Westlaw Classic (International) is a platform which provides full coverage of statutes and regulations covering all 50 US states, and selected materials from international content from the United Kingdom, Canada, European Union, Hong Kong and Australasia.
When you log-in to Westlaw Classic, you will be taken straight to the "International Materials" section of the platform as this is the most useful. From here, you can use the search bar to enter your keywords and navigate on the left-hand side filters to the content you need. In most cases, the Journals filter will be sufficient for your research and allows you to narrow your results further by Jurisdiction or Publication Name.
Given that law can work across the social sciences, some legal topics may be discussed in journals from a number of multidisciplinary areas. The databases listed below cover a wide range of areas, ranging from the sciences to humanities and arts, education, medicine and more.
Google Scholar is a good place to start when you are scoping out resources on a topic. Keep your search terms broad and simple.
It is also wise to check and see if you are getting access to JCU subscribed resources. To do this, go to the three horizontal bars on the front page of Google Scholar, then click on Settings > Library Links. Check to see if JCU Library is ticked. If it isn't, simply search for JCU and tick the box before clicking Save.
To access the below journals on the Westlaw Australia platform, simply go to the Westlaw Australia homepage, click on Secondary Sources, click on Law Reviews & Journals under the By Type section and navigate from there. You can select all items and conduct a keyword search, or go to the desired journal and navigate by year and volume number.
To access the below journals on Lexis Advance Pacific, simply log-on to Lexis Advance and navigate to the publications box on the right-hand side. Click on View All AU Publications, then navigate on the left-hand side by Content Type by clicking AU Secondary Materials. On the results page, you can further refine by clicking More under Content Type and then selecting Journals.
Alternatively you can search on your keywords in the big red search bar, on the results page navigate to the Secondary Materials tab and refine your results on the left-hand side.
Informit is a platform with multiple databases on it. One of the databases is called the Attorney General's Information Service, or AGIS Plus Text. This database contains a number of law journals, newsletters, bulletins, and other information on legal topics with a specific Australian context.
To search this database, type in your keyword into the red search bar. Take note of the different boxes you can select to filter your search. Once you are on the results page you can further refine by author, resource type, publication date, source, or even if it mentions a specific legal case or legislation.
AGIS Plus Text unlocks over 30 years of authoritative and peer reviewed legal research from the Australasia and Asia-Pacific regions as indexed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.
We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License. Content from this Guide should be attributed to James Cook University Library. This does not apply to images, third party material (seek permission from the original owner) or any logos or insignia belonging to JCU or other bodies, which remain All Rights Reserved.