Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community An online index to articles in more than 1,000 periodicals covering the social sciences, the humanities, the sciences, and current affairs.
  • Web of Science Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Contains three individual databases, which may be searched separately or simultaneously: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts and Humanities Citation Index. Social Sciences Citation Index covers anthropology, history, industrial relations, law, linguistics, psychology, psychiatry, political science, public health, social issues, sociology, substance abuse, urban studies, women's studies.
  • International Bibliography of the Social Sciences Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Citations from an international selection of publications, including over 2600 journals, in all areas of the social sciences with emphasis on economics, political science, sociology and anthropology. Information for this database is compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
  • FirstSearch Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Includes a number of databases that index articles, papers, and proceedings in a variety of subject areas. A few of the individual databases are listed below:
    • ArticleFirst Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Index of articles from 12,500 journals in business, the humanities, social sciences, popular culture, science, technology, and medicine, from 1990 onwards. Some entries have abstracts; some have full-text.
    • ProceedingsFirst Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Index of conference proceedings.
    • Wilson Select Plus Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Citations, abstracts, and full-text articles from over 850 periodicals indexed in Reader's Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, General Science Abstracts, and Wilson Business Abstracts, 1994- .

Finding Dissertations

Dissertations Abstracts database. "Citations and abstracts for doctoral dissertations, and some master's theses, from accredited North American colleges and universities and some international universities." Available from the following:

  • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Entries for more than 2 million doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. More than 600,000 dissertations and theses are available in native or image PDF formats for immediate free download.
  • Dissertations Abstracts OnlineWestlaw (DAO) Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community

Finding Statistics

(see also "General Country Information," above, and web sites of International Organizations)
  • LexisNexis Statistical Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community Indexes statistical information from a variety of sources, including the United States government, research firms, trade associations, university studies, and international agencies.
  • NationMaster.com: China. Comparative statistics from authoritative information sources.
  • OFFStats: Official Statistics on the Web. From the University of Auckland Library, this site "lists web sites offering free and easily accessible social, economic and general data from official or similar 'quotable' sources, especially those that provide both current data and time series."

News: General, Legal, and Business

International Business Resources

  • See our web site's International Trade, Business, and Economic Law page.
  • ABI/INFORM Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community Business and management index. Citations and abstracts of articles from more than 1,300 journals, including over 350 English-language international sources. Full-text articles from over 600 selected sources.Westlaw Available from anywhere to members of the Northwestern Law community : ABI-INFORM (ABI/Inform (R) (DIALOG)) and ABI-INFORM Current (ABI/Inform (R) - Current (DIALOG))
  • Business Source Premier Available from anywhere to all members of the Northwestern University community "[P]rovides nearly 3,300 full-text scholarly publications, including more than 1,000 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to the full-text, this database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 4,100 journals. This database offers information in nearly every area of business including management, economics, finance, accounting, international business, and more."
  • GlobalEDGE (TM) Resource Desk. Michigan State University.

Regional and International Organizations

Note: China may not be a member of all the organizations listed below. However, these web sites can often be good sources of information about China.

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