Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
Tip:
You can create a printable PDF version of this help article by selecting the PDF icon (
) at the top of this page.
This article includes all of the help articles associated with terms & connectors searches.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
1
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
How multiple search connectors are evaluated
Lexis Advance® Singapore uses the following order of operations for connector searches:
1. or
2. proximity connectors1 , such as near/n, onear/n, /seg, w/n, pre/n, NOT/n, NOT/seg, /s, /p, w/sent, w/
para
3. and
4. and not
Example:
bankrupt! w/25 discharg! and student or college or education! w/5 loan
This search query is processed in the following way:
1. or has the highest priority, so it operates first. In this example, student or college or education! is
processed as a unit, which is created by the or connector.
2. w/5 ties together the term loan and the student or college or education! unit.
3. w/25 operates next and creates a unit of the bankrupt! w/25 discharg! terms.
4. and operates last and links the units formed in the second and third items above.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
2
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
and Connector
Use the and connector to find documents containing two specific words or phrases, regardless of the order in which they
appear or their proximity to each other. For example, the following search finds documents in which the words "cat" and
"dog" both appear:
cat and dog
Searches using only the and connector typically retrieve many documents, but within those documents, the search words
or phrases may often appear in unrelated contexts.
Similarity to other connectors
The /n connector is similar to the and connector, and you may find it more useful because it retrieves only documents
where the search terms appear in the same document section, no more than a user-specified number of words apart. The
onear/n and pre/n connectors are also similar and even more specific: the two search terms must not only appear in
the same document section no more than a specified number of words apart, they must also appear in a user-specified
order (for example, "cats and dogs" rather than "dogs and cats").
Therefore, the following three searches are successively more precise ways of finding documents containing the term
"fiduciary duty":
fiduciary and duty
fiduciary near/3 duty
fiduciary onear /3 duty
Using multiple and connectors
For search expressions containing two or more and connectors, the search retieves all documents containing all the
connected words, phrases, or logical units, regardless of order or proximity to one another.
For more information, see How multiple search connectors are evaluated.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
3
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
or Connector
Use the or connector to find all documents that contain either or both of the words or phrases linked by the or connector.
The location of the word or words within the document does not matter. For example, the following search finds all
documents that contain the word "ship" and/or "boat":
ship or boat
The or connector is useful for finding synonyms, antonyms, alternative spellings, or abbreviations as in the following
examples:
Synonyms
ship or boat
Antonyms
reasonable or unreasonable
Alternative spellings
takeover or take over
Abbreviations
british broadcasting corporation or b.b.c. or bbc
Using multiple or connectors
For search expressions containing two or or connectors, the search retieves all documents containing any of the
connected words, phrases, or logical units, regardless of their location in the documents.
For more information, see How multiple search connectors are evaluated.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
4
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
and not Connector
Use the and not connector to exclude documents containing specific words or phrases. For example, the following
search finds documents containing the word "capital" but not the word "gains":
capital and not gains
In this example, the search finds all documents containing the term "capital" except those that also contain the term
"gains".
Using multiple and not connectors
Because of the priority order in which Lexis Advance Singapore evaluates search conectors, if you want to exclude
documents containing two or more specific words or phrases, you must precede each of those words or phrases with an
and not connector. For example, to find documents containing the word "capital" while excluding documents that contain
either the word "gains" or the word "improvements", you must write the search expression as follows:
capital and not gains and not improvements
This search finds all documents containing the term "capital", except those that also contain either "gains" or
"investments".
Important:
As suggested, because of the priority order in which Lexis Advance Singapore evaluates search connectors, the
search expression "capital and not gains or investments" is NOT evaluated to mean "(capital) and not (gains or
investments)". Instead, it is evaluated to mean "(capital or investments) and not (gains)". Therefore, to enhance your
understanding of how Lexis Advance Singapore will evaluate search expressions containing one or more "and not"
connectors, it is often helpful to place the "and not" connectors at the end of the expressions. For more information,
see How multiple search connectors are evaluated.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
5
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
/n Connector
Use the /n connector to find documents in which a given word appears within "n" words of another given word in
the same document section. The value of "n" can be any number up to 255. For example, the following search finds
documents where the word "cat" occurs within 6 words of "dog":
cat /6 dog
The order in which the words appear within the document does not matter. Therefore, this search finds documents
containing the terms "cats and dogs", "dogs or cats", "dog allergens differ from those of cat", and so on.
Similarity to other connectors
The /n connector operates exactly the same as the w/n and near/n connectors. It operates similarly to the onear/n
and pre/n connectors, except the order in which the words appear within the document matters to the onear/n and
pre/n connectors.
Specifying the value of "n"
Although the value of "n" can be any number up to 255, you may want to choose a number less than 100, as choosing a
number larger than 100 may retrieve results in which your search words appear in unrelated contexts. You may find these
guidelines useful:
Choose this...
For the search words to appear...
