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Unit outline_

LAWS1019: Legal Research II

Semester 1, 2023 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This is a compulsory unit taught on a pass/fail basis. It is a continuation of Legal Research I and introduces students to legislative research, researching select sources of foreign and international law, and complex research databases such as Lexis Advance (US and International), Westlaw UK and Westlaw International. The purpose of this unit is to further develop the skills students need throughout their law degree.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Law
Credit points 0
Prerequisites
? 
LAWS1013
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
LAWS1024
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Allan McCay, allan.mccay@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Practical exam
? 
hurdle task
Final Exam (100%)
A final online exam covering all material taught in the unit.
100% Week 10
Due date: 01 May 2023 at 09:00
1 hour
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
hurdle task = hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study
A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

Final Exam (100%) will be released and submitted through Canvas. It will have a time limit of one hour, but you can choose when to do it within a window of four working days.

The exam will be released at 09:00 on Monday 1 May 2023 (Week 10).
You must submit your completed exam by 16:00 on Thursday 4 May 2023 (Week 10).

The final exam is made up of a series of multiple choice questions which aim to ascertain the extent to which students:

  1. understand a range of important primary and secondary sources of law
  2. can find and analyse primary and secondary legal sources using a variety of legal research aids, especially online legal databases and
  3. demonstrate efficient and effective legal research methods, including advanced Boolean searching techniques.

The outcome of a grant of special consideration application may include an alternative task, at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator. 

Assessment criteria

This unit is assessed on a pass/fail basis.
 

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late penalties do not apply to online exams and so if the deadline is missed, in the absence of special consideration a zero will be awarded for the task which will result in failing the unit.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Multiple weeks Online module: Legislation Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Online module: Advanced legal research Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3

Attendance and class requirements

There is no attendance requirement for this unit.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester.

Required readings

Referencing: You must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

You will be assessed on your use of AGLC in this unit.

Legal abbreviations:  A list of the abbreviations found in citations of Australian, New Zealand, and UK cases, with links to law report series, is at http://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/legal_abbreviations

Supplementary readings

There is no compulsory textbook. But if you want to refer to one, the following is recommended:

• Robin Creyke et al, Laying Down the Law (LexisNexis, 11th ed, 2020) chs 16–19


These other textbooks may be useful as further reading:

• Bruce Bott and Ruth Talbot-Stokes, Nemes and Coss’ Effective Legal Research (LexisNexis, 8th ed, 2021)

• Jay Sanderson Drossos Stamboulakis and Kim Kelly, A Practical Guide to Legal Research (Thomson Reuters, 5th ed, 2021)

Be aware that the descriptions of electronic databases that appear in textbooks are likely to go out of date quickly. Textbooks may nonetheless provide useful written explanations of legal research techniques and general advice about how to use legal databases.

You may also find it useful to have a legal dictionary, such as Ray Finkelstein and David Hamer (eds), LexisNexis Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (6th ed, 2020).

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. understand important primary and secondary sources of law
  • LO2. find and analyse primary and secondary legal sources, especially legislation and foreign and international law, using a variety of legal research aids, especially complex online legal databases
  • LO3. demonstrate and apply efficient and effective legal research methods, including advanced Boolean searching techniques.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Adjustments have been made to online materials

There are no face to face classes in this unit as the course is entirely online including the only assessment task - the final exam.

Leaving aside the assessment for the moment, the course is comprised of  two online modules. This is supported by a series of optional workshops run over Zoom by the library.

Modules:  Students progress through these online modules in a self-paced manner.

Library drop-in sessions:  See Canvas for dates.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.