360 Search - Frequently Asked Questions
360 Search is a new tool that allows you to search several library databases at once instead of searching repeatedly in several databases. For example, with 360 Search you can locate articles and books in Legal Periodicals Full Text, Supreme Court Records and Briefs, Academic Search Premier and the Library Catalog (or any combination of over 40 databases) at the same time rather than searching each database separately.
360 Search is organized into groups of databases (called subjects) appropriate to areas of research. For example, "Articles and Journals - Legal", "Education" or "Medical." The subject "Quick Search" includes our top legal and nonlegal databases, the library catalog and Google for a broad multi-disciplinary search.
You are not limited to these subject compilations in 360 Search. Search any single database, any combination, or all of the over 40 subscription databases available with one click.
360 Search is also integrated with the new and improved Boley Article Finder, leading you to the full text of articles or the physical location of an item in the library.
360 Search is an excellent tool for:
- Getting started Run a "Quick Search" with your broad search terms and let 360 Search pull results and from the leading subscription databases, the library catalog and Google. You'll quickly retrieve a good starting set of documents, easily sorted by topic, date, author, journal or database.
- Searching multiple databases at once Save yourself some time and trouble by searching across multiple databases with once click. No need to go to each individual database, run the search, then try another. Now you can combine databases at will - even different types of databases such as article indexes, catalogs and Google .
- Database discovery The Law Library subscribes to a number of valuable databases that are underused. Too often searching begins and ends with Westlaw or LexisNexis. Yet if you only search 'Wexis' your research is incomplete. We subscribe to most of these databases precisely because their content is not available on 'Wexis.' Also, even where there is overlap it is only for the last 15 years or so (much of Westlaw and LexisNexis isn't older that the 1990s). Plus, the subject indexing and image libraries (actual PDFs of pages) can be invaluable, and only to be found in these subscription databases. With 360 Search you'll find databases previously undiscovered that will provide key research results for your topic. Then go search them directly in their native interfaces and take advantage of their advanced search tools.
- Sorting by topic After running your search be sure to sort by Clustered Result. Using clustering technology developed for web searching 360 Search allows you to sort your results in ways that you often cannot in the databases own native interface.
360 Search is a wonderful research tool, but it won't fulfill all your research needs. Here are a few caveats explaining why:
- No Westlaw or LexisNexis 360 Search can do a lot, but at this point neither Westlaw nor LexisNexis allows it to access their data. Thus, you'll want to turn elsewhere when searching for case law, codes and statutes, regulations and other primary law.
- Not all of our other subscription databases are yet on 360 Search Our incomparable BNA All suite of libraries is not yet available via 360 Search (though this should change in a year); neither are HeinOnline's non-law journal libraries (ex. Federal Register, CFR, etc.), LexisNexis Congressional (first stop for legislative history research), the Environmental Law Reporter, the U.N. Treaty Collection, the Readex U.S. Congressional Serial Set, the tax databases (RIA Checkpoint and CCH Tax Online), SSRN and a few others.
- Some advance search functions missing The built-in advanced search functions that of individual databases are not available via 360 Search. Being a multi-database search tool, it is forced to search via the least common denominator - basic keyword searching. Proximity searching, truncation, field limits, and a number of other search functions are available only via a database's native interface.
- Ranking 360 Search does a wonderful job of sorting by topic, date, author or journal, but because of the nature of multi-database ("federated") searching today, it cannot rank results by Google-like relevance. Use the database's native interface for its own smart ranking.
360 Search allows you to search multiple databases at once. Then the results will provide links to that item - typically an article or a book - in one of those databases. Sometimes that will be the full text item, but often it will be an index entry.
The Boley Article Finder, on the other hand, is your full text finder. Think of it as your automated legal article or book retriever. You don't use it to search, but when you have a known item the Boley Article Finder will link you to the full text when available electronically through many of our subscription databases (including Westlaw and LexisNexis), or point you to where it is in the Law Library.
Plus, it plays nice with 360 Search. You'll see links to the Boley Article Finder in your 360 Search results. Just click on it, and you'll get those same links to the full text as if you've input your own citation, even if one of 360 Search's databases only provide an index entry.
As for our Databases and Indexespage, the main difference is how you access the databases. The Databases and Indexes page takes you to the listing of all of our subscription databases. Use those links to search individual databases one at a time using their native interfaces. 360 Search, as you've probably figured out by now, is a way to search multiple databases at once. Remember, there are a number of valuable databases not included in 360 Search that you will find on our Databases and Indexes page.
