Introduction to Legal Research Agenda 1pm to 1.50pm – Introductory Lecture 2pm to 2.55pm – Practical Online Session Group 1 (beginners) 3pm to 3.55pm – Practical Online Session Group 2 (beginners) 4pm to 4.55pm – Practical Online Session Group 3 (intermediate and advanced)

Introductory Lecture 1pm to 1.50pm 1. Types of legal material (and what they are good for) 2. Interpreting a case citation 3. Accessing legal abbreviations 4. Where to find cases 5. Where to find legislation 6. Where to find secondary sources 7. How to get the best out of the WWW

Practical Online Sessions 2pm to 5pm Finding Australian & UK cases Full text Additional information about cases Key databases for researching case law

More classes!!

Starting point for legal research Law Library home page:

1. Types of legal material Material typeProvides Case lawAuthoritative record of the law LegislationAuthoritative record of the law Legal Dictionaries & Encyclopaedias Definitions & simple explanations TextbooksMore in-depth treatment of a particular area of the law Journal articlesDiscussion of issues; summaries or overviews of a topic or case

2. Interpreting a case citation Swain v Waverley Municipal Council [2005] HCA 4 (2005) 220 CLR 517

Interpreting a case citation Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: the parties Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: year of the judgment Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: report details Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: square and round brackets Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 All ER [1969] 2 All ER [1970] 1 All ER [1970] 2 All ER [1971] 1 All ER [1971] 2 All ER [1972] 1 NSWLR 44 NSWLR 45 NSWLR 46 NSWLR 47 NSWLR 48 NSWLR 49

Case citations: pinpoint citations Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: medium neutral citations Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

3. Accessing Legal Abbreviations Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations Law report, Journal and Court abbreviations Free web site: Try also Laying Down the Law / Cooke et al. Good list in Appendix 4 CaseBase Online database in the ‘Help’ section

4. Where to find cases Information TypeAustralianUK Full textReported(via Law Reports A-Z) - Legal Online - LexisNexisAU Justis (Westlaw) Raw dataAustLIIBaiLII Information about CaseBase Laws of Australia CaseBase (some) All via Law Library homepage Practice in hands-on session this afternoon

5. Where to find legislation Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) AustLII covers all Australian jurisdictions Go to: or: Law Library homepage > Law Databases > Legislation > AustLII

6. Secondary sources SourceProvides General Specific Legal DictionariesDefinitions Legal EncyclopaediasBrief explanations TextbooksMore in-depth information Journal articlesSpecific aspects of a topic eg. case notes, discussions of legal issues or backgrounds to a topic Best place to look for secondary sources: Library catalogue: Try AGIS for journal articles on a topic

Making the most of the Web How big is the internet?

Checklist for choosing good websites Authority – is it a reliable source? Objectivity – what motivation might the author have for writing it? Purpose – what is the intended audience/use? Currency – how up to date is it? Accuracy – can you verify the information in another source?

To Google or not to Google??? Use Google Advanced Search

Using Google Advanced Search

Checklist for choosing good websites Authority – is it a reliable source? Objectivity – what motivation might the author have for writing it? Purpose – what is the intended audience/use? Currency – how up to date is it? Accuracy – can you verify the information in another source?