Guides and databases: Law: Literature Searching

Guide to searching for information

This guide will help you start looking for research for assignments, literature reviews and research.

Finding literature on your subject

The following databases are useful for searching for books, journal articles and other literature on a specific subject and identifying where you can find them online:

Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest)
Covering U.S. and international criminal justice journals this database provides research support in criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections administration, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family law, and industrial security. Accessibility statement for ProQuest.
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
A multi-lingual index to articles and book reviews from more than 750 legal journals published worldwide covering international, comparative and foreign law.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (EBSCO)
Indexes articles and chapters from over 1,025 US and Commonwealth legal journals, books and other publications, including those from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Legal Journals Index (Westlaw UK)
Indexes articles from over 800 legal journals published in the UK as well as English language European journals. Over 1000 journals have been indexed since 1986.

Search strategies for literature searching

This online tutorial uses a series of videos and activities to demonstrate some top tips for enhancing your searching skills. The extract below looks at how you decide what terms to use.

Try the full tutorial.

Librarian

Suzanne Traue

Email Me

Need help?

Email your librarian to get advice on carrying out a literature search, or to book a one-to-one appointment.