Winning Research Skills - Westlaw

Chapter 8
Basics of Westlaw Searching
Five Basic Steps
There are five basic steps to follow when you are performing research on Westlaw:
1. Define your issue and select key terms.
2. Choose a database.
3. Select a Westlaw search method, i.e., Natural Language or Terms and Connectors.
4. Enter your description or query.
5. Review your result; if necessary, edit your search.
Step 1: Define Your Issue
Your Westlaw research will be most productive if you have a clear definition of your issue before
you sign on. Define your issue by identifying and describing the concepts and facts that distinguish it.
State your issue in one or two sentences, as you would in a brief or memorandum, e.g.,
Are streets and sidewalks running through and around a residential neighborhood a public forum?
Using Print Resources Including West Digests
Before you sign on to Westlaw, familiarize yourself with background information about your issue
and identify appropriate terminology by using print resources such as legal encyclopedias (e.g.,
Corpus Juris Secundum and American Jurisprudence 2d), legal dictionaries (e.g., Black’s Law
Dictionary), hornbooks, treatises, and restatements.
Because West editorial enhancements such as topics, key numbers, and headnotes are common to
many West-published legal materials, you can move quickly and easily between West print resources
and Westlaw. This capability enables you to perform efficient and cost-effective research using a
variety of tools.
Step 2: Choose a Database
First, decide what type of information you want to retrieve. For example, you may want to search
databases for
■ primary law (e.g., case law, statutes, administrative decisions, and regulations).
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