Oh, lots of ways. Besides the vastly lower stock price of 360 Search's parent company (not that there's anything wrong with it...), Google cannot provide full text access to the content available in most of our library databases. Because the content is from mainly commercial journal, book and database publishers, and not covered by copyright (and they're not sharing), Google can't see that information. Google also naturally contains much that is not scholarly. Library subscription databases contain content that has been evaluated and deemed credible by journal and book editors, librarians, and/or commercial database producers.
That's not to say that Google and the other Web search services are not invaluable to the legal researcher. To that end, Google is searchable via 360 Search and, in fact, we have included it in our 'Quick Search' top ten database collection. You get the best of both worlds - search Google, but don't miss out on invaluable information contained within our specialized research databases
Absolutely. In fact, off campus users will need to first login using their Lewis & Clark e-mail username and password before using 360 Search. After that, just keep your browser open and you won't need to login again to either search 360 Search or to access the results within individual databases. On campus searching is open to all.
Not all of them, but you can choose to search the over 40 library databases included in 360 Search with one search. The databases not included in 360 Search at this time - Westlaw, LexisNexis, BNA All, the CCH and RIA tax databases, etc. - will have to be searched the old-fashioned way.
The content will vary depending on what subject compilation or combination of databases you choose to search within 360 Search.
The default Quick Search will search a top ten list of databases:
- Academic Search Premier
- EBSCO Legal Collection
- Google Scholar
- HeinOnline Law Journals Library
- Lewis & Clark Libraries Catalog
- Legal Periodicals Full Text
- LegalTrac
- Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises
- WorldCat
You can use the basics - AND, OR, NOT - but many of the advanced search options such as proximity searches and field limitations to be found in Westlaw, LexisNexis and many databases' native interfaces, are not available in 360 Search.
Use 360 Search's Advanced Search for easy to use drop-down menus
Not in 360 Search. You'll need to search the individual database to take advantage of root truncation (you know: tort* = tort, torts, tortilla, Tortugas, etc.). The most common root truncate\or is the asterisk, though Westlaw and LexisNexis use an exclamation point.
When you results pop up on 360 Search the most recent will appear at the top. (Here's a bonus tip: If 360 Search gets stuck and won't display your results after too-long a wait, click the "Stop Searching" link and the results that have been returned from the databases will appear).
Post-search sorting is one of the great strengths of 360 Search. You almost always will want to sort your results. Options include sorting by topic (give those Clustered Results a try!), database source, author or journal.
Too many irrelevant results and the Clustered topics aren't helping? Hit the
Depending on your research needs, sure. You may well find that 360 Search points you to one or two databases that have plenty of material on your topic. Every database name in 360 Search is a link to that database. Go to that database and use its built-in tools to focus your search.
360 To get results to you as quickly as possible, results are returned in small batches. When you reach your final page of results you can click on the "Next Results" link to see the next batch of results from the providers. Note that when you do pull in those further results 360 Search incorporates those topics into the Clustered Results, often bringing you new subjects to pull from.
Results from the Boley Library Catalog will primarily be for books, all in the Boley Law Library or the Watzek College Library. You will also find book results from WorldCat, which provides the holdings of thousands of libraries from the world over.
You will also find book results, actually books themselves, from the digital libraries which may be searched with 360 Search. We currently have two such collections included: Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises, and Early English Books Online (EEBO).
If the result showing in 360 Search is from a database providing full text, simply click on the result link and you'll go right to it. You may limit the results to full text only by checking the 'full text' box in the top right of the results page.
Even if the database doesn't provide full text, don't give up hope. Simply click on the Boley Article Finder link and we'll get you to the full text when available electronically or in our library in print.
Above your results are links to email, export, or save selected results. To select records, use the checkboxes next to each result. Once results are selected, the "Email" and "Export/Save" links are activated.
Clicking on "selected records" link from the results page allows you to view only your selections in a new window.
Clicking on "Email" prompts you to fill out a form. On the form, you may choose to send your selected records in a format compatible with bibliographic citation managers like EndNote or ProCite, in plain text, or in HTML. Clicking on "Export/Save" prompts you to fill out a similar form.
In addition to 360 Search's own search tips just drop by, call or email a Reference Librarian. And please let us know what you think about 360 Search.
