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Westlaw Campus Research

General Search Tips

NU users have access to all subscribed content within Westlaw Campus Research. Any document selected that falls outside our subscription will be marked Out of Plan.

In Westlaw, you can conduct searches in natural language or by using Boolean terms and connectors. 

Boolean Operators and Connectors

  • & -  symbol for AND operator. Connects keywords together. 
    • Example: criminal & procedure
  • /s - specifies that the terms appear in the same sentence.
    • criminal /s procedure
  • +s - specifies that the first term must precede the second term within the same sentence.
    • criminal +s procedure
  • /p - specifies that the terms appear in the same paragraph. 
    • criminal /p procedure
  • +p - specifies that the first term must precede the second term within the same paragraph.
    • criminal +p procedure
  • /n  - specifies that search terms need to appear within a specified number of terms of each other.
    • breach /5 contract
  • +n - specifies that the first term must precede the second term by no more than the specified number of terms.
    • Ruth +3 Ginsberg
  • ! - symbol for root expander that searches for multiple endings.
    • object! retrieves object, objected, objection, and objecting. 
  • * - symbol for searching for words with variable characters.
    • withdr*w retrieves withdraw and withdrew. 
  • % - symbol for BUT NOT; excludes documents that contain the terms typed after this connector.
    • damages % negligence

 

 

Conducting a Search

To conduct searches using Westaw's Advanced Search template, click on 'Advanced' located to the right of the search box. 

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This will take you to the Advanced Search template screen. On this page, you can conduct searches using Boolean terms and connecters with the help of the preset fields.Jurisdiction can be selected by clicking on the Jurisdiction dropdown menu in the upper right corner of the search field. The preset fields allow you to search: 

All of these terms - includes all terms within search results

Any of these terms - includes any of the terms within search results

This exact phrase - includes the exact phrase within search results

Exclude documents  - eliminates any results that include the indicated terms. 

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As you enter the terms with the specified fields, the search phrase populates within the search box above. 

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Please see the section on Results and Search History to learn more about reviewing and narrowing down your results. 

The Advanced Search template also allows for citation searching. You can search by citation, case name, or document title. 

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Searching by Citation or Case Name

Cases are searchable by citation or by party names in the top search field.

Examples: 

Type the citation in the search box at the top of the page. 

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Type the case name in the search box at the top of the page.

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Various Advanced Search Templates You'll See in Westlaw

Administrative Decisions & Guidance

Cases

Regulations

Secondary Sources

Statutes & Court Rules