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Introduction to Online Legal Research  (Westlaw and Lexis)
Professors Healey, Callister, Johnson, Williams & Ribstein & Ms. Denslaw

Session: Fall - Spring
How to conduct searches within a searching using Lexis Focus and Weslaw Locate.How to use preformulated terms and connector searches on given topics using Westlaw Keysearch.Practice problems for the Fall Session of Westlaw and Lexis instruction.line
How to register your ID and login.How to find the appropriate database to search.How to retrieve a document by its citation or name.How to print, download and email documents.How to construct terms and connector searches.
Terms & Connector Searches:  Phrase
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Phrase (" "):  When a group of words are put in quotation marks, the computer will only return hits with those precise grouping of words in that exact order.
  • Phrases are a great way of clarifying a search and making it more precise. 
  • For instance, lets say that what you really wanted to find (from the example on the previous page involving "condemnation" and "taking") were all federal cases involving the concept of a “regulatory taking” and “endangered species.”
This more narrow search (more narrow than only using boolean operators) yields twenty hits.
  • Failure to use phrase or quote marks will result in the expression being treated as an "or" search in Westlaw. 
      taking condemnation (without quotes) becomes "taking or condemnation"
Taken from materials initially prepared by Peter Hook and Paul Callister for the Class of 2003.
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