Type a query, up to 640 characters, using key terms from your issue and connectors to specify the relationship between terms. To retrieve variations of terms, use the root expander (!) and universal character (*).

Root Expander
To retrieve words with variant endings, use the root expander (!). When you place an exclamation point (!) at the end of a root term, you retrieve all possible endings of that root. For example, obey! retrieves obey, obeys, obeyed and obeying.

Universal Character
The universal character (*) represents one character. You can place the universal character within or at the end of a term. When you place the universal character within a term, it requires that a character appear in that position. For example, fea*t retrieves feast but not feat.

When you place the universal character at the end of a term, you specify the maximum length of that term. For example, object*** retrieves object, objects, objected, objective, objection and objecting but not objectionable.

Using Connectors

Connectors are symbols you place between search terms to specify the relationship between them.

Connector	Type this	To retrieve documents that contain
AND	&	Both search terms: narcotics & warrant
OR	(a space)	Either search term or both terms: car automobile
Phrase	" "	Search terms appearing in the same order as in the quotation marks: "attractive nuisance"
Grammatical Connectors	/s	Search terms in the same sentence: design*** /s defect!
	/p	Search terms in the same paragraph: hearsay /p utterance
	+s	The first term preceding the second within the same sentence: palsgraf +s island
	+p	The first term preceding the second within the same paragraph: ti(mikkelson +p mikkelson)
Numerical Connectors	/n	Search terms within "n" terms of each other (where "n" is a number from 1-255): person** /3 jurisdiction
	+n	The first term preceding the second by "n" terms (where "n" is a number from 1-255): 20 +5 1080
BUT NOT	%	None of the terms following the percent symbol: laminectomy % to(413) Use the % connector with caution; it may cause relevant documents to be excluded from your search result.

Restricting Your Search by Field
Westlaw allows restricting searching to "fields" or sections of a document rather than searching the entire document.

To search by	Type this
a title or case name:	ti(staeger)
a Judge:	ju(giovine)
a Docket-Number:	dn(01-1998-02368-R)
a Citation:	ci(871 +2 1998)
Within Opinions:	op(department /s "standing to file")
Full-Text:	ft("administrative hearings" /5 appoint /10 "qualified interpreter" /3 unavailable)

Turning Off Plurals and Equivalents
Westlaw automatically retrieves plurals when you enter the singular form of a term. You can turn off plurals of a particular term by placing the # symbol in front of the term. To retrieve damage but not damages, type #damage. Placing the # symbol in front of a term also turns off the automatic retrieval of equivalencies. To retrieve perm but not permanent, type #perm.