Skip to Main Content

University Library

Legal research guide: Secondary sources: How to Search

Learn how to develop an effective search strategy and then use it to locate relevant secondary sources to support your research for law assignments.

Develop a search strategy

Get good results when searching with these pro tips:

  • Identify key concepts, words & phrases on your topic.
  • Identify alternative search words (synonyms) - use dictionaries & encyclopaedia for this.
  • Find introductory information to make sure you are using the right words - encyclopaedia are the best place to start.
  • Create relationships between words & phrases using search operators known as Booleans - AND, OR, NOT:
AND

Placing AND between search terms instructs the database that both terms must appear somewhere in the results list.

Note: in the Westlaw suite of databases (Westlaw AU, Westlaw and Westlaw UK) use either the & symbol or a space for the AND Boolean.
OR

Using OR between keywords instructs the database to search either or both of the keywords in the results list.

Note: for best results, you may need to nest your synonyms in brackets - for instance, (consumer OR buyer)
NOT When you place NOT in your search search, it instructs the database that the keyword must not appear anywhere in the entry.
  • Using quotation marks around phrases: phrase searching technique to look for exact phrases.
  • Select the resources to search.
  • Check the search tips in each database - database machinations can differ between databases.
  • Depending on the results, refine the search if necessary.
  • Evaluate the reliability of sources found.

For some more guidance on developing a search strategy, have a look at our Composing a Search Library Guide. It provides a lot of information and guidance on how to conduct effective searches. This Library Guide also includes a "search composer", that you can use to build your search on any research question. To compose your search just follow the prompts / steps. 

Want More?
Check out the Libguide called "Develop a search strategy" from Monash University Library. 

 
The Legal Research process: 
 
Legal Research is very specialised, as it involves seeking a combination of sources: primary sources and secondary sources. When you have found suitable secondary sources of information, such a books, journal articles etc, it is important to keep certain things in mind. For instance, secondary sources will make reference to certain primary sources, such as Legislation and Cases. When this happens, you need to seek out those primary sources. You need to consider whether the primary sources referred to in the secondary sources are still good law and current. Read through the infographic below to find out more about the Legal Research process:       
 

Banner image sources: Pixabay 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal license.

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.