Legal research guide: Secondary sources: Dictionaries & Encyclopaedia
Learn how to develop an effective search strategy and then use it to locate relevant secondary sources to support your research for law assignments.
Legal dictionaries and encyclopaedias are used to define the definitions of legal terms. As well as giving you succinct summaries of legal terms written by experts, they can point you towards key primary and secondary sources.
Australian Legal Dictionaries and Encyclopaedia
Use these to find definitions of legal terms and cases/legislation where terms were judicially defined.
-
Encyclopaedic Australian Legal DictionaryOnline: Lexis+
-
Halsbury's Laws of AustraliaOnline: Lexis+
-
Laws of AustraliaOnline: Westlaw AU
-
Halsbury's Laws of EnglandOnline: Lexis+
Select UK Jurisdiction in Lexis+ and then select View all Publications block, H section. -
CCH Macquarie Dictionary of LawBeasley Law Library level 2: 340.03 1996 CCH. (If it is required for a Unit, it will be located in the Beasley Law Library High Demand section).
-
The Longman Dictionary of LawBeasley Law Library Main collection: 340.03 2007 LON (If it is required for a Unit, it will be located in the Beasley Law Library High Demand section).
-
Australian Legal Words and PhrasesAvailable online through Lexis+. Use to find acts and cases in which legal terms are defined.
-
Oxford English Dictionary OnlineFor standard word usage
-
Australian Law Dictionary2018 3rd edition available Online
Also available at Beasley Law Library Main collection: 340.03 2010 AUS.
Legal Dictionaries and Encyclopaedia from other jurisdictions
-
Stroud's judicial dictionary of words and phrases (UK)Available at Welshpool Offsite Storage (349.4103 2006 STR). Please submit request through OneSearch.
-
Canadian Encyclopedic DigestAvailable online via Westlaw. Search for 'Canadian Encyclopedic Digest' without quotes and choose the suggested item in the drop down.
-
Black's Law Dictionary (US)Westlaw (Secondary Sources link > TOOLS & RESOURCES menu) and Beasley Law Library Main collection 340.03 2004 BLA
-
Black's Law dictionaryDefinitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern. Available at Beasley Law Library Main Collection 340.03 1979 BLA
-
Ballentine's Law Dictionary (US)Lexis+ - US Research subset (to access use the 9 dots)
Content tab > Secondary Materials link > Dictionaries > Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3rd Edition link -
American Jurisprudence (US)Available in print in Beasley Law Library Law Reports Collection (P.345.473).
Also available online in Lexis+ - US Research subset: Secondary Materials > American Law Reports (ALR) link and Thomson Reuters Westlaw: Secondary Sources link > Jurisprudence & Encyclopedias link -
Corpus Juris Secundum (US)Available at Welshpool Offsite Storage (P 345.473). Please submit request through OneSearch. Also available online in Thomson Reuters Westlaw: Secondary Sources link > Jurispudence & Encyclopedias link.
CONTENT LICENCE
Except for logos, Canva designs, AI generated images or where otherwise indicated, content in this guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.
Staff & Students
The University of Western Australia
CRICOS Code: 00126G
PRV12169, Australian University
PRV12169, Australian University