Distinguishing Features
Research Map
In addition to saving your search history for 90 days, Lexis+ has created a Research Map that allows you to not only recall what you have recently searched, but also compare those searches and their results. This allows you to see, for instance, overlapping results in each search. Lexis+ additionally will help you to find similar documents to the search you ran.
To access the Research Map, click on History > Research Map.
Shepard's quick access
If you want to Shepardize something (pull up the citator report), search normally and then click the Shepardize this document link in the toolbar to the right of the document.
Shepard's
To Shepardize a document search for shep: followed by your search. Alternatively, search for a document as normal, and click the Shepard's signal indicator or links in the Shephard's box on the right side of a document screen.
Citing decisions are accompanied by information indicating the type of analysis and depth of discussion. Results may be filtered by analysis, date, headnote, or source.
| Signal | Meaning | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red stop sign | Warning | Strong negative treatment or history. | Overruled or Reversed |
| Red exclamation mark | Warning | Strong negative treatment of a statute section. | Unconstitutional or Void |
| Orange Q | Questioned | Questions validity, because of intervening circumstances. | Overruled |
| Yellow triangle | Caution | Possible negative treatment. | Limited or Criticized |
| Green diamond | Positive | Positive treatment. | Affirmed or Followed |
| Blue A | Analysis | Neither positive or negative treatment. | Explained |
| Blue I | Citation | No treatment or reference. | Law review citations |
Basic Search
In Lexis+, basic searching is done from the main search bar. Advanced Search options are available by selecting the link directly below the search box. To see what terms and connectors you can use in Lexis Advance, you can click on the Tips link below the search box, or see the last page of this research guide, Constructing Searches.
Pre-search filter options are available by clicking the Search: Everything drop-down menu:
- Jurisdiction
- Category (cases, legislation, secondary, etc.)
- Practice Areas & Topics
- Recents & Favorites
These filters can also be applied to your search results; post-search you will be presented with even more filtering options, such as date.
Browsing
As an alternate to beginning your research with a keyword search, Lexis+ offers several options for browsing their content, accessible from the drop-down Browse menu at the top of the page.
Browse Topics
The Browse Topics tab presents you with a list of legal topics, such as Administrative Law and Insurance Law. Clicking on one of these topics will bring you to a list of sub-topics. Does the topic you seek not appear in this list? There is a small search box where you can search topics. If you search for a topic that is not in the original list, the results will show where your topic falls as a sub-topic within the original list.
Once you reach the sub-topics (many of which are further broken down), clicking on a topic will bring up a box with the option to Get Topic Documents, Add Topic to Search, Favorite this Topic, or Create an Alert. Topic Documents will bring up any documents in Lexis Advance associated with that topic; these results will be organized the same way that keyword results appear. If you add the topic to your search, it will show up below the main search bar as a pre-filter, the same way filtering by jurisdiction or content type would. Adding a topic to your favorites will give you quick access to it to add it to a search in the future - your favorites live below the main search bar.
Browse Sources
If you're looking for a specific source, this browse feature is the way to go. Within this tab, there is a small search box to Search Sources. You can also narrow by content type and jurisdiction, and the sources are listed alphabetically.