Search term connectors vary across the legal databases. Use this handy guide to quickly identify which connectors to use when researching across multiple databases.
Tip: print out the PDF as a handy reference.
| WESTLAW | LEXIS ADVANCE | CCH INTELLICONNECT | AGIS PLUS TEXT | AUSTLII | HEINONLINE | LAWLEX PREMIUM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Find both terms in the same document e.g. evidence AND admissibility |
& (or a space) | and | AND | AND | and | AND | AND |
| Find either or both of the terms in the same document e.g. brief OR evidence |
or | or | OR | OR | or | OR | OR |
| To exclude a term from a search e.g. evidence NOT briefs |
% | and not | NOT | NOT | not | NOT | NOT |
| To find an exact phrase (phrase searching) e.g. "legal rights" |
" " | " " | " " | " " | " " | " " | " " |
| Find different endings (truncation searching) e.g. educat*(finds educate, educator, education, educating) |
! | ! (or *) | * | * (substitutes an unlimited number of characters and can be placed anywhere in the word) |
* | * | Not supported |
| Find terms with variable characters or spellings (wildcard searching) e.g. wom?n(finds women and woman) |
* | ? (use one question mark per variable character) |
? | ? (substututes a single character) |
? | ? | Not supported |
Use ( ) to search grouped clauses to form sub queries i.e. (watershed OR "water rights") AND planning will produce documents that contain either watershed or water rights and planning
See individual databases for a full list of search term connectors and search tips.
| WESTLAW | LEXIS ADVANCE | CCH INTELLICONNECT | AGIS PLUS TEXT | AUSTLII | HEINONLINE | LAWLEX PREMIUM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To find words within a defined distance of each other (proximity searching) | Where n is a number | Where n is a number | Where n is a number | Enter a space before and after the operator | Where n is a number | Where n is a number | Not supported |
| Search terms within n terms of each other in any order | /n e.g. person /3 jurisdiction |
/n e.g. person /3 jurisdiction |
w/n e.g. person w/3 jurisdiction |
%10 e.g. person %10 jurisdiction |
w/n e.g. person w/3 jurisdiction |
~n (or w/n) e.g. "watershed planning"~10(search for watershed within 10 words of planning) |
|
| Search terms in the same sentence in any order | /s | /s | w/sen | ||||
| Search terms in the same paragraph in any order | /p | /p | w/par | ||||
| First term precedes the second by n terms | +n (or +s for sentence or +p for paragraph) |
onear/n (or pre/n) |
f/n | !n | pre/n (or near for within 50 words) |