A newsletter from West providing Westlaw® search tips for corporate counsel and staff

Q: I'm trying to retrieve documents from the American Jurisprudence—All database (AMJUR-ALL) that discuss in detail the use of leading questions with hostile witnesses. I'm discovering that relevant documents don't usually contain the terms leading question or hostile in their titles. And a proximity search such as adverse hostile /4 witness /p "leading question" retrieves a whopping 290-plus documents, many of which mention the topic only in passing! What should I try next?

A: The Term Frequency feature, previously available only in news databases, is now available in approximately 4,700 case law and secondary source databases, too. This feature is particularly helpful when you want to restrict your search by topic but few field restrictions are available (such as when you search secondary sources).

To use the Term Frequency feature, access one of these databases, type a Terms and Connectors query in the Search text box, then click Term Frequency. A list of your search terms is displayed. Use the Set Frequency drop-down lists to designate the number of times you want one or more terms to be mentioned in any retrieved document (e.g., require the phrase leading question to appear at least five times in any document you retrieve). Click OK to return to the Search page. Then click Search Westlaw to run the search.