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Unit outline_

LAWS1024: Legal Research

Semester 2, 2021 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This is a compulsory unit assessed on a Pass/Fail basis. The aim of the unit is to introduce students to finding and citing primary and secondary legal materials, to legal research techniques, and to electronic databases that students will continue to use throughout the degree. This unit provides the foundation for one of the Learning Outcomes of the degree as a whole: students will learn to skilfully access, synthesise, utilise and manage information through effective legal research strategies and responsible use of appropriate resources, tools, digital and other media.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Law
Credit points 0
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
LAWS1013 or LAWS1019
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
Small continuous assessment Assessed online quizzes
Five quizzes, one corresponding to each of the online modules
10% Multiple weeks No time limit. Multiple attempts allowed
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
Final exam (Open book) Type C final exam Final Test
A final online test covering all material taught in the unit
90% Week 08
Due date: 08 Oct 2021 at 16:00
2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
Type C final exam = Type C final exam ?

Assessment summary

  • Students must complete both the assessed quizzes and the final exam in order to pass this unit. 
  • The assessed quizzes will be made available on Canvas at the beginning of week 2. All five quizzes must be completed by 16:00 on Friday 24 September 2021. 
  • The assessed quizzes are 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 Final Test will be released and submitted through Canvas. It will have a time limit of two hours, but you can choose when to do it within a window of four working days.
  • The exam will be released at 09:00 on Tuesday 5 October 2021.
    You must submit your completed exam by 16:00 on Friday 8 October 2021.
  • The final exam is made up of a series of multiple choice and short answer 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.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

 

Assessment criteria

This is a pass/fail unit.
 

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 quizzes and exams and so if a deadline is missed for either task, 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 1: Secondary sources Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Online module 2: Case law Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Online module 3: Case citators Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Online module 4: Legislation Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Online module 5: Advanced legal research Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 01 Introduction to legal research (prerecorded lecture) Independent study (1 hr) LO1
Week 05 Legal research strategy (prerecorded lecture) Independent study (1 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

Australian Guide to Legal Citation

You will be expected by the Law School (and generally in Australia) to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018) (AGLC). Make sure you become familiar with its basic rules over the course of the unit and keep it as a reference. It is available as a pdf document at http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc

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, 7th ed, 2018)

• Jay Sanderson and Kim Kelly, A Practical Guide to Legal Research (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed, 2017)

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 a range of important primary and secondary sources of law
  • LO2. find and analyse primary and secondary legal sources using a variety of legal research aids, especially online legal databases
  • LO3. demonstrate 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 and lecture content

There are no face to face classes in this unit as the course is entirely online (including the two assessments).

Leaving aside the assessments for the moment, the course is comprised of two prerecorded lectures (given by the course coordinator) the second of which is accompanied by a further activity, and most importantly a series of online modules containing the substantial part of the course content which students progress through in a self-paced manner. This is supported by a series of optional workshops run over Zoom by the library.

Introductory lecture        This will be posted online at the start of week 1 (Monday 9 August 2021)

Second lecture                 This will be posted online at the start of week 5 (Monday 6 September 2021).  In this lecture an examination practice activity will be introduced which will also be posted online.  An associated discussion forum will be in place for any students who wish to raise questions/ discuss the activity. In week 6 a textual and video response which answers the questions in this activity will be posted online by the course-coordinator.

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.