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This guide provides an introduction to Boolean (often used interchangeably with Terms & Connectors) searching and natural language searching, with a focus on searching for legal materials.
The below chart compares natural language search examples with terms and connectors search examples.
Natural Language Search | Terms & Connectors Search | Explanation of Terms & Connectors Search |
---|---|---|
endangered species sea turtles | "Endangered Species Act" AND "sea turtles" /p habitat! | This search will include results with the phrase "endangered species act" and the phrase "sea turtles" appearing within the same paragraph as any form of the prefix habitat with all possible endings. |
classroom photocopies copyright infringement | (reproduc! OR photocop!) /s (class! OR educat!) AND "copyright infringement" | This search will search for the prefix reproduc or the prefix photocop within the same sentence as the prefix class or the prefix educat. All results will also contain the phrase "copyright infringement." |
If your search retrieves too many results, you can narrow your search by using some of the connectors listed here.
In the chart below, the left column contain operators for use on Lexis, while the right column contain operators for use on Westlaw. This chart can also be downloaded as a PDF at the bottom of this page.
Purpose | Lexis | Westlaw |
---|---|---|
Terms must appear as an exact phrase |
"exact phrase" "fair use" |
"exact phrase" "fair use" |
Both terms must be present |
AND, & "fair use" AND documentary |
AND, & "fair use" AND documentary |
Terms must be in the same paragraph |
/p, w/p Lexis processes these commands as /75 "fair use" /p documentary |
/p, w/p
"fair use" /p documentary |
Terms must be in the same sentence |
/s, w/s Lexis processes these commands as /25 "fair use" /s documentary |
/s, w/s
"fair use" /s documentary |
Terms must be within a certain number of words of each other |
/number, w/number, near/number "fair use" /5 documentary |
/number "fair use" /5 documentary |
Terms must be within a certain number of words of each other, and the first term precedes the second |
+number, pre/number "fair use" +5 documentary |
+number "fair use" +5 documentary |
Terms must appear at least a certain number of times |
ATLEASTnumber(word or "exact phrase") ATLEAST3(documentary) |
ATLEASTnumber(word or "exact phrase") ATLEAST3(documentary) |
Terms must not be present |
AND NOT excludedterm AND NOT vimeo |
%excludedterm, BUT NOT excludedterm BUT NOT vimeo |
If your search retrieves too few results, you can broaden your search by using OR or root expanders.
In the chart below, the left column contains operators for use on Lexis, while the right column contains operators for use on Westlaw. This chart can also be downloaded as a PDF at the bottom of this page.
Purpose | Lexis | Westlaw |
---|---|---|
Either term must be present |
OR documentary OR movie OR film |
OR documentary OR movie OR film |
Search for a root plus an unlimited number (zero or more) of additional characters |
root! If you search for a singular word, Lexis automatically finds regular plurals (-s, -es, and -ies) docu! for documaentary, docuseries, document |
root! If you search for a singular word, Westlaw automatically finds regular and irregular plurals (eg. child/children) docu! for documaentary, docuseries, document |
Search for words that begin and end with the same letters, with a wildcard in the middle |
On Lexis, * replaces zero or more characters. When used as a suffix, Lexis interprets * as ! d*g for dog, dig, or digging |
On Westlaw, * replaces zero or one character.
d*g for dog, dig, or digging |
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