Murdoch University
Library

Guide to Legal Research

Secondary Materials

Introduction
Primary Materials
Secondary Materials
Internet Sources

Secondary sources consist of publications which assist in locating primary sources, such as indexes and digests, and commentaries on the law, such as encyclopaedias, books and journals.

When carrying out legal research, it is generally better to start with the secondary sources.  These will lead you to the main goal of your research, the relevant cases and legislation.

Note: * at the front of a resource name indicates that it is only available to Murdoch staff and students

Textbooks

Textbooks provide a useful starting point for legal  research.  It should be remembered that they can become outdated very quickly, so make sure you check the date of the book, and that you are using the latest edition available.

Textbooks are located on Level 4 of the South Wing, and are arranged in Dewey number order.

The Library's catalogue can be used to locate textbooks and journals within Murdoch University Library.  You can search by title, author, subject or keywords.  A word search is a particularly useful way to search for books on a subject, as it searches for the occurrence of the words in the title, subjects, contents notes and corporate author fields.

Once you have located a useful title, you may search for additional items with the same subject headings by clicking on that subject heading.

Another useful option is to click on the blue call # (number) which will display items with the same or similar call numbers, and allow you to "browse the shelves" on the screen.

It is possible to search other Western Australian library catalogues by following the links from the home page or through "The Library Portal".

Legal Dictionaries

Legal dictionaries provide definitions or sources of definitions from legal sources. A legal definition will usually cite the primary source of the definition, from a case or statute. Most dictionaries have regular updates to reflect the dynamic nature of law, in both interpretation and definition of terms and concepts.

Dictionaries are generally relevant to one country or jurisdiction. You should be careful to ensure that the definition you are using is relevant to the jurisdiction you are researching.

Other Types of Legal Dictionaries

  • Lists of sources: One of the most extensive dictionaries is Australian Legal Words and Phrases, (North Ryde : Butterworths, 1993-) which gives reference to primary sources where the definition can be found, but does not provide the definition. This is available online at * LexisNexis AU .
  • Words and phrases judicially defined. These dictionaries extract definitions from case law and ignore definitions in statutes unless they have been discussed in a case.

A number of legal dictionaries are held in the law reference collection at R 340.013.  Some useful titles include:

  • Australian Legal Words and Phrases (North Ryde : Butterworths, 1993-) * LexisNexis AU
  • Butterworths Australian Encyclopaedic Dictionary (North Ryde : Butterworths) * LexisNexis AU
  • Black's Law Dictionary, 7th ed (St. Paul. Minn : West, 1999) on * Westlaw
  • Butterworths Australian Legal Dictionary, 2nd ed (Sydney : Butterworths 1998)
  • CCH Macquarie Dictionary of Law, rev. ed. (North Ryde : CCH Australia, 2001)
  • Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary, 9th ed (London : Sweet & Maxwell, 1993)
  • Stroud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases, 5th ed (London : Sweet & Maxwell 1986-)
  • Words and Phrases Legally Defined, 3rd ed (Sydney : Butterworths,1988- )

Other Dictionaries

Definitions in Other Resources
Most encyclopedias and digests include lists of definitions and their source. The lists can be in a separate table usually called words and phrases. Some indexes include the list under the alphabetic entry for W - words and phrases, and then have sub-headings for the exact terms being defined.

Encyclopaedias

Legal encyclopaedias provide a narrative account of the law on a particular topic.  They are arranged by broad subject areas and subdivisions which are further divided into numbered paragraphs.  Encyclopaedias are a good starting point for legal research because they provide a broad overview of the area being researched, and through the use of extensive footnoting, lead to the relevant statutes and cases.

There are two Australian legal encyclopaedias currently being published:  

  • Halsbury's Laws of Australia * LexisNexis AU
  • The Laws of Australia (Law Book Co.) * Lawbook Online and in print South Wing Level 3 at R 348.94046 AUS

Legal Encyclopaedias for Other Jurisdictions  

Halsburys Laws of England (South Wing Level 3, R 340 HAL 4)
Several editions have been produced spanning the 20th century, thus forming an invaluable historical resource. Australian students find Halsburys useful for both comparative and historical research. Monthly supplements are published on * LexisNexis
Between 1974 and 1988, an Australian and New Zealand Commentary on Halsbury's Laws of England was produced, and forms a snap shot of the law of Australia at the time of publication. This commentary has since been superseded by Halsburys Laws of Australia.

