Frequently Asked Questions

To find articles on a particular topic, a good place to start is the Legal Journals Index (LJI) available in Westlaw.

To access the LJI:

1. Login to Westlaw with your Student Portal Password following the instructions is the Westlaw Login Guide .
2. After logging into Westlaw, choose "Journals" from the menu across the top of the Westlaw homepage, then journals search.
3. Click on "more options" to view the full range of search options. You will notice that you can search for articles in a variety of ways. For instance, you can search by "free text " or by "subject / keyword".
4. Try searching by "free text" first; if this returns too many results, search by "subject, keyword" which should return fewer hits.
5. If the full text of the article is available in Westlaw if there is a link under availability to Full Text Article after the Legal Journals Index Abstract link. Simply click on Full Text Article to view the full text.

For further information on searching the Legal Journals Index see the Legal Journals Index FAQ.

In many cases the article will not be available in full text through Westlaw. Consequently, you will need to make a note of the references (or print them out), and then search Summon  or the A-Z Journals List to see if the articles are available in full text from another database, such as Lexis+, JSTOR, HeinOnline or Academic Search Complete.

The Legal Research Skills in a Nutshell guide provides further guidance on locating journal articles by topic.

If, you are still unable to find the full text of an article and need to confirm whether it is available electronically, or have any questions about finding articles on a particular topic, please contact the Online Library Enquiry Service.