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Self Paced Lesson - Case Law - Subject Guide: 10: Source Cases on a Topic

 

NOTICE: This guide is currently under review, with a new guide to be launched before Semester 1, 2025. In the meantime, please direct any queries or feedback about this guide to the Library's Digital Experience via our Enquiry and Feedback form.

 

Cases on a topic are best found by using Advanced Search templates.

Search words describing a topic, catchwords, an existing case, or piece of legislation can be used as the starting point for searching for cases on a topic.

Key or significant cases on a topic can be identified using tertiary materials.

Further research can then be conducted using Advanced Search on the databases.

Boolean Connectors

Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
For example:

  • "native title" AND "title to land" 
  • "native title" /10 "title to land"
  • "native title" OR "title to land" 

Proximity limiters:

/25 = words within the same sentence

/75 = words within the same paragraph

More details on Creating a Search String and using Boolean Connectors is on the Law Subject Guide.

Source cases on a topic in Lexis Advance

Lexis Advance can be accessed via the link on the Law Subject Guide homepage. 

Advanced Search

Task: Source cases on native title

CaseBase Cases Search

Task: Source cases on native title

Step 1:

Select Advanced Search - Cases

CaseBase is a case citator and annotator covering over 100 Pacific and international report series, journals and unreported decisions from all major Australian and New Zealand courts and selected tribunals. Not everything is available in full text, as CaseBase includes resources from other databases. Case entries include case details (name, date decided, judges, court and citation), parallel citations which can be used in other databases to access full text.

Step 1:

Locate CaseBase Cases within the Publications panel on the home page.

Click on the dropdown arrow.

Select Go to Advanced Search

Step 2:

Enter search terms in the Terms search box.

You can be quite sophisticated in how you combine your terms in this box.
Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
For example:

  • "native title" AND "title to land" results in around150 cases
  • "native title" /10 "title to land" results in around 70 cases
  • "native title" OR "title to land" finds around 6000 cases

Look at the Use Connectors panel on the right-had side of the Advanced Search screen  to see how to combine your terms.

Step 2:

Enter search terms in the Terms search box.

You can be quite sophisticated in how you combine your terms in this box.
Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
For example:

  • "native title" AND "title to land" results in around 10 cases
  • "native title" /10 "title to land" results in around 5 cases
  • "native title" OR "title to land" finds around 2800 cases

Look at the Use Connectors panel on the right-had side of the Advanced Search screen  to see how to combine your terms.

Step 3:

Look at the other Search Fields options

  • Consider using the Jurisdiction and Court check boxes to limit your search
  • Consider using catchwords (used for subject analysis ) from a case you may have already sourced
    • use these terms, or consider using as synonyms or alternatives to the terms you already have

CaseBase does not have a structured linked catchwords/digest system.
You therefore need to carefully review the catchwords they use for subject analysis to see if there are alternative terms you could use which would be useful in your research.

Step 4:

  1. Results can be filtered by
  • Content Type
  • Jurisdiction
  • Court
  • Timeline
  • Publication
  • Legal Topics

Find References to this Case is a link on the right-hand side of the screen under About This Document - this might prove useful.

Look to see if there is a heading Publications referring to this case to take you to journal articles about the case you found.

The Help tab at the top right of the screen links to tutorials that might advance your understanding of how to make best use of this database.

Step 5:

Note the tabs along the top.
Results default to open on Cases.
However, the search has also given results in each of the tabs:

  • Legislation
  • Secondary Materials
  • Forms & Precedents
  • Guidance

  

 

Source cases on a topic in Westlaw Australia

Westlaw Advance can be accessed via the link on the Law Subject Guide.  

Global Search

Task: Source cases on native title

Key Number Search

Task: Source cases on native title

Step 1:

Search terms: enter your terms in the Global Search box

You can be quite sophisticated in how you combine your terms in this box.
Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
For example:

  • "native title" AND "title to land" results in around 130 cases
  • "native title" /10 "title to land" results in around 60 cases
  • "native title" OR "title to land" finds around 3500 cases

Select the Search Tips link to see how to combine your terms.

Westlaw's Key Number System identifies and indexes legal concepts so you can find cases stating or applying a legal concept.

