Introduction to Boolean Searching find your winning argument faster

Introduction to Boolean Searching find your winning argument faster

Before we begin: index vs. full-text Indexed Databases Full-Text Databases Search based on subject matter or concept Like digest searches Go to “Landlords” section, then look up case Information already presorted into categories If information isn’t in the category, you would miss it Search based on individual words Like a Google search Type in landlord User specifies search terms Search not limited to someone else’s categorization Introduction to Boolean Searching 2

Yahoo search circa 1998 Example of an indexed search database. Introduction to Boolean Searching 3

Google search circa 2016 Example of a fulltext database Introduction to Boolean Searching 4

Before we begin: boolean vs. natural language Introduction to Boolean Searching 5

Before we begin: know the scope Know the scope of what you’re searching (the “corpus”) so you aren’t guessing what’s in the database. www.fastcase.com/coverage Introduction to Boolean Searching 6

Two things to keep in mind Synonymy Words that can mean the same thing Use synonyms for better results Ex. Car, vehicle, truck, van, automobile Introduction to Boolean Searching Ambiguity Words that can mean more than one thing Avoid ambiguity by adding terms or the “not” operator Ex: Negligence not criminal 7

Search process A good search is like a dance — general steps you follow with added flourish to impress people Identify issue Refine search Identify concepts / terms Legal Research Dance Craft a search Review results Introduction to Boolean Searching 8

Laying the groundwork Generating keywords Narrow issues Legal principles Facts Five Ws Identified through past research, law school, or practice Introduction to Boolean Searching 9

Issues Government is trying to force wife to testify against her husband. They were married just prior to the trial. Legal Principles Testimonial privilege / Communications privilege Compelled testimony Common law Additional Facts Criminal Spouse Introduction to Boolean Searching 10

Boolean Searches Introduction to Boolean 11

Fastcase boolean operators Operat or Example AND, & libel AND damages Results must contain both “libel” and “damages” OR premarital OR prenuptial Results must contain either “premarital” or “prenuptial” NOT negligence NOT criminal Results must contain “negligence” but not the word “criminal” w/3, /3 custody /15 interrogation Results must contain “custody” within 15 words of “interrogation.” *, ! testif* Results must contain some variation of the stem “testif” such as testified, testify, testifying, etc. ? mari?uana Results must contain m-a-r-i- -u-a-n-a with any letter substituted for the question mark “” “estate tax” Results must contain the exact phrase “estate tax” Introduction to Boolean Searching ( ) Description (confront OR cross- Parentheses tells Fastcase to do the 12

AND — dog AND bite Dog AND bite Dog Bite Introduction to Boolean Searching Only returns cases at the intersection — ones containing both the words “dog” and “bite.” 13

OR — car OR vehicle car OR vehicle Car Car AND Vehicl e Vehicle Introduction to Boolean Searching Returns all cases around the perimeter of the two words — either those using the word “car” or the word “vehicle.” 14

NOT — speech NOT school speech NOT school Speech School Introduction to Boolean Searching Only returns cases mentioning “speech” without referencing the word “school.” 15

speech NOT (school OR political) speech NOT (school OR political) Political Speech School Introduction to Boolean Searching school OR political Only returns cases mentioning “speech,” but not mentioning “school” or “political.” 16

speech AND public NOT (school OR political) (speech AND public) NOT (school OR political) The cases returned will use both the words “speech” and “public” but won’t use either the words “political” or “school.” Introduction to Boolean Searching Public Speech School Political 17

Proximity or within — w/# or /# custody /5 interrogation — return cases where custody appears within 5 words of interrogation Sample Matches: in-custody interrogation of a suspect . . . . matches.) (w/1 unless in-custody police interrogation is . . . . matches.) (w/2 interrogation while in custody may give . . . . matches.) (w/3 when in custody for purposes of interrogation . . . . matches.) Introduction to Boolean Searching (w/4 18

“Quotation marks” “marital privilege” — returns only cases with that exact phrase Sample Matches: . . . that the marital privilege encompassed within the same statute precludes . . . . . . regardless, the marital privilege is not applicable here because Mr. and Mrs. Irons were estranged at the time of the conversations. Not In Search Results: . . . spouse may enjoy marital privileges from . . . . . . the marital communications privilege may be waived . . . Introduction to Boolean Searching 19

General note on the plural form Remember to include your plurals Fastcase does not automatically look for plurals in Boolean searches If you want to include plurals, you have to tell the engine to look for them by using a wildcard or root expander Introduction to Boolean Searching 20

Root expander (*, !) — mar* Return cases with at least one word that begins with “mar.” Maritime Married Marital Mar* Introduction to Boolean Searching Pros: Useful for plurals, different tenses, gerunds, etc. Cons: Can slow down search times – if you just want to search plurals, OR is faster Can be over-inclusive — see, e.g., maritime in this search. 21

Single letter wildcard — ? myr?d— return all cases with either spelling (correct or wrong) of myriad myr?d myriad Introduction to Boolean Searching myraid 22

Order of operations W/5 AND NOT OR The “Within” operator runs first The “And” operator is run second The “Exclude” operator runs third The “Or” operator runs last Introduction to Boolean Searching 23

Parentheses — () car Consider the following search: getaway car OR vehicle AND getaway vehicle Introduction to Boolean Searching 24

car OR vehicle AND getaway What Fastcase actually sees: getawa y car (vehicle AND getaway) OR car vehicle Introduction to Boolean Searching 25

Subtle but important distinction Correct: (car OR vehicle) AND getaway car Incorrect: car OR (vehicle AND getaway) getawa y getaway vehicl e Introduction to Boolean Searching car vehicl e 26

Advanced order of operations Consider the following searches: A. Rule* /5 “803(5)” AND knowledge OR recall NOT memory B. knowledge OR recall NOT memory AND Rule* /5 “803(5)” C. Rule* /5 “803(5)” AND (knowledge OR recall) NOT memory A (wrong): 157,342 results; B (wrong): 1,038,488 results; C (right): 99 results Introduction to Boolean Searching 27

Back to our example Issues Government is trying to force wife to testify against her husband. They were married just prior to the trial. Legal Principles Testimonial privilege / Communications privilege Compelled testimony Common law Additional Facts Criminal Spouse Introduction to Boolean Searching 28

Keyword & Operator Concept Testimonial privilege Marital privilege Compelled testimony Spouse Criminal trial Introduction to Boolean Searching (testimon* or marital) /3 privileg* AND (compel* or requir*) /5 testi* AND (spous* or husband or wife) NOT civil 29

Example in Fastcase (testimon* or marital) /3 privileg* AND (compel* or requir*) /5 testi* AND (spous* or husband or wife) NOT civil Introduction to Boolean Searching 30

First Search (testimon* or marital) /3 privileg* AND (spous* or husband or wife) (compel* or requir*) /5 testif* AND NOT civil Introduction to Boolean Searching Second Search (testimon* or marital) /3 privileg* /15 (spous* or husband or wife) AND (compel* or requir* or forc*) /5 testif* NOT (civil or (attorney /2 privileg*)) 31

Adding search to Fastcase (((testimon* or marital) /3 privileg*) /15 (spous* or husband or wife)) AND ((compel* or requir*) /5 testi*) NOT (civil or (attorney /2 privileg*)) Introduction to Boolean Searching 32

Suggested Terms Remember: If you find brainstorming terms to add to your search phrase to be frustrating, you can always use the “Suggested terms” list at the bottom left of the results page to get ideas for terms to add to (or remove from) your search phrase and results. Introduction to Boolean Searching 33

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