LexisNexis Academic is a useful database for business as well as for legal materials such as news and cases.
To access the database - simply use the A-Z list and click on 'LexisNexis Academic'.
It has an easy to use search bar that you can use from the start by typing in your search query and clicking "search". You can then refine quite easily to get to relevant material.
The advanced search option is useful to allow you to look in a specific collection (such as Australian cases).
Lastly there are some quick searches on the homepage for News, US Legal Cases and Company Information.
Using the advanced search allows you to create a more effective search - to access it click on "advanced options" and a box will pop up and allow you to do the following:
You can specify the dates which you want to be included in your search
You can build a search segment using the specific terms and connectors:
AND - it includes both search terms in the result
OR - includes either search term in the result
AND NOT - excludes documents that contain the search term from the result
w/5 - returns results where the search terms are within 5 words of each other
w/p - returns results where the search terms are within the same paragraph as each other
Source allows you to name a specific source (such as Australian Bar Review) - it also allows you to search for relevant sources by typing in the name
Content type allows you to choose between Newspapers, US State and Federal cases, Law Reviews and Company Profiles to be included in your results
Using the above you can construct an advanced search query, click on apply and click 'search'.
It is also possible to browse through the directory using the browse option at the top next to 'source directory'. Here we can see the different sources in LexisNexis Academic – for example if we were interested in Australian cases, we could simply browse for them and find out the sources.
It gives you four options to choose from:
Publication type
News and business topics
Industry
Area of Law
There is the further option of filtering by country, topic, publication type and source (depending on which option you have chosen)
To add specific databases as your specific sources, simply click on them and they will be added to the 'selected sources' box on the right. Select 'ok-continue' and it will take you back to the main search page and you will see that your selected sources have been added.
You can use this tab to quickly access certain types of content such as news sources, specific cases and biographical information.
You can simply click on the content you want and insert your search terms.
These three searches are quick searches on the homepage that allow you to quickly access information.
News - you can search the world news or other publications for quick news on a specific topic
Legal Case - you can search for a US Legal case either by citation, parties or topic
Company Info - you can search for information on companies (including company profiles) by searching their name