Transcript Terms and Connectors Searching on Westlaw

West’s Instructional Aids Series
Terms and Connectors Searching
on Westlaw®...
...is based on Boolean logic
developed from the theories of 19th
century mathematician George Boole.
You’ll often hear a Terms and
Connectors search called a Boolean
search.
West’s Instructional Aids Series
Contents
• Introduction
• Terms
• Connectors
• Fields
Introduction
Back to Contents
Introduction
Anxiety over Terms and Connectors
Searching
• Beginning and experienced researchers alike often shy
away from Terms and Connectors searching because
– “it has to be exactly right or it won’t work”; or
– “the rules about which connector to use and the order of
processing are too complicated.”
• Neither perception is true. It does take a little thought to
construct an effective Terms and Connectors search, but
this type of search is based on simple rules and logical
choices, not higher mathematics.
Introduction
Why Use Terms and Connectors
Searching
• All databases on Westlaw can be searched using Terms and
Connectors.
• Most, but not all, databases can be searched using Natural
Language.
• Terms and Connectors searching is very precise.
Introduction
When to Use Terms and Connectors
Searching
– you are looking for particular terms;
– you are searching for a particular document; or
– you need all documents containing specific
information, such as all cases classified under a
particular key number, all newspaper articles that
mention a specific company, or all statutes containing a
particular term.
Introduction
Steps in Constructing a Search:
ITAC Method
(Issue, Terms, Alternatives, Connectors)
1. Clearly state the ISSUE, using legal terminology
when possible.
(Stating your issue as a question is a good way to clarify your
thoughts.)
Is a social host liable for injuries caused by his intoxicated
guests?
Introduction
Steps in Constructing a Search:
ITAC Method
2. Select a few key TERMS from your issue.
(Using three to five key terms works well for most issues.)
host injury intoxicated guest
or
host intoxicated guest
Introduction
Steps in Constructing a Search:
ITAC Method
3. Enter reasonable ALTERNATIVE terms for your
key terms.
(Use acronyms and antonyms as well as synonyms.)
• A term that may seem to have little relationship to a key
term may be a reasonable alternative. The host of a party
could be a corporation, an association, or a club.
host
hostess
corporation
association
club
intoxicated
drunk
D.U.I
D.W.I.
sober
guest
attendee
invitee
Introduction
Steps in Constructing a Search:
ITAC Method
4. Add appropriate CONNECTORS to specify the
relationship you want each term and its
alternatives to have to the other terms and their
alternatives.
host hostess /p intoxicated or drunk or alcohol /s
guest
Introduction
Steps in Constructing a Terms and
Connectors Search: the ITAC Method
• Issue is defined in legal terminology.
• Terms that are essential are selected.
• Alternative terms that are reasonable are selected.
• Connectors that connect the terms in reasonable
relationships are added.
Introduction
Once you get the hang of Terms and
Connectors searching, it’s fun.
Terms
Back to Contents
Terms
Terms
For this exercise let’s assume you want to retrieve all cases in a
database that address
A social host’s liability for injuries caused by intoxicated guests
• There is no right or wrong way to construct a search; just
proceed using common sense.
• Host, intoxicated, and guest will be the key terms for this
exercise.
• We could have chosen more terms but it’s wise to stick
with the essential terms.
Terms
Terms
host
hostess
intoxicated
drunk
alcohol
guest
•
Get into the habit of placing your key words in a
horizontal line in your mind, if not actually on paper.
•
Under each key word add any word that is a reasonable
alternative.
•
You can probably think of additional alternatives for the
exercise but right now, let’s keep this exercise simple.
Terms
Using the Thesaurus to Find Alternative Terms
Thesaurus
Intoxicated
Alternatives
The Thesaurus feature on Westlaw provides synonyms and
acronyms for the key words in your query and lets you add them
to your search. The Thesaurus does not provide antonyms and
other irregular alternatives but you can add these terms yourself.
Terms
Expanders: Making the Most of Terms:
The Root Expander (!)
• The root expander (!) retrieves all extensions of words
with variant endings (up to 16 characters).
• drunk! retrieves drunk, drunken, and drunkard.
• Be careful not to truncate your root term too severely.
depo! retrieves not only forms of deposition, but also
deposit, depositor, deposited, deport, deportation, etc.
Terms
Expanders: Making the Most of Terms:
The Universal Character (*)
• The Universal Character (*) is used in place of a letter (like
a wild card or a blank tile in Scrabble).
