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Introduction to Legal Research

This guide is an introduction to legal research at the University of Melbourne. This guide is intended for law students in the JD, MLM , Breadth programs who are new to legal research. Students in other disciplines who may need to conduct legal research

Using Legal Dictionaries 

Use a legal dictionary to find the definition of legal terms. Legal dictionaries will often include supporting authorities for particular terms (e.g. relevant legislation or case law).

Following is information about the Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary.  The Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary (Lexis Advance) contains over 25,000 definitions which are supported by Australian legislative and judicial authority, wherever it exists.

See the 'Reference & Encyclopedias' section of the Law Library website Research Databases by Type page for more dictionaries.