Natural Language (FREESTYLE^TM) Searching

Natural language searching in the LexisNexis^TM® service uses the FREESTYLE^TM feature of the LexisNexis^TM research system. Natural language searching lets you enter a search in plain English, without having to use any special terms. The feature's document relevance ranking gives you quick access to the most pertinent documents in your search results. A typical natural language search might be:

Under what circumstances can biological parents regain custody of adopted children after an adoption?

Natural language searching works best when you

• Need to research general or conceptual issues, rather than very specific topics
• Don't know much about an issue except for a few basic terms
• Are researching a complex issue and can't construct an effective search using Boolean connectors
• Don't feel comfortable writing Terms and Connectors (Boolean) search requests
• Want to supplement a Terms and Connectors search to ensure thorough results

Developing a Natural Language Search

To develop a natural language search, use words that you might use when describing your research topic to another person.

EXAMPLE:
To find articles about efforts in the fast food industry to use recyclable packaging, you might use this search:

What efforts has the fast food industry made to use recyclable packages?

Or, you can use just the most important words and phrases, in any order:

recycle package fast food

The FREESTYLE feature automatically checks your search for legal, technical, medical, and other common phrases. You can also easily create your own phrases when you enter your search by enclosing the words you want considered as a phrase in quotes. If you want to ensure that adjacent words are not evaluated as a phrase, separate them with a comma.