Test your research skills here!

In this article from the Spring 2006 issue of Directions Tom Laidlaw, Academic Business Development Manager for LexisNexis Butterworths, outlines the thinking behind the introduction of the LexisNexis Butterworths Online Research Certification Scheme.

LexisNexis Butterworths has worked closely with UK universities for a number of years to ensure that staff and students gain maximum educational benefit from the online services we provide. Our Academic Training Team travels around the country providing hands-on training to lecturers and students, and we have 47 Student Associates on campuses providing peer to peer research training and support to fellow students on our products. However, as a company we are always looking for ways of improving what we do for our customers and I was keen to strengthen our academic programme still further.

It became clear to me after discussions with students, academics, librarians and contacts at some of the major law firms that legal research skills are vitally important to students who want to succeed at university, law school and in their training contracts. The days of endless photocopying are over – in its place trainees are expected to be productive members of a team from the start of their careers. With that in mind, I looked for an idea that would help students focus on why they were gaining these skills. One of my colleagues mentioned that various companies in the computer industry have created their own qualifications, which have become the benchmark against which all computer engineers are judged. From this, I came up with idea of a certificate to test research skills on LexisNexis Butterworths online services.

The test aims to provide students with proof they can show to potential employers that they have an understanding of the functionality of LexisNexis Butterworths online services, the content within them and what it means to undertake efficient research. The certificate is also designed to provide a further example of a student’s commitment to a career in the law that can appear on their curriculum vitae, alongside any summer placements or pro bono work they may have undertaken with a view to pushing themselves above their peers in the race for jobs. It is not intended to supplant proper legal research training, but to complement it and provide students with another differentiator from their fellow students. It also aims to make students aware of the importance of obtaining legal research skills and attending training sessions, and to provide them with a career incentive to do so.

The test questions have been written by our Academic Training Team. Students are expected to answer questions on case law, legislation, journals and Halsbury’s Laws of England. We have included questions on the encyclopaedic works, as we know that the majority of research undertaken in a law firm starts with a commentary source and these are the most widely accessed commentary sources on campuses across the country. There will also soon be a test specifically designed for Scottish students.

The certificate is also a test of a student’s understanding of product functionality, to ensure that skills tested are transferable and not dependent on the services subscribed to by a potential employer. In order to pass, a student must get 13 out of 15. Notification of a pass or fail is automatic, and those who pass are sent a certificate through the post.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010