Legal professionals and open access : An investigation of print and electronic resources utilised by legal professionals in England and Wales with a focus on open access legal databases

Abstract: The thesis addresses lawyers’ information seeking in England and Wales. It aims to gain an understanding of lawyers’ information needs and use of resources relating to case law, statute and commentary, both hardcopy and electronic, with an interest in open access resources in particular. The study comprised of semi-structured interviews of 11 legal professionals qualified to practice in England and Wales. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Questions were designed to elicit what resources participants used, what they found advantageous or disadvantageous about these resources, and any other factors that influenced whether a resource was used or not. The homogeneous participant group means results are mostly applicable to solicitors early in their career working in large firms, but some conclusions can be drawn as to use of open access by legal professionals. An electronic format is no barrier to use. Open access resources are used alongside commercial and free resources. Open access resources are perceived as advantageous for specific tasks. What is perceived as advantageous or disadvantageous depends on a number of underlying factors, such as task, task complexity and environment. However, although having beneficial features can affect resource use, advantageous characteristics are not enough to guarantee use. Lloyd’s theory of information literacy is of help in explaining resource selection. The study’s findings support other models of information seeking behaviour, especially Ellis’s model.