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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

 

 

Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources include the following legal resources:

  • Legal encyclopedias
  • Treatises
  • Legal periodicals
  • Law reviews

These resources

  • Provide interpretations and well-reasoned statements of the law; 
  • Can be used as persuasive authority.
  • Are good starting points when you are unfamiliar with particular topics or practice areas; and
  • Reference important case law and statutory authority in addition to journal and law review citations.

Link to the Secondary Sources content page from the Westlaw Campus Research home page. This content page can be searched by typing in your terms and connectors in the search field at the top of the page. You can also select to search by Type, State, or Topic.  

Under Related Content, you have access to the entire Secondary Sources Index as well as Black's Law Dictionary. 

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Searching by Keyword

To search for secondary sources by keyword searching from the Westlaw home page, using natural language or Boolean searching:

  1. Type your search phrase into the search box at the top of the page. 
  2. Click Search. This will search all core legal content that can be filtered to Secondary Sources. 
  3. Narrow down as needed using filters on the left panel. 

To search for forms within Westlaw Campus Research, connect to the Secondary Sources Content Page. Select Texts & Treatises. Type your search using Boolean operators or Terms & Connectors in the search box at the top of the page. User the filters on the left panel to narrow down by Form Type. This section is located after the Publication Name section towards the bottom of the filters list. 

Results can be narrowed down by jurisdiction and date as well. 

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