Search Techniques...
The quickest and surest way to save time while searching is
to use good technique. This will save you time, provide more accurate results,
and leave you with fewer irrelevant documents to wade through. Most of us use
Lexis and Westlaw for our legal research, but keep in mind that some of the same
search strategies employed in those databases carry over to other search
engines. The Law Library's online tutorial describes the functions of the
connectors and operators search techniques used in Lexis and Westlaw, as seen in
the summary below.
A search you will perform quite often is for the name of a person. One of
the surest ways to find a person's name while searching is to use a proximity
connector. Always, when searching for a person's name, use the /n (where n is a
number) proximity connector. For instance, searching for "Phill Johnson" in
Westlaw or Lexis will fail to provide any results if my name has been listed as
"Johnson, Phill." Another possible reason for failure is when a middle name is
used, or a middle initial for that matter. Sometimes a title will also prove to
be a problem if you are not using a proximity connector.
Keep in mind that not all terms and connectors will work outside of Lexis
or Westlaw. You must be aware of the limitations of any search engine you are
using. That said, it is always wise to experiment with your search terms, and
above all, be imaginative.