• dr*nk retrieves drank, drink, and drunk.
• The universal character cannot be used in place of the first
letter of a word.
• The universal character can be used at the end of a term to
specify how many letters may be added. Example:
object** would retrieve object, objects, and objected but
not objective.
Terms
Expanders: Making the Most of Terms
• More than one expander can be used in a term.
• s****holder retrieves both shareholder and stockholder.
• dr*nk! retrieves drank, drink, drinkable, drunk, drinking,
drunken, and drunkard.
Terms
Terms: Automatic Enhancements
• The singular form of a word automatically retrieves the
plural and possessive forms of the word, including
irregular forms.
• The plural or possessive, however, will not retrieve the
singular.
• Woman retrieves women, woman’s, and women’s;
women or woman’s will not retrieve woman.
Use the singular form of a word unless you have a good
reason not to.
Terms
Terms: Automatic Enhancements
• Search term 415 also retrieves 415.5, 415(b), and
415(b)(1)(A).
• 415.1 or 415(b) will not retrieve 415.
• This is helpful when you are looking for mention of a
statute that may or may not be cited as a particular
paragraph or section.
Terms
Terms: Automatic Equivalencies
• Most accepted variations of the spelling of a term will
retrieve other accepted variations:
- Judgment = Judgement
- Millennium = Millenium
• Automatic equivalencies are built into Westlaw. For
example:
- Three = 3
- New York = NY
- First = 1st
- Avenue = Ave.
Terms
Terms: Other Enhancements
• Hyphenate compound words in your search.
• A hyphenated term will retrieve the term whether it is one
word, two words, or a hyphenated word.
• good-will retrieves good will, good-will, or goodwill.
If you have any question whether a word might or might not
be hyphenated, add the hyphen. It can’t hurt.
Terms
Terms: Other Enhancements
• Use periods between the letters an acronym to retrieve all
variations of the acronym.
–
–
–
–
periods between letters
spaces between letters
periods and spaces between the letters
no period or spaces between letters
• E.P.A. retrieves E.P.A, E P A, E. P. A., and EPA.
Connectors
Back to Contents
Connectors
Connectors
host! /p intoxicat! or dr*nk! or alcohol! /s guest
•
After you have decided on the terms that you will use in your
search, the next step is to connect each key term and its
alternatives with the other key terms and their alternatives.
•
A connector specifies the relationship between the terms on
either side of the connector.
Connectors
The Most Commonly Used Connectors
Space = Or
host! /p intoxicat! dr*nk! alcohol! /s guest
or
host! /p intoxicat! or dr*nk! or alcohol! /s guest
• A space between two terms means “or”.
• You could type in the word “or” if that is easier to remember.
• In the query above, host! and guest are required terms along
with the expansion of any one, two, or three of the terms
intoxicat! or dr*nk! or alcohol!.
Connectors
The Most Commonly Used Connectors
/p = Same Paragraph
host! /p intoxicat! dr*nk! alcohol! /s guest
• The /p connector requires that the terms on one side of the /p
connector be in the same paragraph as the terms on the other
side of the connector. No particular order is required.
• In the above search any expansion of host! must be in the same
paragraph as any expansion of intoxicat! or dr*nk! or alcohol!
(or any expansions of the any two or all three of the alternative
terms).
Connectors
The Most Commonly Used Connectors
/s = Same Sentence
host! /p intoxicat! dr*nk! alcohol! /s guest
• The /s connector requires that the terms on one side of the /s
connector be in the same sentence as the terms on the other
side of the connector. No particular order is required.
• In the query above, guest must be in the same sentence of the
expansion of intoxicat! or dr*nk! or alcohol! (or any
expansions of the any two or all three of the alternative terms).
Connectors
More Connectors:
& = Same Document
host! /p intoxicat! dr*nk! alcohol! /s guest & insurance
• The & connector requires that the terms on one side of the
& connector be in the same document as the terms on the
other side, whether two terms or 200 pages apart.
• A document with good on page two and faith on page 50
most likely won’t be discussing a good-faith issue.
The & connector is valuable only in limited situations.
Connectors
More Connectors:
& = Same Document
The & connector is valuable in the following situations.
• If you think one term in your query may not appear near
your other query terms in the documents you want to
retrieve, use the & connector.
host! /p intoxicat! dr*nk! alcohol! & insurance
• Use the & connector when you are searching for terms in
several sections of the document. (More about this type of
search later).