USA

Other jurisdictions

  • * LexisNexis TRS - browse via Legal (excluding US) - examples below
    • *The Laws of New Zealand (LONZ)
    • * Halsbury's Laws of Hong Kong

  • * Westlaw - browse International Directory- International materials to country level.
  • * Canadian Abridgment
  • * Canadian Encyclopaedic Digest

Multi-jurisdictional

Journal articles

Library catalogues list all books and other items, including journals, held in a library.  Most law journals are on South Wing Level 4 at J 340 and are then arranged alphabetically. Recent issues are held in the display area on South Wing Level 3.

Catalogues do not however, list the contents of journals.  To find articles on specific topics in journals, you need to use a journals index.  There are several available at Murdoch University Library which are relevant to the legal field, including Australian indexes and International indexes. Many databases now have the ful text of journal articles contained within the database or linked from the database.

Indexes are available in both printed and electronic formats.  Printed legal indexes are located at Link Level 3, R 340.016 .  Electronic indexes can be accessed from any computer accessing the internet on or off campus. Off campus access to our subscription database will require students and staff to log in verifying that they are members of Murdoch University.

To access the electronic indexes and databases relevant to law, select Databases from the Library’s home page, followed by Law from the list of subject groupings. Alternatively, if you know the name of the database you wish to use, click on the appropriate letter from the alphabet and scroll down until you find the database required.

Access is limited to Murdoch University staff and students. Ask at the IT help Desk at the front of the library if you are having connection problems, ask at the Reference Desk if you have problems using the databases. During the semester there is an online and service Ask a Librarian which might be of help.

Australian journal indexes and databases

  • * Attorney-General's Information Service (AGIS Plus Text) 1975- an index with some full text articles.
    Select Informit Search (Australian) from the Quicklinks menu then select AGIS Plus Text from the Law, Crime and Justice Listing.
    AGIS Plus Text is an indexing service, with some articles, produced by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department.  It indexes primarily Australian materials, but has some overseas material.

  • Casebase - Select * LexisNexis AU
    Casebase updates case law and provides references to articles published in Australian legal journals. There is also a collection of full text journals online which can be searched or browsed.
  • * Lawbook Online publishes a collection of journals online. The journal can be searched or browsed.

  • Other Informit Search (Australian) are useful for the legal researcher. Scroll down and select either individual titles or collections.
    • * Australian Public Affairs Information Service (APAIS) and *APA-FT - Australian Public Affairs – Full Text
      APAIS covers a broad range of materials in Australian journals and newspapers on Australian economic, social, cultural and political life.  It is available in print at Murdoch University Library from 1955-1994 and as an electronic database from 1978 onwards.

    • * Environment and Natural Resources
      • Elixir - conservation of natural resources
      • EVA - environmental protection and planning
      • Endanger - threatened Australian flora and fauna
      • Streamline - natural resource management

    • * CINCH - the Australian Criminology Database
      Produced by the Australian Institute of Criminology.  CINCH contains references to Australian criminology material.  CINCH covers journal articles, conferences, research reports, government documents, statistical publications and some unpublished material.  Material dating back to 1928 has been selectively incorporated into the database.

    • * FAMILY - Australian Family and Society Abstracts - select Family from the Social Sciences and Community Issues List.
      Produced by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, this database provides access to Australian writing and research related to Australian adults and children.

  • Australian Journals Online - links from the National Library of Australia to full text journals.

  • PANDORA Australian Digital Archive of Law and Criminology

International indexes & journal databases

Many journal subscriptions are now available on line and linked through the catalogue to the online source via the title of the journal. However many databases contain many journals which are not yet listed on our catalogue.

