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.
Lexis:  "More Like" Searches
Sample Problem		  
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Second step in the research cycleYou are now entering the second phase of the research cycle--finding similar cases (or documents).

Lexis has a special feature known as "more like this."  Consider the following problem:

During first semester, you conducted a "terms and connectors" search for a California murder case in which it was found that a "fetus cannot be a human being."  The key case that you found was “In Re Keeler” (2 Cal. 3d 619).  Now your supervising partner wants you to find all of the similar cases including cases in other jurisdictions.  Can you find all of the similar cases?

© 2002, Paul D. Callister