7.1 Advanced Online Legal Database Searching

Advanced online legal database searching is a game-changer for legal research. It goes beyond simple keyword searches, offering tools like field restrictions, proximity connectors, and wildcards to zero in on exactly what you need. These techniques help you find the most relevant cases and statutes quickly.

Mastering these advanced search features can save you tons of time and improve your research quality. You'll learn how to craft complex queries, analyze search results effectively, and adapt your strategies for different legal issues. It's all about working smarter, not harder, in the digital legal landscape.

Advanced Legal Database Searching

Major Legal Databases and Advanced Search Capabilities

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Top images from around the web for Major Legal Databases and Advanced Search Capabilities

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  Database Vendors - Estates, Gifts and Trusts - Research Guides at Florida State University ... View original

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  A New Way to Look at Law, With Data Viz and Machine Learning – The Living Library View original

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  Find News - LAW 7278 - International Intellectual Property Law - Gervais - Research Guides at ... View original

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• Major legal databases like Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Bloomberg Law offer advanced search capabilities beyond basic keyword searching to help narrow and refine results
• Field restrictions allow limiting searches to specific parts of a document, such as the title, author, citation, court, attorney, or judge, leading to more targeted results
• Proximity connectors specify the desired proximity between search terms, helping to find more relevant documents where the terms appear close together
  • Westlaw uses

    /s

    ,

    /p

    ,

    /n

    for sentence, paragraph, and number of words apart respectively
  • LexisNexis uses

    w/sen

    ,

    w/par

    ,

    w/seg

    for within sentence, paragraph, or segment
• Wildcards and truncation symbols can broaden a search by finding variations of a word root or alternative spellings
  • Common symbols include

    *

    ,

    !

    ,

    ?

    depending on the database
• Legal phrase searching, using quotation marks around a phrase, ensures that documents contain that exact phrase rather than just the component words

Refining Searches with Date Restrictions and Other Techniques

• Date restrictions can limit searches to materials published within a specific time frame, such as the last 90 days or a particular year, to find the most current or historically relevant information
• Combining multiple advanced search techniques in a single query allows for highly precise results tailored to the specific research need
  • Example:

    title("copyright infringement" /s "fair use") and date(>2020)

    searches for articles with "copyright infringement" and "fair use" in close proximity in the title, published after 2020
• Nesting search terms within a field restriction focuses the search on that specific part of the document
  • Example:

    title("attractive nuisance")

    finds articles with this exact phrase in the title field
• Advanced segment searching in LexisNexis (

  CORE-TERMS

  ,

  SUMMARY

  ,

  HLEAD

  ) allows targeting key sections of a document
  • Example:

    core-terms("qualified immunity" and 1983)

    searches for these terms in the core terms section

Constructing Complex Search Queries

Using Boolean Operators and Parentheses

• Effective complex search queries often combine multiple advanced search techniques in a single search string for highly precise results
• Boolean operators (

  AND

  ,

  OR

  ,

  NOT

  ) can connect multiple field restrictions, proximity connectors, or keywords to broaden or narrow a search appropriately
  • The

    AND

    operator narrows a search by requiring all search terms to be present
  • The

    OR

    operator broadens a search by including any of the search terms
  • The

    NOT

    operator excludes documents containing a particular term
• Parentheses can be used to specify the order of operations in a search query, controlling which parts are processed first
  • Example:

    (negligence or "strict liability") and "product defect"

    finds documents with either negligence or strict liability along with product defect

Crafting Precise Queries with Proximity Connectors and Field Searches

• Complex queries can incorporate multiple proximity connectors to specify the desired relationship between several key terms or phrases
  • Example:

    "res ipsa loquitur" /p (negligen! /3 infer!)

    looks for res ipsa loquitur in the same paragraph as negligence and infer within 3 words of each other
• Combining proximity connectors with field restrictions enables precise phrase searching in targeted parts of a document
  • Example:

    title("attractive nuisance" /s child!)

    searches for attractive nuisance and child variations in the title with a sentence connector
• Mixing and matching connectors, fields, and nested parentheses allows assembling highly customized queries for unique research needs

Analyzing Search Results

Evaluating Relevance and Authority of Sources

• Careful analysis of search results is necessary to determine which sources are most applicable to the legal issue at hand and will be most persuasive in a given context
• The number of search results returned provides insight into whether the search query was appropriately broad or narrow for the research topic
  • Too few results may indicate a need to broaden the search terms or remove some restrictions
  • An overwhelming number of results suggests narrowing the search with more specific keywords or connectors
• Examining the titles, authors, and publication dates of top search results helps gauge their relevance and timeliness
  • Look for well-known authorities in the field and recent publications for evolving areas of law
• Checking the citation count or "cited by" numbers for a source indicates how many subsequent sources have relied on it, providing a measure of its influence and authority
  • Frequently cited sources tend to be leading or landmark cases that are important to consider

Efficient Skimming Techniques

• Reading the summary or abstract of a source, if available, gives a quick overview of its scope and key points to assess applicability to the research question
• Skimming the headings, key paragraphs, and footnotes of a source allows evaluation of its depth of treatment of the topic and identification of the most pertinent sections
  • Headings provide a roadmap of the article's structure and main ideas
  • The introduction, conclusion, and first sentences of paragraphs often convey main points
  • Footnotes can lead to other relevant primary or secondary sources
• Assessing the type of legal authority and its place in the hierarchy of authority is crucial to selecting the most authoritative and binding sources
  • Primary authority (cases, statutes, regulations) generally takes precedence over secondary sources
  • Higher court decisions are more authoritative than lower court rulings

Adapting Search Strategies

Tailoring Searches to Specific Legal Issues and Jurisdictions

• The appropriate search techniques and databases to use will vary depending on the nature of the legal problem being researched and the applicable jurisdiction
• Effective researchers adapt their search terminology to align with the specific area of law, using relevant legal terms of art and key phrases
  • Example: Use "promissory estoppel" instead of generic contract terms for that topic
• Jurisdiction-specific sources, such as state case law databases, state statute collections, or state-specific secondary sources, should be prioritized when researching a state law issue
  • Example: Use the Florida Practice Series when researching a Florida family law matter
• When researching a federal law question, it is important to focus on federal statutes, federal court decisions, and secondary sources analyzing federal law
  • Example: Use the United States Code, U.S. Supreme Court cases, and federal practice guides for federal civil procedure questions

Expanding or Narrowing Searches Based on Initial Results

• Expanding a search to include analogous jurisdictions may be helpful if there are limited results from the binding jurisdiction
  • Look to neighboring states or federal circuit courts for potentially persuasive authority
• If a search yields limited relevant results, broadening the search query by using more general terminology or alternative keywords can locate additional material
  • Example: Search "canine sniff" in addition to "dog sniff" for Fourth Amendment cases
• If a search produces an overwhelming number of results, narrowing the search by adding more specific keywords, using field restrictions, or incorporating proximity connectors can help focus on the most relevant sources
  • Example: Add "reasonable suspicion" to a search about "Terry stops" to zero in on that aspect of stop and frisk law