How to build your first research file

Before you start

Begin with one research question. A good first question is narrow enough to search, but broad enough to find several potentially comparable decisions.

• Use issue terms such as investigation quality, reasonable adjustments, whistleblowing detriment or remedy.
• Avoid entering a full legal argument into search.
• Keep names and unnecessary sensitive facts out of exploratory queries.

Walkthrough

This tutorial creates a reusable research file from search results. Keep the file focused on a small, deliberate source set.

1. 1Open Decisions.
2. 2Enter a broad issue phrase and run the search.
3. 3Open a promising result to inspect source metadata, extracted summary and official source links.
4. 4Return to the results and select decisions that deserve closer review.
5. 5Choose Save to Research File.
6. 6Create a new file or add to an existing file.
7. 7Open the file and remove weak or irrelevant decisions.

A research file is not a merits assessment. It is a curated source set for review.

Good file hygiene

Prefer a smaller set of relevant decisions over a broad collection. Include supportive, adverse and distinguishable decisions where they clarify the range of tribunal reasoning.