When undertaking legal research, you should begin by consulting secondary sources to provide you with an overview of the legal principles you are investigating. Secondary sources include:

• textbooks & books discussing specialised legal topics
• encyclopaedias & dictionaries
• commentary
• journal articles
• practice manuals

Secondary sources will provide you with the broader legal context of an issue, alert you to areas of uncertainty and debate in the law, as well as referring you to key legislation and cases.

Start your research by consulting textbooks, books and legal encyclopaedias, which will discuss legal principles more broadly, before moving to journal articles and commentary for a more critical analysis of a legal issue.