Journal articles provide a depth of analysis and opinion which will inform your argument, especially when writing research essays. Use journal articles to:
- provide an overview on the law related to a research topic
- focus on a more specific or specialised aspect of the law
- provide current information, not yet available in text books
- summarise a recent case or legislative amendment
- provide scholarly opinions of experts to backup your argument
- lead you to other articles or cases on similar points of law
- provide discussion on proposed reforms to the law.
This page provides information on relevant databases used to identify and locate articles on a legal topic. To check what journals the Library subscribes to, use Search to find a particular journal, or browse the Law category in electronic journals
You can use a mix of broad based searching and law specific database searching.
Broad based searching may provide a useful overview of what's available but be aware that some publishers such as Lexis and Westlaw do not allow their journals to be included.
- Search (database of journal articles included in the Monash catalogue)Limit to Articles and Peer reviewed journals using the filters on the left of the results page.
- Google ScholarMake sure you are logged into your my.monash.edu account to allow direct linking to journals subscribed to by Monash.
Key databases for law journal articles
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
- LegalTrac This link opens in a new window
Other databases for law journal articles
Find more at our Law databases A-Z or Law databases by subject pages.
- Westlaw UK This link opens in a new window
- Westlaw US & International This link opens in a new window
Find full-text
If you find an article record that does not provide full text, look for a 
link. Clicking this will open a new window to show you where the full-text can be located, or provide a direct link to the journal record in Search.
Note - not all databases have this facility, so, alternatively, use Search.
To help with locating the article and citing it, always make a note of the journal details (title, volume, issue, year and starting page number) as well as the author and title of the article.
If using Google Scholar off-campus to search for articles, set the Scholar Preferences to recognise Monash University (under Library Links) so that you can link through to subscribed full-text journals for participating publishers.
Keep up with the law - read these journals
Browse law journals