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Research Guides: CALR Case Searching Basics

Swing and a Miss!

It's the often heard cry of legal researchers reviewing their Lexis or Westlaw search results; one case after another without any meaningful discussion or analysis of their research issue. This column suggests approaches for raising your CALR batting average.

On Deck

CALR is not a substitute for book research. In fact, research productivity is bound to increase if you do some preliminary book research before hitting the keyboard. Becoming familiar with the jargon and basic concepts of a legal topic helps you identify the keywords you'll need to search online.

CALR real-world costs are often prohibitive, unless you keep the time spent online to a minimum. Depending on your subscription package, you may be paying a flat rate and your costs will be predictable. Other subscription plans charge per minute or per search at rates that become quite substantial when searching larger blocks of materials. Advance planning makes for more efficient and cost-effective research.

Generally speaking, the larger databases on Westlaw - Allcases, Allstates, Allfeds, etc. and on Lexis - Federal and State Cases Combined - will be more expensive and less focused than smaller jurisdictional or topic specific databases. Because of their high costs coupled with their relatively slow response time during peak hours, you should only begin your research in these larger databases if you need to do national research.

Searching Westlaw's jurisdictional specific databases such as MO-CS for Missouri cases or topical databases such as MOFL-CS for Missouri family law cases is a good way to target your search. The same benefits are realized when searching Lexis's Mo State Cases or MO Family Cases. Becoming familiar with Lexis and Westlaw online directories - Lexis' Find a Source and Westlaw's Database List (IDEN) - will help you choose the right database. Both services publish substantial database directories in print.

Finally, write down your searches before going online. Time spent composing queries online often results in costly spelling errors and other inefficiencies that raise online costs.

Check Swing

If you're not satisfied with your initial search results, use the Edit Search function. When editing a previous search (or creating your initial search), you might want to consult the thesauri on Lexis and Westlaw. This feature suggests synonymous search terms to add to your search by simply clicking on the words you wish to add.

CALR systems are literal; if you search for doctor, but the opinion you need uses physician instead of doctor, you won't find the case. Anticipating which words or phrases a judge is likely to have used in writing about your issue is essential for composing successful search queries.

If your search results are somewhat in the ballpark, but contain too many irrelevant cases, use Lexis's Focus command and Westlaw's Locate command to refine your original results. Consult a librarian for assistance in using these and other search refinement techniques.

Hit to the Opposite "Field"

Another way to make your search results more precise is to limit your search to portions of the case containing editorial text. Consider some of the differences between a field restricted search and a full-text search on Westlaw:

sy,di("breach of contract" /p "emotional distress")
"breach of contract" /p "emotional distress"

• The first search retrieves cases in which the search terms appear in the same paragraph in either the synopsis or digest field or in both fields. The synopsis is a brief case description prepared by West editors. The digest field contains the West headnotes and topics in the case. If your search terms appear in either or both of these fields and assuming the West editor has done a good job of analyzing your case, the odds are pretty good that your issue is a significant one in the case.
• The second search is a full-text search. This search retrieves cases in which your search terms appear in either the editorial text or in the opinion text. The cases it retrieves, in which the search terms appear only in the opinion text, are unlikely to contain as much analysis of your issue as the ones found in the field restricted search.

Segment searching on Lexis is the equivalent of field searching on Westlaw and provides similar benefits for increasing the relevancy of your search results. The search query box includes a link to "Restrict Search Using Document Segments" - follow this link to find available Lexis segments to search. For example, if you search with the Lexis "coreconcepts" segment, your search will look like this: coreconcepts(assumption of the risk). This segment is similar to Westlaw's digest field; it requires your search terms to appear in Lexis' editorial enhancement text, improving the chances that the terms are an important issue in the case.

Extra Innings

We've only had room to touch on the basics of Lexis and Westlaw case searching. Both systems have many extra features that may improve search quality. Lexis has made substantial editorial enhancements to its case law databases in recent years and Westlaw continues to develop a variety of options for searching digests and headnotes. Ask a reference librarian if you need search assistance or are interested in receiving advanced Lexis or Westlaw training.