  • * WestLaw & * LexisNexis TRS Full text database of law reviews and legal journals from many jurisdictions. Often the must current issue is on these databases and the older issues are on HeinOnline.
  • * HeinOnline a full text archive of many law journals from the first issue of the journal. Some titlles date back to 1880's.
  • * Legal Journals Index on WestLaw. UK index to law journal, linked to full text if available on Westlaw.The jurisdictional focus is the UK, the audience focus is the legal profession.
  • * Legal Resouces Index on *LexisNexis TRS in the path Legal > Secondary Legal > Annotations & Indexes. Indexes over 700 legal resources from common law jurisidictions. The jurisdictional focus is the UK, the audience focus is the legal profession. Linked to full text articles if available on LexisNexis TRS.
  • Index to Periodical Articles Related to Law 1958- This print index expressly includes journals not included in the previous two indexes, and is slanted towards the social and behavioural sciences.
  • * ProQuest select Proquest from the Quicklinks menu. Multidisciplinary full text database with some legal materials.

  • * Expanded Academic Index ASAP select Expanded Academic from the Quicklinks menu.
    A multidisciplinary index with links to the full text of many articles.
  • * JStore a mutidisciplinary full text journals archive.

Law Reform Materials

Law Reform Commissions are bodies set up to examine the law, with the aim of highlighting issues of concern and proposing reforms.  They exist in many common law jurisdictions and produce a range of documents, including issues papers, working papers, discussion papers and reports.

Murdoch University Library holds law reform documents produced by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the various state law reform commissions.  It also holds materials from the United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, Canada and New Zealand.  They are located at J 340.3 on South Wing Level 4 .

Second copies of the final reports of the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia are also located in the general collection, and may be borrowed.  Use the Library's catalogue to locate them by title or author.   Australian Law Reform Commission final reports are also published as Parliamentary Papers.  These are located at South Wing Level 3, GR 328.9401 A938 1.

A number of Law Reform Commissions, including the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Western Australian Law Reform Commission are now publishing their documents online.

Indexes

  • The Annual Reports of the Australian Law Reform Commission list publications produced during the year.  The 1989 Annual Report includes a cumulative list of all publications up to and including 1989.
  • The Australian Law Reform Commission web site lists all publications produced, with links to those available online.
  • Law Reform Commission of Western Australia lists all works published since 1968.

  • The Law Reform Database from The British Columbia Law Institute indexes law reform materials from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Britain and other Commonwealth countries.

  • The Law Reform Digest indexes reports of law reform bodies in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea from 1916-1980.  The second volume updates the material to July 1985, and includes material from Fiji and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Looseleaf publications

Many works in the legal field are published in looseleaf form, which enables rapid updating.  Most looseleaf publications cover a specific branch of law, such as taxation, corporate law, trade practices or family law. They provide a good introduction to a topic, generally giving historical as well as current information. Looseleaf publications may also include the text of relevant legislation, as well as reports of cases.
There are a number of points to remember when using looseleaf publications in either print or online:

  • References in the indexes are generally to paragraph numbers, not page numbers.  The page numbers located at the top of each page are used only for filing purposes.
  • Most looseleaf publications have a main index and a supplementary index, which is issued each time the service is updated. You should check both indexes to ensure you have covered any new developments in a particular field.

Those looseleaf publications which are still in print are held in Murdoch University Library's Reserve. However most looseleaf publications are now available on line through the publishers sites.

* CCH Online - listed in subject areas
* Lawbook Online - listed on front page
* LexisNexis AU - commentary or services
* LexisNexis TRS - browse to the topic
* Westlaw - browse through the Table of Contents

Bibliographies

Bibliographies bring together in a systematic way references to material on a subject.  They may include references to articles in journals as well as to books.  Bibliographies may be general in nature, or cover a specific topic.

General bibliographies are among those held in the reference collection of Murdoch University Library, on Link Level 3. Many other subject focused bibliographies are available for loan on South Wing Level 4.  To locate bibliographies, search the Library’s catalogue, using the keywords option, with the terms law and bibliography. You can then modify your search to limit the results to your specific subject interest. 

Note: * at the front of a resource name indicates that it is only available to Murdoch staff and students

This page updated on 25 January 2006

Introduction
Primary Materials
Secondary Materials
Internet Sources

 

 

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