/3 - /5
in approximately the same phrase
/25
in approximately the same sentence
/75
in approximately the same paragraph
Using multiple /n connectors
Multiple /n connectors are processed from the smallest to the largest.
For more information, see How multiple search connectors are evaluated.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
6
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
onear/n Connector
Use the onear/n connector to find documents where a given word is followed within "n" words by another given word.
Or, stated differently, to find documents where the first word precedes the second word by not more than "n" words. This
connector is especially useful where a different word order significantly alters meaning. For example, "summary judgment"
is significantly different from "judgment summary".
The value of "n" can be any number up to 255, and the two words must appear in the same document section. For
example, the following search finds documents where the word "cat" is followed within three words by the word "dog":
cat onear/3 dog
As stated, the order in which the words appear within the document matters. Therefore, this search finds documents
containing the terms "cats and dogs", "cats or dogs", and so on, but not "dogs and cats", "dogs or cats", and so on.
Similarity to other connectors
The onear/n connector operates exactly the same as the pre/n connector. It operates similarly to the /n connector,
except that the order in which the words appear within the document does not matter to the /n connector.
Specifying the value of "n"
Although the value of "n" can be any number up to 255, you may want to choose a number less than 100, as choosing a
number larger than 100 may retrieve results in which your search words appear in unrelated contexts. You may find these
guidelines useful:
Choose this...
For the search words to appear...
onear/3 - near/5
in approximately the same phrase
onear/25
in approximately the same sentence
onear/75
in approximately the same paragraph
Using multiple onear/n connectors
Multiple /n connectors are processed from the smallest to the largest.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
7
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
pre/n Connector
Use the pre/n connector to find documents where a given word is followed within "n" words by another given word. Or,
stated differently, to find documents where the first word precedes the second word by not more than "n" words. This
connector is especially useful where a different word order significantly alters meaning. For example, "summary judgment"
is significantly different from "judgment summary".
The value of "n" can be any number up to 255, and the two words must appear in the same document section. For
example, the following search finds documents where the word "cat" is followed within three words by the word "dog":
cat pre/3 dog
As stated, the order in which the words appear within the document matters. Therefore, this search finds documents
containing the terms "cats and dogs", "cats or dogs", and so on, but not "dogs and cats", "dogs or cats", and so on.
Similarity to other connectors
The pre/n connector operates exactly the same as the onear/n connector. It operates similarly to the /n connector,
except that the order in which the words appear within the document does not matter to the /n connector.
Specifying the value of "n"
Although the value of "n" can be any number up to 255, you may want to choose a number less than 100, as choosing a
number larger than 100 may retrieve results in which your search words appear in unrelated contexts. You may find these
guidelines useful:
Choose this...
For the search words to appear...
pre/3 - pre/5
in approximately the same phrase
pre/25
in approximately the same sentence
pre/75
in approximately the same paragraph
Using Multiple pre/n Connectors
Multiple pre/n connectors are processed from the smallest to the largest.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
8
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
/p Connector
Use the /p (within paragraph) connector to find documents where the search terms appear within the same paragraph, or
within approximately 75 words of each other. The order in which the words appear within the document does not matter.
For example, the following search finds documents where the word "retirement" appears within the same paragraph as
the word "benefit":
retirement /p benefit
Note:
You can use the w/p or w/para connectors in place of the /p connector. All three function in exactly the same way.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
9
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
/s Connector
Use the /s (within sentence) connector to find documents where the search terms appear within the same sentence, or
within approximately 25 words of each other. The order in which the words appear within the document does not matter.
For example, the following search finds documents where the word "earnings" appears within the same sentence as the
word "taxation":
earnings /s taxation
Note:
You can use the w/s or w/sent connectors in place of the /s connector. All three function in exactly the same way.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
10
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
Using * and ! to find variations at the end of root words
Use the asterisk (*) or exclamation (!) wildcard characters at the end of a root word to find the root word and all the words
that can be made by adding letters to the end of it, including plurals.
For example, employ* or employ! finds the term employ and such variations as employee, employer, employment, and
their plurals.
Tip:
When using these wildcard characters, it is best if you:
Use a root word of three characters or more.
Use unique root words. For example, fir* or fir! finds fire, fired, firing, and fires, but also finds first, which you may
not want.
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
11
Lexis Advance® Singapore Help - Terms & Connectors Complete Reference
Using ? to find variations within words
Use the question mark (?) wildcard character to represent variable characters within a word. Use one question mark to
represent each variable character the word may contain.
For example, int???et finds internet and intranet but does not find interpret.
Tip:
You can also use the asterisk (*) wildcard character within a word to represent a variable number of variable
characters, but you should use it with caution. For example, li*orice finds licorice and liquorice and little else, but col*r
finds not only color and colour, but hundreds of other words.
1
Proximity connectors are processed from the smallest first to the largest last
Copyright © 2019 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.
12