Whenever you are given a research problem, it is crucial that you answer this question:
WHAT DO I ULTIMATELY NEED? WHY DO I NEED IT?
You might not immediately be able to identify everything you ultimately will need! It will develop as you do more research. However, in order to keep your research focused and organized, we recommend that you identify the following:
You can also use these search terms to brainstorm search keywords.
When crafting keyword searches, ask yourself:
How would the author use the language? In other words: how would a judge write the opinion you are looking for? What words would they use? In what different permutations might they occur? How close to one another would the words be?
What other fields will help narrow my searching? If you have been asked to find a case written by a particular judge, or within a particular jurisdiction, or during a certain time period, narrow your fields to reflect those limiters.
What if you have no idea how to locate something, or begin to tackle a problem? There are a few places that might help!
Using Boolean connectors and expanders allows you to create very precise searches and may lead to more focused and relevant results.
CONNECTOR
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EXAMPLE(S)
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EXPLANATION
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WESTLAW ((click on the advanced link by the search bar for guidance)
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LEXIS (click the advanced search link for guidance.)
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AND
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Burden AND Proof
Burden & Proof
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Use this when you need both term/phrases, but have no better idea of how close they might be. You can also use this to connect two terms with another phrase
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&
AND
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Lexis recognizes Westlaw search connectors!
and
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SAME PARAGRAPH
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Burden /p proof
Burden w/p proof
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Use this when you know that your two search terms will be closely linked
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/p
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w/p
/p
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SAME SENTENCE
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Burden /s proof
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Use this if you know that two terms will be in the same sentence (if they are part of a phrase).
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/s
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w/s
/s
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WITHIN N WORDS OF ANOTHER TERM
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Burden /5 proof
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Use this if you believe your words have to be even closer together than just the same sentence. Useful when searching names, legal phrases, or terms of art.
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/n
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w/n
/n
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OR
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Burden /s proof OR proving
Burden /s proof proving (in Westlaw)
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Use this to present synonyms or alternative search terms.
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or
OR
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OR
or
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EXACT QUOTES
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“strict liability”
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Use this if you believe a phrase can only be expressed exactly as you write it. If in doubt, use the /s or /n connector!
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" "
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" "
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VARIATIONS OF DIFFERENT WORDS
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Liab! (covers liability and liable)
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Use this if you have a term that could take a number of variations.
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!
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!
*
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WILDCARD or UNIVERSAL CHARACTER
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Theat**
Int**net
Inform???
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Use this if there are a few different variations of a word. Many of the databases now do this automatically.
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*
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?
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THE WORD SHOULD SHOW UP A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TIMES
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ATLEAST5(pretext) AND age /s discrim!
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Use this if you know that a search term should show up many times. This knocks out the case that just mention something in passing.
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ATLEASTN([word or phrase])
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atleastn([word])
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