Connectors
More Connectors
Quotation Marks (“ ”) = Phrase
• Quotation marks around a phrase or term of art, such as
“limited liability”, are used only when the concept is
invariably stated the same way each time it is used.
• Consider whether the phrase could appear another way,
such as “liability was limited”.
• A safer search would be to require limited and liability to
be within the same sentence or within a specified number
or words of each other.
Connectors
More Connectors
/n = Number of Terms
• /n requires that the terms on one side of the /n connector
be within a certain number of terms of those on the other
side. No particular order is required and grammatical
structure is ignored.
liability /3 limited
• N represents any number between 1 and 250, for
example, /3 or /150.
•
/n is most often used when the words on either side should
be fairly close together but are not invariably in the same
order. liability /3 limited would retrieve both limited
liability and liability was limited.
Connectors
More Connectors
The Plus Connectors (+) Order the Terms
• +s, +p/, +n connectors require that the terms on the left of
the connector precede the terms on the right within the
specified relationship.
under-ground +4 tank
• This query requires that underground precedes tank by no
more than four words. Any word(s) can appear between
storage and tank.
• This connector is often used when a word must appear
twice within the specified relationship. jones +5 jones
could be used to find references to Jones v. Jones.
Connectors
Connectors and Expanders Reference List
Connectors/Expanders
A full list of all connectors
and expanders with brief
explanations of their
use can be accessed
from the Search page in
westlaw.com.®
Connectors
Reordering Connectors
Use of Parentheses
• Words within parentheses are processed first and then
treated as a unit.
• (defect! /s design!) “product liability” retrieves either
any expansion of defect within the same sentence as any
extension of design or “product liability”.
• Parentheses are useful when you are searching for citations
to multiple statutes: (42 +3 1981) (15 +3 311) will retrieve
mention of 42 USCA 1981 or 15 USCA 311.
Connectors
Your Turn
All the passengers getting off a flight from Miami are taken to
a small room at the airport by the Miami police. They are
questioned and their clothing and luggage are searched.
• What is the legal issue?
Can police detain passengers search and seize their
clothing and luggage without probable cause.
• What are your key terms?
Connectors
search! seiz! /s clothing luggage back-pack /p airport airplane plane & “probable cause”
“search and seizure” /p airport air-plane plane /p clothing
luggage back-pack /p “probable cause”
• Above are two possible searches. There are many other
possible searches.
• Neither search is right or wrong. Usually it takes a few
tries before you retrieve the number of documents you
need to feel confident that you have found enough relevant
documents to continue your research, but not so many as to
be overwhelming.
Connectors
Your Turn Again
Senator Jones has been insisting that the right to contribute
any amount to to a political candidate is constitutionally
protected and any limitation would be a violation of the
First Amendment right of free speech. Is he right?
• What is the legal issue? Pick out the key terms, add
reasonable alternatives, and decide on the connectors that
will join each term and its alternative with the other
terms and their alternatives.
You probably won’t have a problem at all!
Field Searches
Back to Contents
Fields
Fields on Westlaw
• Most documents on Westlaw are divided into segments
called fields.
• Field searching adds even more precision to a Terms and
Connectors search.
• The names and number of fields that a document contains
depends on the type of database. A case law database has
different fields than a statute law database. For example,
there is no judge field in a statutory database.
Fields
Fields on Westlaw
• Most fields are entered in the search as a two-letter
abbreviation. For example, the abbreviation for the title
field in case law is ti.
• The abbreviation of the field is immediately (no space)
followed by parentheses.
• A Terms and Connectors search within a field is
constructed in the same way as a as search that is not
restricted to a specific field except that the terms are
entered within the parentheses.
di( “probable cause” /p stop! /p car automobile vehicle)
Fields
Fields
• Knowing which fields a database contains and what
information is in each field can greatly increase the
efficiency of your search.
• The terms must be in the specified field(s) or the document
will not be retrieved.
• The following slide will show some of the fields in a case
law database and their abbreviations that would be used in
a search.
Fields
You can access a Fields
list from the Search page
on westlaw.com.
Case Law Fields
on Westlaw
Fields
Fields
This is the template that
appears when you access the Fields list. You can
use this template or just enter the search directly into the search
text box. These are just some of the fields in a case law database.
Fields
Case Law Title Field
• You need to retrieve a case. All you know is that one
party’s name is Bush and the other party’s name is Gore.
• ti(Bush & Gore) requires that both the terms Bush and
Gore appear in the portion of the document that contains
the names of the parties, the title field.
