Lexis and Westlaw Searching Hints
Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | October 28, 2008 – 10:11
A few hints for searching on Lexis and Westlaw:
1. Atleast command – If you want a specific term or phrase to appear a certain number of times in a document, do a search such as: atleast5(“tort reform”). This works in all Lexis and Westlaw databases, but may be especially useful for finding law review articles with a substantial discussion on a certain topic, rather than just mentioning something in passing.
2. Find how courts defined a word or phrase – While there are legal dictionaries on both Lexis and Westlaw, you may want to know how a court defines a word or phrase. On Westlaw use the words and phrases field search in a case law database. For example, WP(“abuse of discretion”). Westlaw is searching for cases where the court put the words in quotes. In Lexis, try a search such as: abuse of discretion /s defin! or means.
3. Differences in Lexis/Westlaw Syntax – Be aware of the differences in the search language between the two systems. The main one
being that if you leave a space between words, LexisNexis assumes a phrase, but Westlaw assumes “or.” Example: If you type in: statute of limitations on LexisNexis, it will look for the phrase, but Westlaw will look for: statute or of or limitations. Westlaw will read something as a phrase if you put it in quotes “statute of limitations.” For more differences seeLexisNexis & Westlaw Features Compared
Jason Grimes | 28/10/2008, 17:00
Full disclosure: I am employed by LexisNexis.
LexisNexis also reads phrases literally when placed in quotes.
Thus, one will get very different results when searching “free and clear” as opposed to free and clear (without quotes).
Lexis searches [Reply]
Jan | 19/11/2008, 11:40
Hi, Could someone elaborate on the statement about getting very different results with “free and clear” with and without quotes. I suspect this is wrong.
Lexis and Westlaw Searching Hints [Reply]
Sue Altmeyer | 20/11/2008, 10:13
On LexisNexis, if you type in free and clear without quotes, it searches for the word free and the word clear anywhere in the document. This is because “and” is a Boolean operator. Otherwise, you don’t really need the quotes because Lexis assumes a phrase. So, if you type in statute of limitations, Lexis reads it as a phrase.
If you type “free and clear” in quotes, Lexis reads it as a phrase. I tried it in the OH State Cases Combined database. I got over 3,000 hits without the quotes, and 1,150 hits with the quotes.
