Library guides: Legal Research Skills: Starting your research

Where to start: Legal dictionaries

Before you start searching it is a good idea to have a look in legal dictionaries find:

definitions of key legal terms
references to key primary materials including cases and legislation
references to key secondary materials including textbooks and journal articles

Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary
An Australian legal dictionary available in the Lexis+ database. SCU login required.
Australian Legal Words & Phrases
Available in the Lexis+ database, listing words and phrases which have either been defined in legislation or judicially interpreted.

You may also need to consult a general dictionary to determine the definition of a term.

The Macquarie dictionary
Publication Date: 2013 (6th ed)
An Australian English dictionary available in the Credo Reference database. SCU login required.

Where to start: Legal encyclopaedias

Along with legal dictionaries, legal encyclopaedias are a good place to start legal research, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Encyclopaedias are regularly updated and provide a brief statement on the area of law with references to:

key primary materials including cases and legislation
key secondary materials including textbooks and journal articles

Tip: Always check the footnotes in legal encyclopaedias for valuable additional information.

Halsbury's Laws of Australia
A legal encyclopaedia available in the Lexis+ database. Browse the table of contents or type keywords into the search box at the top of the page.
The Laws of Australia
A legal encyclopaedia available in the Westlaw AU database. Browse the table of contents or type keywords into the search box at the top of the page.

Tutorial: The legal research process

Complete this tutorial for an introduction to the legal research process, including how to analyse a topic and use search operators. Click at the bottom-right corner to expand to full size.

Activity: Develop a legal research strategy

This activity will help you develop a legal research strategy for your own research topics. You can export your search strategy on page 3 of the activity.