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PART TWO: Conducting a Search
When you connect to TheLaw.net to conduct legal research, click on the Search
button from the TheLaw.net homepage, then complete the following steps:
Step 1: Select Jurisdiction to Search
Step 2: Design a Query
Step 3: Launch the Search/View the Results
Step 4: Refine the Query
Step 5: Copy or Print the Document
Step 1: Select Jurisdiction to Search
To begin, you must select a category. For example, if you select
“Federal Circuits” as your category, after you press Submit you have
the opportunity to select the specific circuits to include in the
search. You select or deselect a jurisdiction by clicking on the
associated box. In TheLaw.net, you are not limited to searching in one
jurisdiction at a time, nor are you limited to a grouping of
jurisdictions.
Step 2: Design a Query
A query is a word or string of words you want to find in retrieved
documents. When designing a query, you should think about the words a
court would use when discussing the issue you are researching. When you
have determined the words you want to search for, you can design a query
based on those words connected with Boolean connectors. Alternatively,
you can search for a phrase without using Boolean connectors.
BOOLEAN SEARCHING
A Boolean search requires the researcher to incorporate operators into
the query. A search operator is one or more characters that instructs
the search engine on how words should be related in retrieved documents.
An operator can work at word-level, where it applies to a single query
term, or at query level, where its presence affects the processing of
the entire query. When you use a search operator in conjunction with a
stop word, the operator is ignored.
By way of background, the Boolean search was named after George Boole, a
mathematician of the nineteenth century. Boolean logic is a commonly
used algebraic form where all values are reduced to either a true or
false convention. The three Boolean search operators are: AND, OR, NOT.
Here are examples of these three operators:
searches for all documents that contain both the search terms that the
operator AND separates. All documents that are found by this search will
have both the word “medical” and the word “malpractice” in them.
In George’s world this meant that in order for the statement to be
true, the documents had to contain both words.
searches for all documents that contain either of the search terms
separated by the operator OR. All documents that are found by this
search will have either the word “medical” or the word
“malpractice” in them.
searches for all documents that contain the search term(s) before the
NOT operator, but not after it. All documents that are found by this
search will contain the word “medical” but not the word
“malpractice.”
medical NOT legal malpractice
also searches for all documents that contain the search term(s) before
the NOT operator, but not after it. All documents that are found by this
search will contain the word "medical" but not the phrase
"legal malpractice." In this example, the search engine first
looks for documents in which the word "medical" occurs. Then,
because the default operator is ADJ, the search engine looks for
instances in those documents where the word 'legal" is adjacent to
the word "malpractice" and discards them retaining only those
documents in which the word "medical" is present without the
phrase "legal malpractice."
CAUTION: It is not advisable to start your search query with the NOT
operator. For example, if you start with the query “NOT malpractice”
the search engine will retrieve ALL documents that do not contain the
word “malpractice.” This is not usually a desirable result. If you
choose to start your search query with the NOT operator, you can
minimize this effect by specifying a short date range. However, the best
practice is to avoid using the NOT operator at the beginning of a search
query.
THE DEFAULT SEARCH OPERATOR
The default operator on TheLaw.net is ADJ (adjacent). Therefore, if no operator
is specified, the search engine will look for the words in the search
query occurring immediately adjacent to one another. ADJ is
unidirectional, from left to right.
PHRASES
Because the default operator on TheLaw.net is ADJ, you can search for a phrase
by simply entering the phrase in the search query box. For example, to
search for “negligent infliction of emotional distress” just type
that phrase in the search query box. The search engine will
automatically search for those words immediately adjacent to one another
in the same order they are typed.
You can consult our Operator Chart for a concise list of operators.
Once you have designed your query:
- type the words and search operators in the box labeled: Enter
Search
- you have the option to specify a date range; use this format:
01/01/1999
- as a final option, you can select the Number of Results
(documents) to retrieve (25, 50, 100, or 200) by using the pull-down
menu. The default is set at 50.
Step 3: Launch the Search/View the Results
Once you have entered a query, click on Submit to launch a search
for relevant documents. Should you wish to interrupt a search in
progress, you can use the method appropriate to your Web browser
(i.e., the browser's Stop button).
THE SEARCH RESULTS WINDOW
When the search engine finishes processing your search query, TheLaw.net
displays the Search Results Window (a.k.a. “The Hit List”). At
the top of the window is a restatement of your query. This helps
remind you how the current search results were retrieved and can
assist you in refining your query for subsequent searches.
Below the query is the primary component of the Hit List window: the
list of retrieved documents. We are currently in the process of
reformatting the Hit List for all of our databases. Therefore, you
may see two different styles in the Hit List. The new style includes
the state or federal database where the document was found and a
case citation. The old Hit List format contains the following
elements: the state or federal database where the document was
found, the date of the document (the date the court put at the
beginning of the case, which may or may not be the same date it was
issued or transmitted from the court), and the name of the parties.
- If your search retrieves no documents, the Hit List screen will
contain the message “0 documents found (0 returned) for Search
Query: …”
- A [U] before the case indicates the opinion is unpublished.
- Relevance Ranking. The document with the highest degree of
relevance to the search query is at the top of the list, with all
other documents scaled relative to the first. This is not an
indication of legal relevance.
- The name of the court that issued the opinion is abbreviated.
State abbreviations match the two-letter zip code abbreviations. The
abbreviation for federal circuit courts start with “C” for
“circuit” and then indicate the court: C07 indicates Seventh
Circuit, CDC indicates D.C. Circuit, and CFC indicates the Federal
Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court is abbreviated SCT.
VIEW THE RESULTS
To view a document, click on its name in the Hit List. Your search
terms will be highlighted in the document; use your browser’s
scroll button to scroll through the opinion to find the highlighted
search terms. Alternatively, you can use the Find Button to jump to a particular search word within the document. To
return to the Hit List, click the Back button.
Step 4: Refine the Query
After examining the retrieved documents, you may learn of additional
relevant search terms or find that your search query was too broad
and retrieved irrelevant documents. Your first query can be edited
to include or exclude words as necessary. When editing queries, the
Delete and Backspace keys function normally, you can manually
position the cursor to insert text, and you can select a range of
characters by dragging the cursor. After editing the search query,
click on Submit to run your new search.
Step 5: Print or Copy a Document
PRINTING
To print a document from the screen, click the Print button.
COPYING
To copy an entire case, touch Ctrl-A, and click the Copy Button.
To copy a portion of a case, highlight the portion you would like to
copy and click the copy button.
You can now paste the selected text into a word processor or
email. Next
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Database Manual
Search Syntax
Field Searching
Browser Basics
Power User Tips
Drop Down Menus