Law

This page will help you get more out of your Library resources for your assignments, projects, and dissertations in Law.

REMINDER: Download the University VPN system to access these resources while on or off campus.

Databases

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Inlcudes HeinOnline, LexisNexis, vLex Justis, and Westlaw.

• Books

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Including Law Trove access

• Case Law

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Body of law arising from judges' opinions in court cases.

• Hansard

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Records of court proceedings (including decisions made by judges and arguments from solicitors).

Search across all subject areas.

 

Advanced Search Techniques using the Library's Discovery Service (video)
This in depth video will go over how to use the Advanced Search feature in the Library's Discovery Service. It will discuss how to find keywords, Boolean operators, other search techniques, as well as accessing online resources.

You can also find journal articles in HeinOnlineLexis, and Westlaw.

 

What Are Academic/Scholarly Journals and Articles?

  • Journals that provide good quality research articles
  • Journals that are listed higher on the Scimago Journal & Country Rank
  • Articles are normally peer reviewed (experts in the profession have reviewed the research and agree that its findings are accurate)
  • Articles typically have the following information available in the abstract: background, research methods, results, and conclusions
  • Articles will have an extensive bibliography showing where the writer got their information
  • Articles that have been cited multiple times by others suggest strong research

What Are Professional Journals and Articles?

  • Journals include recent issues relevant to a particular profession
  • Articles are short and not normally in depth compared to academic articles
  • Articles do not normally have an abstract or decent bibliography
  • Useful for understanding recent issues, not so much for quality research

Tips for Searching for Academic/Scholarly Journals and Articles

  • When looking for journal articles, it is best to use the library rather than Google. This is because researchers from the university and librarians have located the most reliable academic/scholarly journals related to a particular field.
  • Remember: you will have to play around with the keywords/short phrases to find the right combination. Use one keyword/short phrase per line in the search box (the library search doesn't work like the Google search).

• Legislation

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A law or a set of laws that have been passed by Parliament.

• Magistrates' Courts Decisions

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Deals with minor offences and holds preliminary hearings for more serious ones.

• Published Government Documents

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Includes parliamentary reports, hansard, law commission reports, and committee reports.

• Treaties

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International agreements between States in written form and governed by international law.

Commercial Awareness

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Stay up to date with these resources!

Open Access Legal Resources

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These resources will be helpful for you to stay relevant once you graduate and lose access to UoP resources.

Your Subject Team

 Mystery Beck

Faculty Librarian

email Mystery.Beck@port.ac.uk

phone (023) 9284 3240

 Sharon Bittner

Assistant Faculty Librarian

email sharon.bittner@port.ac.uk

phone (023) 9284 3234