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Secondary Resources for Law

A guide to help you locate and use secondary sources for Australian legal research.

Finding a Journal Article on a Topic

If you are looking for resources on a specific topic, there are several tools you can use.

Library Catalogue

1. Searching by keyword. Change the collection you search to Online Journals to reduce your results.

2. Searching by subject. Change the field you would like to search to subject to reduce your results.

Remember: The catalogue also includes Law Books and Serials in Print. If you restrict your search to Online Journals, these holdings will not appear in your results list.

Trove

Search content Trove has brought together from libraries, museums, archives, repositories and other research organisations. Run an Advanced Search by subject.

UlrichsWeb: Global Serials Directory

An international serials directory which covers more than 900 subject areas. Click on Advanced Search, and search by subject (Keyword).

Journal databases such as AustLII, Lexis Advance and Westlaw Australia enable users to search by subject and/or keywords. Access  from the Law Library website Research Databases by Type - Journal Articles page.


Find journal articles on a specific case

The following information relates to finding articles on Australian cases. For information about other jurisdictions, check the 'Foreign, Global and Comparative' list of research guides on the law library website

Search for the case using a case citator. Once you have located the record for the case, look for the links to journal articles about the case.  Each of the case citators label these links differently. Following is a summary: 

 

If there is no link to the full text article in the database, search for the journal's name under Title in the Library catalogue.

Often citations to journals will include the journal name in abbreviated form. If you are not sure what the abbreviation stands for, search for the abbreviation using a tool such as the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.

Finding a Journal Article on Legislation

The following information relates to finding articles on Australian legislation. For information about other jurisdictions, check the 'Foreign, Global and Comparative' list of research guides on the law library website.

Looking for Subject or Jurisdiction Specific Journal database?

Looking for Subject or Jurisdiction Specific Journal Database?


For more information about journal databases for the subject area you are interested in, the Research Guides collection for each topic or jurisdiction will include essential journal databases. Alternatively, check the Research Databases by Type (Journal Articles) for a list of recommended sources.