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Self Paced Lesson - Case Law - Subject Guide: 11: Source Journal Articles on a Case

 

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.

Source Articles in Lexis Advance using CaseBase

CaseBase records for a case also include links to Publications referring to this case, which lists the journal articles that make reference to the particular case at which you are looking.

If the article is on Lexis Advance you can click on the blue underlined citation to go straight to the article (clicking on the article title will take you to the CaseBase Journal Articles entry). If the article is not available here you should:

  1. Click on the article title to open the article record. This will give you an indication of how useful it will be to you.
  2. If you decide you need to read the article click on the Help button at the top right of the screen to find the name of the journal that the abbreviation represents.
  3. Open the Library Catalogue to see if the journal is in the Library or can be linked to online. Work through with your citation to find the article.

Source articles using Westlaw Australia Global Search

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

Task: Source articles on the case 

Step 1:

Search terms: enter your terms in the Global Search box

You can search by party names or citation

Step 1:

Step 2:

Select Secondary Sources from the drop down menu for Citing References

 

Step 2:

Step 3:

Results can be filtered by:

  +  Date

  +  Publication Name

  + Publication Type

 

 

Step 3:

 

LawCite

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

LawCite can be accessed from the AustLII home page.

LawCite lists Law Journal Articles Referring to this case at the bottom of the results page.

You can also find articles through the search function, by using what you learnt in previous topics or, if you know the journal article or subject, by typing a phrase into the Article Title field. 

What if I can't find the Full Text of the Journal Article?

In some instances, when you search a particular database for journal articles considering a case you won't be able to access the full text of the article. However, as long as you have a citation you will be able to search the Murdoch Library Catalogue to see if you can access the full text.

You can follow the below steps to find the full text of a case or journal article when you have the citation.

Step 1:

To find the full text of a journal article, you must first determine the journal that it comes from.

Many citations for journal articles can appear like those in case law: in an abbreviated form. For example:

(2010) 17 Aust ILJ 89 for a journal

There are a number of tools that you can use to determine the meaning of an abbreviation given in such a citation. These are listed in the Legal Citation Lesson. You can use these sources to find either the unabbreviated case report series or journal title.

You can use these to find:

Aust ILJ is the abbreviation for the Australian International Law Journal

Step 2:

Once you have determined the full title of the journal, search the Library Catalogue by title.

Searching the Murdoch University Library Catalogue will show you that:

The Australian International Law Journal is held both in print and electronically

Step 3:

To find the specific article, you must extract the information you need from the citation you have been given.

  • For the journal article: (2010) 17 Aust ILJ 89
    • Locate the Journal in print or online and find the volume or volumes for the year in question, in this case 2010.
    • Find volume 17
    • Turn to page 89, or locate the article that starts on page 89.
    • You will find this article:
      • Sadhana Abayasekara, 'A Dog without a Bark: A Critical Assessment of the International Law on Language Rights' (2010) 17 Australian International Law Journal 89.

But what if Murdoch University Library doesn't hold the full text of the case or article?

If a particular book, journal article or other resource is not held in the University Library, you can request it from another library using our free services:

  • Document Delivery - allows you to request material from other libraries
  • In person - borrow books from other university libraries in Western Australia