Step by Step with LexisNexis

LexisNexis is a large one hundred percent full text index that covers not only legal topics, but also any subject that makes its way into a newspaper's pages.

1. Before you touch the keyboard, think carefully about your topic. Most topics for college level papers can take the form of a short phrase. If your topic is just one word, you may need to elaborate on it and think about it some more. An example of a topic phrase is: the health effects of using a cell phone.

2. Look at your topic phrase. Look for single words that can become plurals such as cell phone and cell phones. Also look for synonyms and related words such as: hazards, dangers, or radiation for health. Write down several alternate versions of your topic phrase.

To search LexisNexis Complete via GALILEO http://www.galileo.usg.edu, click the Databases L to Z tab just below the search box. Then select A in the alphabet list. Scroll down to LexisNexis and select it.

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4.  LexisNexis starts all users off with a quilt of six search boxes. For current events-related topics, use Search the News, the left box in the top row. To give your search more space, select Power Search on the left side of the window, and then select Natural Language. If you are searching for a legal case or information on a specific company, choose the boxes labeled Look up a Legal Case or Get Company Info.

5.  Type one of your topic phrases in the box labeled Search For. 6.  The bright blue Go Button launches your search.

7.  LexisNexis presents results twenty-five(25) at a time, in a frame that takes up most of the screen. LexisNexis sorts articles by relevance to bring what it thinks are the best articles to the top.

8.  If your results are not what you expected, click the small, blue, Edit Search link in the upper right corner of the browser window. This lets you revise your search. You may need to try various versions of your topic phrase or use related terms or synonyms to get a topic phrase that works for you.

9.  You can move among results with the scroll bar and move between pages with the small, blue or gray Previous and Next arrows or the small page numbers and arrows both at the bottom of the frame.

10.  To see the full text of any article in LexisNexis, click on its blue title.

11.  To print an article, click on the small print icon in the top right corner of the article frame. Then print the article using the browser's Print icon.

12.  To email an article, click the small email icon in the top right corner of the article frame. Then follow the instructions.