OKIKI, O. Chris (Ph.D)Head, Automation Unit

University of Lagos Library University of Lagos

Akoka, Lagos chrisokiki2009@yahoo.com

What are online databases?

Online databases are Web-based electronic indexes that enable you to locate and retrieve articles in magazines, journals and newspapers.

Each database has its own search interface and capabilities. Many of the basic search concepts and features are similar:

Keyword searching Limiters Boolean operators

What are some common searching problems and solutions?

Where can you find more assistance for some of the library’s databases?

Keyword searching is the easiest search method, but may be less precise.

Databases collect, sort and present information according to FIELDS (which are usually found in a dropdown menu), such as:

Author Title of article Subject Publication name

To make your search more specific, you may select one or more fields to do keyword search.

To expand your search, you may search for keyword(s) in All basic or Default fields.

Limiters are database functions that let you narrow your search results.

Database limiters may include: Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Publication year Full text Language, etc.

AND links words or phrases that must both appear in the same article.

If you what to focus your search results, use Boolean operator AND to connect additional word(s)

Example: crime AND youth-- finds both crime and youth anywhere in the same article.

 OR links synonyms, alternative forms of expression, acronyms, and so on.

If you want to expand your search, use Boolean operator OR to connect additional word(s).

Example: teenager OR adolescent-- finds either teenage or adolescent in the same article. ETC.

A commercial service Legal, business & medical sources Law-related material

Law review articles (mid-1980s to date) Legal news Laws, regulations & court opinions

Quick Info > Legal Research

Legal Research > Law Reviews

Law reviews are periodicals published by law schools, bar associations & commercial publishers. Articles are written by law professors, judges, attorneys & law students.

Type words & phrases on your subject into the Keyword search box

Add other terms to narrow the search

Adjust date to relevant time period

Click Search button

Below search boxes Synonyms: use OR

(italy or italian) Two words: use AND

(women and rights) Stemming: use !

constitution! Use more specific

keywords Add more words or

phrases Choose a shorter date

range

Check for spelling errors Use less specific, more general terms Increase date range

Specify field in which search terms appear Full text = complete text of the article (default) Title = title of the article At least 3 = search terms must appear at least 3

times in the article

Number of articles retrieved

Number of articles retrieved Link to the full text of the article

Number of articles retrieved Link to the full text of the article Abbreviated citation

Number of articles retrieved Link to the full text of the article Abbreviated citation Title of the article

Number of articles retrieved Link to the full text of the article Abbreviated citation Title of the article Author of the article Retrieve Complete Text

Click on Full tab

OR Click on hyperlink

Westlaw UK contains the summaries of all reported cases from England and Wales plus the full text of many series of law reports.

Select 'Cases' from the top of the Westlaw UK screen.

Enter your search term(s) in the 'Free Text' box. A term can be anything - a legal phrase, a name or a

word appearing in the case. Search tips If you wish for two or more words to be searched

only as a phrase, place quotation marks around the phrase, for example "vicarious liability".

Westlaw UK Insight can be found on the first tab of the main navigation bar on Westlaw UK.

Westlaw UK Insight includes intuitive searching via suggested terms dropdown box.

Suggested terms can help you identify a legal concept or term quickly as well as find terms that match your search criteria, or related terms that you may need to know about.

INSIGHT

Westlaw UK Insight search results are returned with the most relevant results at the top, but you can also sort all results alphabetically.BROWSING

The Insight home page displays 24 top-level fields which broadly cover the main areas of law in the UK. Click on the to these top-level topics to browse down into more specific areas of law.

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You have the options to Show Terms in Context, allowing you to see how your search applies to each topic

BROWSING You can choose to browse Case Analysis documents or Law Reports and

Transcripts. Case Analysis documents are available for UK case law dating back to 1220.

Descriptive analysis documents are available for UK, Scottish and EU case law decisions (dating back to 1220 for UK and 1954 for EU). They set a case in its wider context offering links to connected cases, legislation, journals and commentary titles.

Each Case Analysis Document contains the following information (where applicable) with links to the relevant documents on Westlaw UK:

Summary of the case, All Legislation Cited, All Cases Cited†, Journal Articles, Where Reported, Related Cases Key Cases Citing, Books Case Digest, Significant Legislation Cited, All Cases Citing†, Appellate History Significant Cases Cited

Locate/Access a Title The easiest way to find out if a title is available in HeinOnline

and the collection in which it resides is by using the Catalog Search tab from the Welcome Page:

Enter the title and change the drop-down menu to Publication Title, and then click search. Titles that meet your search criteria will appear in the results, which will also list the collection(s) in which each title appears:

In the example, you can see that the Alabama Code of 1928 appears in the Session Laws Library and State Statutes: A Historical Archive. The catalog search tool searches all of HeinOnline, so results may includes titles that reside in collections to which your institution does not subscribe. Click the title to access the material.

From the Welcome Page, search for an article using this search syntax: title: "Race and Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory" and click search:

You can also use the quick search bar on the Law Journal Library homepage to quickly retrieve an article by title, author or Bluebook citation:

Browse by State

Browse by Subject

Browse

This searching tool is found in the left side bar under the search tab, and allows you to conduct a treaty search by a number of different fields including Keyword, Treaty Number, Country Name, Short Name, Signing Date, etc.

If you are looking for a treaty from Japan signed on January 19, 1960,  you would select Country name from the dropdown menu and type Japan in the search box. Then in the next row, select Signing Dates and enter 1999-10-07 in the search box. Please note specific treaty dates should be entered in the following format: YYYY-MM-DD.

THANKS YOU