SLL Database Search Guide

First, choose a database to search. The search screen in any database indicates the dates of coverage for that database. 

While each database has search screen fields that relate to the content of that database, the search screen for every database has a Text field, which searches every field (more reliably) and allows a keyword search. The computer is looking for an exact match for the words used by the court, unless modified by a Search Syntax option, such as the asterisk wildcard. If one search term provides fewer hits than expected, a search with a similar word, which the court may have used in the decision, may prove to be more productive. Also, it is better to start with a broad search than a narrowly defined one.

On the Search Results screen there will be an indication at the top of the page as to how many Hits, or appearances of the search term(s), were found in that database. The case name, or section title, appears bolded, with the search term highlighted with words around it on the lines below the underlined heading information. A search result with many hits may fill several screens. By scrolling down and clicking on the Next arrow in the bottom right corner the next screen of search results will appear.

Note: If there are no hits, all of the items in the database will be displayed and "Hits: 0" will be displayed at the top of the screen.

In the SJC/Appeals Court database, a user can search the SJC, the Appeals Court, or the decisions of both courts (the default choice) in one search. A specific case can be brought up by entering the Massachusetts Reports “Volume Number” and “Page Number” in the respective fields, next to “Citation.” For example: if you were looking for 310 Mass. 1, you would enter 310 in the volume field and 1 in the page number field.

You can also use the database as a citator, to retrieve a desired case and any time it was cited by an appellate court. To do this, type in the name of your case or volume and page number in the Text field, like so: 351 w/3 27. This will search for all documents where a case has been cited by volume (351) and page number (27). The number three represents the greatest number of words that can be found between your search terms. This is also known as a Proximity Search, which has many other useful applications.

The database search engine offers many unique search features. The simplest search is the single word search. This is a very broad search and should be used when you have little or no direction. It will not pick up alternate word endings or plural or singular versions of that word. If you type more than one search term, the database will default to running an AND search and will look for records with BOTH terms.

To search for a phrase, enter the phrase by using (") quotes, e.g., "unjust enrichment". This will search for "unjust enrichment" as a single term as opposed to unjust AND enrichment anywhere within a decision.

OPERATORS:

The database search engine software provides search operators to control your search further. The three operators are AND, OR, or NOT:

And Operator

The AND operator may be a single space, the ampersand (&) or the word AND. The And operator requires that either words or phrases on either side of the operator appear in the same decision. If only one term or phrase is present than that decision will not be considered a hit.

Or Operator

The OR operator requires that at least one of the words or phrases on either side of the operator appear in a decision. If neither of the words or phrases appear in a decision then the decision will not be considered at hit. Records that contain both words and/or phrases will also appear on your results list. The OR search is an expansion on the AND search.

Not Operator

Use this operator when you require a better focus on an idea. If you use the NOT operator in between two words then the software will look for records with the first term but NOT the second term contained in them.

Order of Operations

The database search engine applies search precedence when there are two or more search operators used.

1. When a query contains two or more of the same operator, relationships are formed from left to right.
2. When a query contains two or more different search operators, the precedence is set up in the following order:
   A: NOT
   B: OR
   C: AND
3. You can control precedence of your queries by using parentheses around words and operators. If you want to evaluate an AND operator first, put parentheses around the terms. For example the query: (one OR two) AND three will execute the OR search first then the AND.

WILDCARD FEATURES

The database search engine offers many Wildcard Features that can be used with search terms.

Single Character Wildcard

Use the (?) symbol for the Single Character Wildcard. This feature is used to replace any single character in a word which you are searching for. For example, t?rt will retrieve tort and tart. You can also use more than one (?) within a search term, for example, t?rt? will retrieve tort and torts etc.

Multiple Character Wildcard

Use the (*) symbol for the Multiple Character Wildcard. This feature is used to replace zero or more characters in a word which you are searching for. For example, the* will retrieve the, there, theater, they, theology, theme, etc. This is a very powerful wildcard and it has the potential of retrieving many records. It is a good way to find alternate word endings, especially plurals.

Wildcards are very useful when used in the date field. For instance, searching 9/*/98 in the date field will search the entire month of September for the year 1998.

PROXIMITY FEATURES

At some point in your research you may need to find words within a certain distance of each other. You could use the phrase technique but remember by putting your search terms in quotes, the search engine will search for the phrase as a single term, e.g. "housing for the elderly" will be searched for as is typed and retrieve minimal records. Whereas, the word housing near the word elderly could broaden your search. There are two types of proximity searches.

Ordered Proximity Search

An ordered proximity search instructs the software to look for the words in the query, in the order in which they appear, and within a specified number of words of one another. In between the two search terms you want to find close to each other, type pre/ then a number to execute the ordered proximity search. For example, elderly pre/20 housing will retrieve records which have elderly then housing within 20 words of one another. The word elderly must appear before the word housing or the decision will not appear in the results list.

Unordered Proximity Search

An unordered proximity search instructs the software to look for the words in the query within a specified number of words of one another, regardless of order. In between the two search terms you want to find close to each other, type w/ then a number to execute the unordered proximity search. For example, elderly w/20 housing will retrieve records which have elderly and housing within 20 words of one another regardless of the order.