Performing a search in LAWPAC plus is easy. Simply type one or more search terms (the words or phrase that best describe the information you want to find) into the search box and press the Enter key or click on the Search button.
LAWPAC plus then instantly produces the results: in the center is a list of the most relevant findings in the law library collections and article databases; on the left is a word cloud of related findings; and on the right is a comprehensive menu of choices that allows you to refine your search results.
Choosing the right search term is the key to finding the information you are looking for. Starting with the obvious is the best way to finding the information you need. Using multiple terms will narrow your search results. If you can't think of the right words, the word cloud can help you (read more about the word cloud below).
You can use "Advanced Search" to search both the LAWPAC catalog and article databases for the exact title of a book, name of an author or publication year (among other available parameters). So if you want to locate books authored by Erwin Chemerinsky, simply type “chemerinsky” into the Author box, and select Print from the dropdown list in the Format box. LAWPAC plus will search both the author and co-author fields for the name, and only return items that are available in Print.
The Advanced Search feature also allows you to limit your search to a particular format (print, microform, electronic resource, etc.) or to a particular location in the library (Reserve, Course Reserve, Electronic Resource, Colorado, etc.)
Note that you can specify whether the results must match all fields (the default selection) or just one or more fields.
An issue many library users have when they are using the catalog search is that they simply cannot think of the best search term. After you run a search, LAWPAC plus offers suggestions in the word cloud on the left of the screen to help you find the best search term. In the word cloud you will find:
Words in the word cloud are color coded depending on their relationship to your original search term(s) - see the key below the word cloud for the meaning assigned to each color
Note that the distance of the suggestion in the word cloud from the original term(s) has no meaning, but the larger a word, the more relevant it is deemed by the automatic relevancy algorithm.
AquaBrowser offers a nearly-endless array of categories that allow you to refine your search results to get exactly what you want. After you have searched your terms, use the menu to pick the exact format, author, subject, language, series, etc. Note that next to each category shown is a number - this denotes the exact number of items available, so you are never clicking down a dead-end path.
LAWPAC plus allows you to search not only the LAWPAC catalog – a search using LAWPAC plus will also search a multitude of online databases simultaneously. The “Article database results” will be listed at the top of the page above those for the “LAWPAC catalog results”. If you don’t see any Article database results, try clicking on the “show database results” link. A list of the databases searched will appear, along with a number indicating how many results were found in each database.
A search for “copyright” will not only return items that you can access or check out from the library, but will also provide you with direct links to articles that are relevant to your search criteria from sources like HeinOnline, LegalTrac and Academic Search Premier.
You can modify which databases will be searched by clicking on the “Change database selection” link. A list of available database categories will appear, including for instance, “Law, General”, “Legal Periodicals Full Text”, “Law, U.S. Administrative”, etc. Clicking on any one of these categories will generate a further list of specific databases that you can then select to search in an effort to refine your search results even more.
If you would like to search Wise Researcher independently of LAWPAC plus, you can do so by clicking on the "Search in full WiseResearcher" link. This will open a new browser window, featuring 360Search in its native interface.
By default, LAWPAC plus will search for only items that include all of your search terms. There is no need to include 'AND' between terms. You can also use 'OR' between terms to indicate that results can have any of the mentioned terms.
LAWPAC plus searches are NOT case sensitive. Everything you type into the search box will be regarded the same.
