Exploring the Use of Legal Databases Among Law Students at North-West University, South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-659X/17299Keywords:
Information literacy, online reources, database access, research skills, information seeking behaviour, legal educationAbstract
This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the usage statistics of legal databases by law students at North-West University (NWU) for 2023, focussing exclusively on usage statistics. The primary objective was to assess the frequency with which each legal database available to students was used and to evaluate whether these resources are being used effectively. Using data obtained from the university’s library records, this study examines the number of times each legal database was accessed by students between January and December 2023. The study focused on the following legal databases: JutaOnline, LexisNexis, HeinOnline, Westlaw, JSTOR, Sabinet African Journals, and Sabinet Legal. The research employed quantitative methods to analyse usage patterns, including the total number of database accesses, the frequency distribution, and comparisons between different databases. The study aimed to provide valuable insight into the use of legal databases among law students, shedding light on which databases are used most frequently. The implications of these findings can inform library management and university administration in optimising resource allocation, improving access to high-demand databases, and enhancing support for student research and learning activities in the field of law.
References
Abbas, Z., A. MacFarlane, and L. Robinson. 2020. “Use of Mobile Technologies by Law Students in the Law Library: A Detailed Investigation.” Legal Information Management 20 (1): 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1472669620000079. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1472669620000079
Bakker, M., J. Tijdink, and A. Dijkstra. 2012. “Statistical Reporting Errors and the Natural Selection of Bad Science.” PLOS ONE 7 (3): e30921.
Blaxter, L., C. Hughes, and M. Tight. 2010. How to Research. London: McGraw-Hill Education.
Booth, W. C., G. G. Colomb, J. M. Williams, J. Bizup, and W. T. Fitzgerald. 2008. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Botchkarev, A. 2017. “Informing Evidence Based Decisions: Usage Statistics for Online Journal Databases.” Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 12 (2): 114–132. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8GH21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18438/B8GH21
Buckland, M. 1991. Information and Information Systems. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Casamitjana, M. F. 2005. “Sustaining the New Economy. Work, Family, and Community in the Information Age, de Martin Carnoy.” Marga 1 (1): 1.
Cooper, H. M. 1988. “Organizing Knowledge Syntheses: A Taxonomy of Literature Reviews.” Knowledge in Society 1 (1): 104. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03177550 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03177550
Creswell, J. W., and Creswell, J. D. 2017. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Los Angeles, CA: Sage publications.
Emmasiegbu, M., and S. E. Anaehobi. 2021. “Challenges to the Use of Electronic Databases by Lecturers in Government-Owned University Libraries in Anambra State, Nigeria.” Library Philosophy and Practice 5224. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5224
Hicks, F. C. 1923. Materials and Methods of Legal Research with Bibliographical Manual. Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company.
Kadli, J. H., and V. B. Hanchinal. 2015. “Information Seeking Behaviour of Law Students in the Changing Digital Environment.” DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology 35 (1): 61–68. https://doi.org/10.14429/djlit.35.1.8099 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14429/djlit.35.1.8099
Khan, M. M., A. R. Dhruba, K. N. Alam, and S. Khan. 2021. “An Online Law Library Database for Legal Cases of Bangladesh for Study Purpose for Lawyers and Law Students.” Paper presented at 2021 IEEE Symposium on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ISIEA), 10–11 July 2021. IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/9509931/proceeding. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISIEA51897.2021.9509994 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ISIEA51897.2021.9509994
Kobusingye, C. 2016. “Access and Use of Newspapers at Makerere University Library.” Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries 5 (3): 721–736. https://qqmljournal.net/index.php/qqml/article/view/354
Kuhlthau, C. C. 1991. “Inside the Search Process: Information Seeking from the User’s Perspective.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42 (5): 361–371. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199106)42:5<361::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-# DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199106)42:5<361::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-#
Leonard, A., N. M. Hamutumwa, and C. Mnubi-Mchombu, C. 2020. “Use of Electronic Resources by Law Academics: A Case Study from the University of Namibia.” Collection and Curation 39 (3): 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-06-2019-0017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-06-2019-0017
Meredith, S. 2007. “First Year Law Students, Legal Research Skills and Electronic Resources.” The Law Teacher 41 (2): 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2007.9959738 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2007.9959738
North-West University. 2024. “Welcome to the NWU.” Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.nwu.ac.za/welcome
Olorunfemi, D. 2015. “The Use of Law Information Sources in Legal Research by Nigerian Universities Law Students.” Journal of Balkan Libraries Union 3 (1): 15–23. https://doi.org/10.16918/bluj.94335
Owushi, E., and H. Emasealu. 2016. “An Evaluation of Legal Information Resources and Services in Academic Law Libraries of Selected Universities in Edo State, Nigeria.” Library Progress (International) 36 (1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5958/2320-317X.2016.00001.5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5958/2320-317X.2016.00001.5
Pickard, A. J. 2013. Research Methods in Information. Facet Publishing.
Radijeng, K. F. 2007. “Demand for Electronic Legal Information at the University of Botswana.” Starr Workshop Papers 2007: 1. https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/sws_papers/1
Ramabina, M. T., and A. S. Ndou. 2023. “Information Literacy Content for First Year Law Students at a Rural-Based University in South Africa.” South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science 89 (1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7553/89-1-2198
Ramabina, M. T., and L. Kleinveldt. 2023. “Online Newspaper Reading Patterns of a University Community Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the University of Venda.” Regional Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Journal 8 (2): 66–80. https://www.rjikm.org/assets/img/Man%208.2.8.pdf. https://doi.org/10.70759/79ayzz58 DOI: https://doi.org/10.70759/79ayzz58
Singh, S., and M. Kumar. 2021. “Electronic Resources Usefulness for Legal Education and Research: A Comparative study of Indian and International Legal Databases Subscribed by Law Universities in North India.” ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361845559
Tlakula, T. P., and M. Fombad. 2017. “The Use of Electronic Resources by Undergraduate Students at the University of Venda, South Africa.” The Electronic Library 35 (5): 861–881. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2016-0140 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2016-0140
Toteng, B., R. Hoskins, and F. Bell. 2013. “Use of Electronic Databases by Law Students at the University of Botswana Library.” African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science 23 (1): 59–74.
Umar, H., and V. Sokari. 2020. “Challenges Associated with Utilization of Legal Information Resources by Postgraduate Law Students in Federal Universities of Northern Nigeria.” Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management 11 (1): 40–47. https://doi.org.10.4314/iijikm.v11i1.4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/iijikm.v11i1.4
Wilson, T. D. 1999. “Models in Information Behaviour Research.” Journal of Documentation 55 (3): 249–270. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007145 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007145
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Unisa Press
