Name the three broad categories of published legal resources.

• A. The three broad categories are primary sources; secondary sources; and index, search and finding tools.
• B. The three broad categories are primary sources; secondary sources; and case law.
• C. The three broad categories are statutes; regulations; and case law.
• D. The three broad categories are federal sources; state sources; and international sources.

Answer: (A)

Three broad categories of published legal resources are primary sources, secondary sources, and index, search and finding tools. Primary sources are the actual laws and official decisions that establish legal rules—things like statutes, regulations, and court opinions. They are the binding material you would cite in legal work. Secondary sources provide interpretation, commentary, and explanation of those primary materials—treatises, law reviews, practice guides, and encyclopedias help you understand how the law works and how it’s applied. The third category covers the means to locate both primary and secondary materials—indexes, digests, bibliographies, catalogs, and online databases or search tools that help you find what you need.

Other options mix types of content or focus on jurisdiction rather than describing these three broad groups, so they don’t capture the full framework for organizing published legal resources.