LIBRARY

YOUR GUIDE TO

LEGAL RESEARCH

Why is legal research so important?

Your studies will rely heavily on legal sources and this guide will help
you find the material you need.
The law is constantly changing, so to succeed in your assignments
and future employment it is vital that you use up-to-date and
reliable information.
The Library provides access to these resources, in print and online.

BOOKS

JOURNALS

Textbooks and cases and

materials books are a great place
to start your research as they
contain useful summaries.

Journals, also known as

periodicals, are collections of
articles published regularly.

They also contain references

to other resources that you
can explore for more in-depth
information when you have
understood the basics.
You can save time by using other
peoples research as a starting
point for your own.
How to find them
Use YorSearch, the Library
catalogue:
yorsearch.york.ac.uk
Access over 150 legal
textbooks with Law Trove
(OUP): subjectguides.york.
ac.uk/e-resources

Unlike textbooks, peer-reviewed

journal articles often contain
more up-to-date and in-depth
content. They are a fantastic
source of criticism and critique
and will help you to evaluate
the law.
Some journals focus on just one
legal subject, eg Public Law,
whereas others cover a variety of
legal topics.
How to find them
Most journals can be
accessed online. To find
journals go the E-resources
Guide: subjectguides.york.
ac.uk/e-resources

CASES
Cases are judgements. Thousands
of cases are heard every day in
the UK courts. Those that have
established important rules of law
are published in the official series,
The Law Reports. These should
be cited in preference as they are
checked by judges.
Reading cases shows how
lawyers think and reason. Cases
contain observations from judges
about many things including how
the law should be reformed,
what principles underlie the
law, and why a particular case
that was decided in the past is
extremely important.
Reading a case encourages you
to think about the law. You
should ask questions such as,
How do these cases fit together?
Does one principle underlie them
all or more than one?
You will need to read cases
so that you can make legal
arguments in court, apply the
law in particular situations, and
keep up-to-date with recent
developments in the law.

How to find them

Cases are found in Law
Reports, most of which can
be accessed via databases
including LexisLibrary,
Westlaw, Justis and BAILII.
Remember, just because a
case is widely reported in
the media does not mean it
will appear in law reports.

LEGISLATION (STATUTES)
(
Legislation is what is created by
Parliament; it is split into primary
and secondary types.
Acts start off as a Bill, are passed
by both Houses of Parliament,
and then given Royal Assent. Acts
are classed as primary legislation.
Secondary legislation is referred
to as delegated or subordinate
legislation. The key type of
secondary legislation is the
statutory instrument (SI).
Around 3,000 SIs are generated
each year and you will see them
cited with a year and then a
sequential number, eg 2004/739.
An SI adds detail to the
enabling act, and is often used
when a speedy change in the
law is required.
Understanding legislation is
a key skill. Every legal topic
that you study will generally
involve a mixture of legislation
and case law.

How to find them

You will need to make sure
the piece of legislation you
are viewing is still in force,
and that you are viewing
the most up-to-date,
amended version.
Westlaw, Lexis and
legislation.gov.uk are
useful tools to use to ensure
you are viewing the most
recent version.

OTHER SOURCES
OF INFORMATION
Command Papers are useful for
understanding why legislation
has been drafted in the way it
has; they may include White and
Green Papers.
Bills (draft Acts of Parliament)
can be useful when used in
conjunction with reports of
Parliamentary debates to
understand how an act evolved
into its final form.
Newspapers often contain
comment and analysis on
recent legal developments and
interesting background material
on topical issues.
Think-tanks are typically
research institutes that provide
specialist advice and ideas on
national problems.
Visit the law Subject Guide
for more information and
access to resources:
subjectguides.york.ac.uk/law

Your guide to legal research 2016

SUMMARY
Using credible sources for your legal research is vital if you want to
succeed in your degree and in future employment.
The Library has access to the majority of resources you need and they
are available to you through YorSearch.
Wikipedia, student forums and, perhaps to a lesser extent, tabloid
newspaper articles and law firm websites, should be viewed with
extreme caution and, if you want the best mark, likely avoided.
Carrying out research on Google also leaves you open to unreliable
material that is extremely unlikely to explore issues in sufficient depth
for the purposes of your law degree.
Your Academic Liaison Librarian can help you find information, use
e-resources, evaluate what you find, and keep up-to-date. For more
information, see: subjectguides.york.ac.uk/law

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