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.
Legal Research
You MUST conduct research to source material to support your argument
- otherwise you are only writing an opinion piece. - not acceptable in legal studies
Legal Research Is Repetitive and Time Consuming
Researching for law involves creating search strings, using search words and their synonyms, linked with Boolean Connectors, then repeating searches in each legal database.
This is because the database publishers are competitors in legal research.
Each database has different content.
For example, search results from Lexis Advance will only include articles from the journals LexisNexis publishes.
Articles from journals their competitor, Westlaw Australia, publishes will not be included in search results.
So you will have to repeat your search in Westlaw Australia to see their journal articles.
And repeat your search again in AustLII, for open access (freely available) articles.
Record your search strings, as well as where and when you searched, in the Research Strategy Template.
The home page of the Law Subject Guide lists legal databases.
The main resources you will be using for NLAW010 Pre Law (in alphabetical order) are:
Legal Research materials
Before commencing your legal research, plan, prepare, and organise your resources.
The Legal Research Guide's Study and Research page lists resources or manage your time and record your research strategy and sources.
- RMIT Assignment Planner
- Research Strategy Template
The red navigation tabs at the top of the Law Subject Guide include a link to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) Referencing Style Guide.
You will need to know your AGLC referencing rules to record your sources.
Search Strings Using Boolean Connectors and Operators
Search strings are created using search terms, their synonyms, and Boolean operators and connectors.
Example search string:
((balance OR distribut! OR separat!) /5 power!) AND commonwealth AND state
This will search for:
balance within 5 words of power - any order
distribute within 5 words of power - any order
distributed within 5 words of power - any order
distribution within 5 words of power - any order
separate within 5 words of power - any order
separated within 5 words of power - any order
separation within 5 words of power - any order
One or more of the above must appear in a document, as well as the word commonwealth, as well as the word state
Note: search words remain in the singular, as the databases will automatically search for singular and plural - even woman/women
Other sample search strings:
((distribut! OR separat!) /5 power!) AND Commonwealth AND State
(constitution /75 (separat! /10 power!)) AND (engineer! /3 case)
Advanced Database Searching
Advanced search templates allow for more focused searching.
Example: source journal articles on a topic
search string: (constitution W/80 (separat* W/10 power*)) AND (engineer* W/3 case)
Open Advanced Search in AustLII
- Select the tab Boolean Query
- paste in the search string: (constitution W/80 (separat* W/10 power*)) AND (engineer* W/3 case)
- from the list Select the database(s) to search... select All Law Journals Databases
- select Advanced Search
The results from this search will only include journal articles.
Results can be sorted by selecting the relevant tab for:
- By Relevance
- By Citation Frequency
- By Database
- By Date
- By Title
Database Searching
Open Lexis Advance
Paste the search string into the red search box: (constitution /75 (separat! /10 power!)) AND (engineer! /3 case)
Results can be sorted by selecting the relevant tab for:
- Cases
- Legislation
- Secondary Materials (journal and encyclopaedia articles, plus commentary)
Results within each material type can be narrowed, by selecting from the menu to the left of screen, by:
- Searching Within the Results list
- Jurisdiction
- Version
- Content Type
- Court
- Timeline
- Publication
- Legal Topics
Advanced Database Searching
Advanced search templates allow for more focused searching.
Example: source the case
Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (1920) 28 CLR 129
Open Advanced Search for Cases in Lexis Advance
You can search by case name Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd
or by case citation 28 CLR 129
or, because it is a famous case, by case name "Engineers Case"
Note that, in this instance, Lexis Advance only has the Butterworths Unreported Judgment (Butterworths Citation number (BC) version).
This is a case number which is unique to the database Lexis Advance, and should never be cited.
The CaseBase entry is useful for research, as it lists:
- Catchwords & Digest
- Words & Phrases
- Litigation History
- Cases referring to this case
- Publications referring to this case
- Cases considered by this case
- Legislation considered by this case
Database Searching
Open Westlaw Australia
Paste the search string into the blue search box: (constitution /75 (separat! /10 power!)) AND (engineer! /3 case)
The Search Result Options menu to the left of screen allows Results to be filtered by:
- Content Type
- Practice Area
- Most Cited
- Product Name
- Jurisdiction
Expanding each of these allows for further filtering of results
Search
Example: source the case
Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (1920) 28 CLR 129
In Westlaw Australia , conduct a global search
You can search by CaseTitle/Party Name Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd
or by case citation 28 CLR 129
or, because it is a famous case, by Case Title Engineers Case
From the drop-down suggestions menu, select the relevant case
The Digest entry is useful for research, as it lists:
- Summary
- Legislation Considered
- Words & Phrases Considered
- Litigation History
- Citing References (Cases and Secondary Sources)
- Table of Authorities (Cases Cited by the case)