Step 1:

Select Content type Key Numbers

Step 2:

Select Cases from the Content type list

OR

View All  link in the Results list

Step 2:

Select 

    

Step 3:

Results can be filtered by:

  +  Jurisdiction (this includes courts)

  +  Date

  +  Reported Status

  +  Practice Area

 

 

Step 3:

Navigate down the list of Key Numbers to section 

         Key Number Symbol 7-19 Native title

 

Step 4:

Select

         Key Number Symbol 8 Recognition

Note: more than one Key Number can be selected
 

Step 5:

Results can be filtered by:

Key Number

Jurisdiction

Date

 

Source cases on a topic in AustLII.

AustLII can be accessed via the link on the Law Subject Guide.  

  1. Open AustLII.
  2. Click on the drop down button; select From the Advanced Search... 

  1. Uncheck Select the database(s) to search... to clear the selections
  2. Check the box for All Case Law Databases
  3. Select the tab above the Search box for Boolean Query
  4. Search terms: enter your terms in the Terms search box.
    You can be quite sophisticated in how you combine your terms in this box.
    Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
    For example:
    • "native title" AND "title to land" results in around 600 cases
    • "native title" W/10 "title to land" results in around 500 cases
    • "native title" OR "title to land" finds around 10,000 cases

Select the User Guides link to see how to combine your terms.

  1. Results can be sorted:
  • By relevance
  • By Citation Frequency
  • By Database
  • By Date
  • By Title
  1. If you want to do an initial search for everything on a topic in AustLII, use the the search box on the Westlaw AU home page.
  2. Results can then be filtered By Database to access different legal materials

 

The User Guides link to the right of the screen links to tutorials that might advance your understanding of how to make best use of this database.

Source cases on a topic in CCH iKnowConnect

Search All Content

  1. Open CCH iKnowConnect
  2. Enter your terms in the Terms search box
  3. You can be quite sophisticated in how you combine your terms in this box.
    Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, or use proximity connectors.
    For example:
  • "native title" AND "title to land" results in around 15 cases 
  • "native title" W/10 "title to land" results in 1 case
  • "native title" OR "title to land" finds around 1,300 cases

Select the Search icon from the navigation pane on the left to see the Boolean Connectors and how to combine your terms.

 

  1. Results can be filtered:
  • by Document Type
    • Cases
    • CCH Commentary
    • Finding Aids
    • Introduction
    • Legislation
    • News
    • Practice Tools
    • Roadmaps
    • Rulings and releases
  • by Library
  • by Topic
  • by Jurisdiction
  1. expand by Document Type
  2. Select Cases 
  3. Filter these Results by Topic

Note: CCH iKnowConnect is primarily a Commentary database.

The Help button at the top of the screen links to tutorials that might advance your understanding of how to make best use of this database.

Search Content Within a Topic

  1. Open CCH iKnowConnect
  2. Select the briefcase icon for Your practice areas
  3. Expand the list by clicking on the v
  4. Browse the list for the relevant practice area
  5. Expand the list by clicking on the v beside the relevant heading  (e.g. Tax administration and compliance)
  6. Select from
    • Commentary
    • Legislation
    • Cases 
    • Regulatory resources
  7. Enter your terms in the Terms search box

Note: CCH iKnowConnect is primarily a Commentary database.

The Help button at the top of the screen links to tutorials that might advance your understanding of how to make best use of this database.

Source cases on a topic in Jade

  1. Open the Jade
  2. Free text searching: Enter your terms in the search box. If you don't put any Boolean connectors in your search the default will be to combine them with AND.
    • "native title" "title to land" has the same results as "native title" AND "title to land"
    • "native title" OR "title to land" has many more results
  3. You can use quotation marks to indicate a phrase
  4. Browse the results list utilising the Excerpt, Summary and Miniviewer tabs (located to the right of each Results record) to aid in selection
  5. Results can be further filtered by:
    • date
    • collection (court, legislation, etc.)
    • search within by keywords
  6. When you have found a useful result list you can click through to each case summary, and in many instances, to the full text of the case.
  7. Select a case
  8. Select the Focus matches button (located on the left of screen) 
  • this extracts parts of the judgment which satisfies the search string, making determining the relevance of a case quicker and easier

 

Subjects: Law, Research