1. WestlawNext Tipsheet Singular/Plural **** Truncation Noise Words
Running an Advanced Search
Type the following in front of your search: ADV:
Run a search that includes a proximity connector (/5, /S, /P)
Click on “To modify these results to just documents that include your precise terms, click here.”
After a Googly search, narrow your results with Search within Results.
Click on Advanced to the right of the search bar.
The Advanced search feature formats your search* and provides fields** to restrict searches to specific parts of documents (party name, judge, headnotes, etc.).
*You still have to understand search logic! **Only available in individual sources (not the universal search box).
“summary judgment” = summary judgment (phrase)*
summary AND judgment = summary and judgment
summary judgment = summary or judgment**
summary OR judgment = summary or judgment **
vicious /5 cat = vicious within 5 words of cat
vicious /S cat = vicious within the same sentence as cat
vicious /P cat = vicious within the same paragraph as cat
vicious % cat = vicious not within same document as cat***
f.d.a. = f.d.a. or fda or f d a
road-block = roadblock or road block or road-block*
Order of Operation
“ ” OR
Proximity connectors
AND
NOT
Parentheses ( ) change the order of operation so the connectors inside the parentheses operate first.
No need to change the order of operation with parentheses when single terms/phrases are separated by ORs.
blind OR sightless OR “impaired vision” = documents with blind or sightless or impaired vision GOOD
Parentheses are needed to group together terms separated by proximity connectors.
blind OR (impair! /5 vision) = documents with blind or documents with impair!/5 vision GOOD
blind OR impair! /5 vision = documents with blind /5 vision or documents with impair!/5 vision* BAD
*This search is useless. It excludes all documents with blind unless blind is within five words of vision.
When you use multiple connectors in a search, it processes the search according to a priority order.
Singular/Plural ****
cat = cat, cat’s, cats, cats’
cats = cats, cats’
goose = goose, geese, goose’s, geese’s
geese = geese, geese’s
Truncation
breach! = breach, breached or breaching
bre*ch = breach or breech
Lexis Advance Variations for Advanced Searching
*No quotation marks needed for phrases
** ORs must be typed in
*** NOT = NOT
**** Singular/Plural
cat = cat, cat’s, cats, cats’
cats = cat, cat’s, cats, cats’
*No automatic compound search word feature
Avoid remembering system differences!
Always type in ORs
Put phrases in quotation marks
Use singular form of words
Remember a Few Simple Search Structures
dog /S bit! /S suspect
“police dog” /S bit! /S suspect
police /5 dog /S bit! /S suspect
police OR sheriff /5 dog OR canine /S bit! OR attack! /P suspect
police OR sheriff /5 dog OR canine /S bit! OR attack! /P suspect AND “wrongful death”
blind /S pedestrian /S hit OR struck!
blind OR (impair! /5 vision) /S pedestrian /S hit OR struck!
blind OR (impair! /5 vision OR sight) /S pedestrian /S hit OR struck!
Noise Words
To search for unsearchable noise words, use #.
“stop #and frisk”
“#not applicable”