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Introduction to Online Legal Research  (Westlaw and Lexis)
Professor Callister


Session: Fall - Spring
Working with databases with tables of contents.Using clip and alert services to stay current.Keeping track of your searches.Practice problems for the Fall Session of Westlaw and Lexis instruction.
Segment and restricted field searching.Natural language search on both Lexis and Westlaw.How to find similar documents using Lexis "More Like This" searching.How to searcher for similar cases using West Key Numbers.How to check status with Shepards and KeyCite.

Westlaw:   Field-Restricted Searching (Legislative History Example)

 
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Electronic  documents are divided into coded segments known as "fields."   Often searches can be conducted more efficiently by restricting the search to certain fields because fewer irrelevant hits are returned in the search results.

Suppose that you have been asked to locate the legislative history for the Indian Child Welfare Act.  First, locate an appropriate database to search.   In this case, you locate the database through the directory structure.

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