• The & connector can be used here because the field is so
small the two terms will necessarily be close together. The
search would be equally effective if /s or /p had been used
as the connector.
Fields
Case Law Synopsis and Digest Fields
• A combination of fields can be searched. Just put a comma
between the fields.
• The sy,di combination field is a favorite of law students
because it searches both the synopsis and the digest fields
in one search and insures that in the cases retrieved the
issue is central to the case.
sy,di(wrongful! /5 terminat! discharg!)
sy,di(“product liability” /p danger! defect! /p airbag)
Fields
Case Law Synopsis and Digest Fields
• The headnote and synopsis fields are prepared by West
attorney-editors
– using consistent and current legal terminology
– using descriptive terms instead of proper names
– adding alternative terms for ambiguous, regional or
outdated words
• Examples:
– Tenant is used instead of Mr. Blake or plaintiff
– Aspirin is used instead of Bufferin or Tylenol
– Intoxicated is used instead of tipsy
A headnote and synopsis field search retrieves many online
reporter cases that you would otherwise miss.
Fields
Case Law Fields on Westlaw
Title Field
Synopsis Field
Topic Field
Headnote Field
The Digest Field is a combination
of the Topic and Headnote fields.
Fields
A Case Law Field Only on Westlaw
Words and Phrases Field
• The Words and Phrases (wp) field is used when you need
to find a judicial definition of a word or phrase in the body
of the case. No documents are retrieved that discuss the
word or phrase without defining it.
• You will first see the definition in a headnote. Jump from
the headnote to the body of the case to see the court’s exact
wording of the definition.
wp(“constructive discharge”)
Fields
The Date Restriction Field
• The date restriction (da) field is available in databases in
which the documents are dated, such as case law,
administrative decisions, and journals and law review
databases.
• You can require documents after a date,
before a date, between two dates or on a
specific date.
• The added date (ad) field is
used only to determine when
documents were added to
Westlaw.
Date
Fields
Multiple Field Searching in Case Law
• What if you only know that one party’s name is Smith, that
Smith’s attorney’s name is Brown and that the case was
decided after 1990?
• ti(smith) & at(brown) & da(aft 1990) is the focused
search that would retrieve the case (assuming you are in
the correct database).
• Notice the & connectors between the fields. This is an
example of one of the times the & connector must be used.
Without the & connectors, your search would retrieve
documents with Smith in the title field or Brown in the
attorney field or all documents decided after 1990.
Fields
Statutory Law Fields
There are not as many fields in a statutory
law database. Most of these fields are not available in
case law databases.
Fields
Statutory Law Fields: the Citation,
Prelim and Caption Fields
• The citation (ci) field contains the statute’s citation.
ci(42 +3 198*)
will retrieve the following sections in Title 42:
198 and 1980 to 1989.
• pr,ca is a useful combination of fields in a statutory
database. The pr, or prelim, field is the statute’s heading;
the ca, or caption, field contains the specific title of that
statute.
pr,ca(“title 11” & exemption)
Fields
Statutory Fields on Westlaw
Caption Field
Prelim Field
Caption Field
Citation Field
Fields
Statutory Law Fields: The Substantive
Document Field
• The substantive document (sd) field contains all the fields
that are not enhanced by West Group attorney-editors (the
“official” segments of the statute).
• The sd field includes the prelim, citation, caption, text, and
credit fields.
• Annotations are not included in the sd field.
Fields
Combining Unrestricted Searches and
Field Searches
• Many searches are a combination of unrestricted or freetext searches (words can be found anywhere in the
document) and field searches.
“dying declaration” /p time hour minute second day /p
admiss! inadmissible admit! & ju(jackson)
• This search retrieves cases addressing a dying declaration
and how long it can be asserted before death and be
admissible according to Judge Jackson’s previous
decisions.
Fields
Your Turn
You need cases since 1980 that discuss the Environmental
Protection Agency regulations concerning underground
storage tanks for which Judge Clifford wrote the appellate
decision. Use the Maine Cases (ME-CS) database and
construct an effective search using both free text searching
and field searching.
Hint: A case might use the phrase underground gasoline tank
or underground oil tank or underground storage tank.
Conclusion
Terms and Connectors Searching
• Terms and Connectors searching is easy to master.
• Just remember ITAC.
• If you feel you need help in constructing a Terms and
Connectors search call the West Reference Attorneys:
• 1-800-850-WEST
• Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• You will need to be able to articulate your issue.
Good luck!