Lexis-Nexis
In order to access the Lexis-Nexis database, go to the Library's Home Page and click on Vale, then proceed to Databases, and choose Lexis-Nexis Academic. Remember, this database is not available off campus. You may access it from PCs located on main campus in Hackettstown or the Parsippany campus.
General Searching
Use the following as a guide while searching this database:
TYPE THIS: | FUNCTION: |
AND | Narrows a search |
OR | Expands a search |
AND NOT | Excludes specific concepts |
W/3 | With in three word. Always use W/3 when searching for names John w/3 Kennedy |
W/N | Links search words or phrases to create concepts (use number between 1-255) W/5 |
W/P | Looks for search terms within a paragraph |
W/S | Looks for search terms within a sentence |
W/N | The first term is required to appear, the second is not |
PRE/20 | Stands for previous 20. Allows for spacing and punctuation variations. |
! | Truncation Symbol - Searching for all forms of a word |
* | Wildcard - This replaces one letter of a word |
CAPS | Word must have one or more capital letters |
NOCAPS | Word must have no capital letters |
ALLCAPS | Word must have all capital letters |
( ) | Parenthesis enforce phrase searching |
FOCUS | Finds additional terms within your search |
Other Features
Here are other Lexis-Nexis features:
- Drop down menu selections are key to effective Lexis-Nexis searching.
- KWIC - Allows you to see the portions of the document that contain your keyword. The words are contained in context.
- In order to review the publications included in Lexis-Nexis, select "Sources" from the top navigation bar. You may select a specific title to search. Select the titles and click on the check box, then select the "Paste to Search" button.
- Lexis-Nexis prefers to search one term at a time. Use the additional search term box to add additional terms. You can modify your search using the "Edit Search" feature.
- If a term has a hyphen, slash or parenthesis, do not show the punctuation. Use a space instead, i.e., enter 401(k) as 401 k.
Searching News
- The screen on the Library's Home Page provides a general search interface. To enter the more complex news search interface, select "News" from the right hand menu.
- The basic news search is guided by drop down menus. There are a number of news search options.
- The "Guided News Search" provides ways to refine your search. Searching options are driven by drop down menus. The "Guided" search is accessed from the search tab at the top of the New Search screen.
- Common types of news categories include: editorials, obituaries, quotes, picture captions, and press releases. Press releases often include materials that have been generated by companies.
- The "News Transcripts" link provides the transcripts from media news outlets.
- The location limiter allows you to restrict searches geographically.
Searching Business
- Searching for company names is more effective if you input all of the variations of a company's name. For example, Pepsi Co or PepsiCo (it is important to use "or").
- The "Company Financial" link is best searched by company name. The information provided is from a company called Disclosure and is formatted.
- The SEC link provides access to SEC filings. You need to know the form you are looking for. The 10K is the annual report and the 10Q is a quarterly report.
- The "trade and industry search" allows you to search by segment.
Finding Court Cases
Access the Lexis-Nexis database to find court cases. Lexis-Nexis provides the full text for:
- Federal and state court decisions
- Federal and state laws/codes
- Federal regulations
- Federal and state constitutions and court rules
- Legal news and law reviews.
Court Cases
If you have the citation and name of the case you are looking for, type that information in the "Get a case" section on the opening page of the database.
Example: To locate the State of New Jersey v. Koskovich, 168 N.J. 448:
- Type in 168 N.J. 448 in the box for "citation". Important: You must use correct punctuation for this search.
- Type in State v. Koskovich in the space provided for the party name.
Note: You may also search for cases under Area of Law of Topic.
If you are not sure of the name or citation of the case or if you would like to search for cases by subject, select the "Legal Research" heading in the column on the left side of the opening page of the database. Once you have chosen the courts you wish to search (federal or state), you can enter key words to search the cases in either the basic search mode (for one/two word searches) or the guided search mode (for more complicated searches with three or more keywords/concepts).
Searching Tips
Use Boolean terms and connectors for accurate searching. The most commonly used connectors are:
OR: One of your search terms must appear in the document.
Example: doctor or physician -- finds either the doctor or physician.
AND: All words or phrases must both appear anywhere in the document.
Example: doctor and malpractice -- finds both doctor and malpractice anywhere in the same document.
W/n: Use connectors to link search words and phrases together. The letter n stands for a number from 1 to 255. W/n does not specify a word order.
Example: doctor w/5 malpractice -- finds doctor within five or fewer words of malpractice, regardless of which word appears first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I...
Find a case with a citation? What is I don't know what level court it's from?
Go to Legal Research and select the Get a Case search form. You may search across Federal and State courts for the party names or the citation to retrieve your case.
Find out more about a specific case, such as Brown v. Board of Education?
Go to Legal Research and select the Law Reviews search form. Law reviews provide background information and analysis of major court cases. Choose the Guided Search tab at the top. In the first text box, type Brown v. Board of Education. Select "At Least 3" from the pull down menu, which will ensure that the case name appears several times throughout each article, rather than just as a pass reference. Be sure to select an appropriate date restriction.
Find a law using its popular name?
Go to Legal Research and select the Federal Code search form. For search terms, key the terms used in the popular name of a law, leaving out noise words and quotation marks. For example, to find the Family and Medical Leave Act, your search terms could be: family medical leave act.
Find laws relating to a particular subject at the state level?
Go to Legal Research and select State Case Law. When the interim screen listing all 50 states appears, select your desired state, then enter your search terms. For example, if you are searching for laws related to search and seizure in California, go to the California form and enter search OR seizure in the first box. Leave the default, "All Courts" as the Court selection. Select all available dates for date.
Additional Resources
http://www.state.nj.us/ : Official site for the State of New Jersey; contains a link to the New Jersey Legislature, http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/ where New Jersey laws, pending laws and the state constitution are available. This site also contains a link to the New Jersey Judiciary, http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/ where New Jersey court information and legal decisions and opinions are available.
http://www.findlaw.com/ : Search for federal and state cases and codes on this legal internet site. Also contains information about current legal news.
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