Westlaw UK has recently undergone some major interface changes, refining many features and bringing the general look and feel in line with Westlaw International.
As before you should access Westlaw UK via Primo, our resource discovery tool. Users familiar with the previous Westlaw UK interface will have no trouble locating cases, legislation and articles etc, as the content header tabs are similarly displayed at the top of the page in the collections navigation bar. Clicking on any of the main content tabs opens up a second layer of tabs, providing in depth searching and browsing options. You can also search across all collections or browse by topic right from the home page. The Options button allows you to select specific collections to search across.
Westlaw UK new look homepage: The collections Navigation Bar, Options button and Browse by Topic highlighted
Cases
The Cases tab opens up to Cases Home in the second layer of tabs giving you the option to search for specific cases by Free Text, Subject/Keyword, Party Names or Citation. The next two tabs in the second layer provide browsing options, so you can browse by court or by law report series title. The fourth tab allows you to search for Quantum Reports. This one is a new addition, stay tuned for updates.
Westlaw UK Cases Home page: Second layer of tabs highlighted at the top, and More Options for advanced searching
Legislation
Clicking the Legislation tab takes you to Legislation Home and allows access to a complete collection of consolidated UK, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Acts and Statutory Instruments which you can browse or search directly. Clicking More Options at the bottom of the search box enables you to search across historical and prospective legislation. The rest of the second layer of tabs provides options to browse organized lists of:
Journals
The Journals tab is where you can find full text UK legal journal articles from major publishers such as Sweet & Maxwell, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. You can also link to over half a million article abstracts from UK and EU legal journals.
Within any collection search page you can open up collection-specific advanced searching facilities by clicking on More Options at the bottom of the search box. This way you can refine your search to show only the most relevant results.
Westlaw UK’s document display pages include smartly organised links to a variety of supporting materials in the menu bar to the left of the display window. To the right of the display window are various Delivery options that allow you to email, print, download, you will also find options to organize documents using the Personalisation Tools:
Personalisation Tools
At the top of the Westlaw UK interface there are some features that allow you to personalise your research experience, such as: Favourites, Folders, History and Alerts. To make the most of the personalisation tools click on User Guides in the grey footer at the bottom of Westlaw UK and click Personalisations in the menu on the left side of the page for step by step instructions.
For more information and help using the database, Westlaw UK has a comprehensive User Guides section which you can access from within Westlaw via the link in the grey footer at the bottom of the page.
Our detailed library guides on Westlaw UK will be going live on the University Website later this week. And once term starts there will be regular library workshops on how to make the most of this resource.
Legal Information Update 