Legal Research

ATLEASTXX( )

By MaryMcCormick

One of my favorite search techniques, available on both LEXIS and WESTLAW is the ATLEAST field restriction.  The format, in both databases, is ATLEASTXX(YYYYY), where XX is a number and YYYYY is a search term.  The search term can be a phrase, but neither system supports boolean searches (such as fraud /s tort).  One can, however, search for: ATLEAST50(consumer) /s ATLEAST40(fraud) in varying combinations, and then use the locate feature to go to examples in the text of: consumer /s fraud.  I generally start out with either a very high or very low number and work my way up or down to an acceptable number of documents.  The higher the number, of course, the more likely it is that the article or case will be highly relevant.

Posted by Mary McCormick

Full post as published by FSU College of Law Library Blog on December 05, 2005 (boomark / email).