General Information

All written assessments that are submitted electronically will utilise Turnitin plagiarism detection software.

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment, as re-submissions will not be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.  Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition.

Marking of all assessments is moderated through a process of blind marking and the use of detailed marking rubrics.

Late penalty policy

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessments (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time-sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

Special Consideration

Students should submit applications for Special Consideration electronically via ask.mq.edu.au, along with the supporting documentation. Before submitting their applications, students should refer to the Special Consideration Policy (link provided under 'Policies and Procedures' below).  

This unit is divided into six modules. It will be delivered through (a) pre-recorded lectures beginning week 1 and (b) six two-hour tutorials in weeks 2 to 7 inclusive, delivered both face to face on campus and online. Professional skills, including oral communication, will be assessed at tutorials. Students who are unable to attend must contact the convener through Ilearn in advance. Students who are unable to attend will be required to  complete the class exercises using the Ilearn links provided, and send a video of themselves addressing the tutorial discussion questions. 

In each module, you will be expected to watch lectures, read background materials, watch relevant online video clips, and undertake practical exercises that are intended to build your skills in legal research and writing.

All unit requirements and the teaching and reading schedule are outlined in iLearn. Students should have their own copy of the following prescribed text: Terry Hutchinson, Researching and Writing in Law (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed, 2018), which is available online. Additional readings will be available via Leganto in iLearn.

All Students require access to a computer and a secure and reliable server. Students taking the unit online are required to have access to computer facilities with a camera and microphone. Students attending in person are advised to bring a computer or device to tutorials so that they are able to participate in practical legal research exercises.

Module 1: Legal Research - Legislation

• Introduction
• Finding and using primary legal materials - legislation.
• Searching with legal databases: Austlii, Comlaw, parliamentary websites etc.
• Research strategies
• Using Boolean operators to improve search strategies

Module 2: Legal Research - Cases

• Finding and using primary legal materials - cases.
• Finding and using secondary legal materials 
• Searching with legal databases: Hein, Westlaw, LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, APAIS, etc.
• Research strategies: time, locality, language, subject matter, source.
• Using Boolean operators to improve search strategies.

Module 3: Legal Referencing

• The purposes of bibliographic referencing
• Legal referencing systems, and their critics
• Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4 (AGCL4)
• Bibliographic management software (eg Endnote)
• Use (and abuse) of footnotes in legal writing

Module 4: Developing a Legal Research Proposal

• Literature review
• Identifying a research gap
• Specifying research method(s) in law
• Developing a realistic research plan (time, money, ethics approvals …)

Module 5: Research Methodologies

• The relationship between research methodology, research method, and research design.
• Different types of research design in the physical (natural) and social sciences.
• Styles of research in the legal sciences.
• Understanding the differences between the main methods of legal research—doctrinal research; reform-oriented research; empirical socio-legal research; and theoretical research in law.

Module 6: Legal Writing

• Elements of good legal writing
• Plain legal language