Legal research

Welcome to the Law guide

This guide provides a starting point for accessing the many resources available for Law.

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Lexis+ webinars for Curtin Law students

The following free Lexis+ webinars are available for Curtin students to register.

FIRST YEAR: Foundations of Research

This introductory webinar provides an orientation to Lexis+ along with the understanding of the value of different content types, such as case law, commentary and legislation. In this foundation for research students will learn how to:

  • Recognise where Australian primary law and secondary content derive from
  • Identify key functions of the Lexis+ interface to enable search and browsing of content
  • Outline the components that make up Legislation, how they interact and where to find them in Lexis+
  • Use Legislation Citator to find a specific provision of an Act and its related material
  • Perform a search to find a specific case
  • Use annotation, favourite and collaboration features
  • Create topic alerts for areas of interest
  • Make distinctions between primary, secondary and practical content and where to find them

Dates and times offered:

  • Thu 2nd October at 11am (Perth time) Register.

SECOND YEAR: Developing Research Efficiency

This second webinar builds upon existing knowledge and explores how to research more effectively using Lexis+. Students will learn how to:

  • Use natural language search
  • Apply Boolean terms and connectors to construct targeted search strings
  • Identify and manipulate various features within Lexis+ to refine results lists (graphical bar, search tree, narrow by filters)
  • Create custom search alerts
  • Use and apply understanding of CaseBase to extract meaningful insights relating to a case
  • Use and apply understanding of Legislation Citator to extract insights relating to a specific provision of an Act
  • Compare various search strategies to evaluate what is best suited for particular tasks (advanced search forms, Boolean, natural language etc.)

Dates and times offered:

  • Wed 8th October at 10am (Perth time) Register.

THIRD YEAR: Strategic Research Skills

This third webinar will take you through how to effectively map out a search strategy before you begin, to reduce the amount of time you spend researching. The session will focus on a four-step process that can be used for all online research and a structure that can be used to document the research undertaken. Students will learn how to:

  • Formulate a clear plan for how to conduct their research tasks
  • Assemble a refined list of keywords ordered by relevance
  • Understand the hierarchy of Boolean terms and connectors and how it affects the search algorithm’s results
  • Select and incorporate specific Boolean terms and connectors when breaking down a phrase
  • Understand the various types of secondary content and strategically select where best to start depending on the research task at hand
  • Iterate and refine their search queries as they progress through their task
  • Produce a documented process to explain the plan and steps they took to complete their research task

Dates and times offered:

  • Tues 14th October at 10am (Perth time) Register.

Students with a Lexis® Learning profile may access recordings of these webinars, after the sessions have completed. They will also have the option to complete related quizzes and earn badges to record their learning.

To create a new Lexis® Learning profile:

  1. Create a new profile.
  2. Follow the prompts to verify your account and email address
  3. Continue to the catalogue to enrol in the Effective Research Skills courses

Are you going out on placement? Did you know that Curtin Library’s subscription content can only be used for study and research, and not for commercial purposes. This means you will not be able to use Curtin Library’s subscriptions for the business purposes of your placement however there are many free online legal resources that you can use.

Free online legal resources [PDF, 306kB]

Get your free subscription to Jade Professional!

Jade offers a paid subscription service to Jade Professional which provides you with advanced legal research tools such as visualisations of case law and legislation, email alerts, document checking to confirm and analyse your citations, and the ability to share and collaborate online.

Curtin law students are eligible for a free subscription to Jade Professional. Using your Curtin email account simply email help@jade.io to request this. If you have any problems please email the Faculty Librarian, Law on LibraryResearchServices@curtin.edu.au

Help guides, tutorials and webinars