This is a really intriguing thread. Thanks for posting the question, Kent.
I’ve taught at law firms and in a law school and have found that students
seem to be genuinely interested in understanding Boolean logic. My course
is always a work in progress, but lately I've started by explaining three
manifestations of Boolean – full, implied and template. Next we explore how
Google, Lexis and Westlaw translate those three types of Boolean into their
systems. I think the comparison helps them think about the impact a few
thoughtful choices can have on their search results. The biggest take-away
for them (I hope!) is to use Google’s Advanced Search as their default in
order to make the use of the powerful template Boolean a bit easier.
Ellen
On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 5:31 PM, Kent Olson <kolson@virginia.edu> wrote:
> Yesterday I was reviewing a law student's Westlaw research. She was looking
> for cases and articles about conservators' power of attorney in New York.
> When her initial search:
> "power of attorney" "conservator"
> turned up a few hundred thousand documents, she modified it:
> "power of attorney" "conservator" "new york"
> and instead got almost three million documents.
>
> This particular instance is an example of the Googlization of search --
> adding more words narrows a Google search but does the opposite in Westlaw.
> It's probably a familiar problem for many of us. But it got me thinking
> about using really unsuccessful searches as a teaching tool. We show our
> students how to construct good Lexis and Westlaw searches, but it could also
> be a good classroom exercise or assignment to give them a series of bad
> searches and ask "What's wrong with these searches? What would you do to fix
> them?"
>
> Legal writing instructors sometimes hand out lists of error-riddled
> citations for students to correct, but I don't recall seeing anything
> similar with bad online searches. And so I'm soliciting your help. If you
> have a record of any memorable searches, please send them my way. I'll
> compile a "Kids Write the Darndest Searches" list (without identifying
> contributors, unless you ask for attribution) and share the results with the
> group.
>
> thank! appreciat! /s "very much"
> – Kent
>
> Kent Olson
> University of Virginia Law Library
> kolson@virginia.edu
>
>
-- Ellen M. Callinan Senior Consultant Axelroth & Associates 703.917.8648 http://www.axelrothandassociates.comLinked In Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ellencalllinan
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 19 2009 - 15:43:13 PDT