Legal research is the most quintessential part of being a lawyer or a law student. Improving legal research methods using smart research tools like legal databases can save us a lot of time while also providing us with the most relevant information.
In this article, YLCC brings to you a compilation on how to effectively use popular and most convenient legal databases such as Manupatra, SCC Online and Westlaw to your advantage. However, before proceeding with these tips, it is important that we first understand how these databases differ from each other.
Manupatra
Manupatra is India’s primary law publisher. It is the largest online legal and business policy database, providing access to all legal information needed by a legal scholar or a layperson in general. The most essential feature of Manupatra is its ability to search case law on a specific issue from all High Courts and the Supreme Court of India in a single search, as well as its ability to do a concise search by selecting a specific court. It includes decisions from the Supreme Court of India, High Courts, and Tribunals, among others. It also includes legal content such as Commission and Committee Reports, Bare Acts, Rules & Regulations, Gazette Notifications & Circulars, Ordinance and Pending Bills, and legal documents on subject-based study. Manupatra has a multi-disciplinary search engine containing several search modules, such as:
- Manu Search (This interface provides a single search bar and aids in searching for key words, phrases, multiple phrases, and so on.)
- Legal Search (This search allows the user to search on a specific field or a combination of fields such as appellant or respondent name, judges name, acts, rules, order, etc.)
- Citation Search (Cases can be searched by using their equivalent citation; even by inputting partial information of a citation generates results, which helps the user to identify relevant document)
This database also allows the user to store or save the information accessed or data retrieved using the above-mentioned modes of search, allowing them to access the most recent page or search that was viewed or saved.
SCC Online
SCC Online provides its users with legal knowledge that has been carefully drafted and expertly edited. This legal content on this database is extensive and carefully selected from a variety of other credible sources, resulting in better and more reliable search results for their users. General Search, Topical Search (subject-based), Case Index (Nominal Search), and Find by Citation are among the available search options for researching a case. The Case downloaded from SCC Online comprises case notes and headnotes, which is the most important element of this database. A topic and statutes guide is also available in the database. It also includes Indian Case Laws and Statutory Law, as well as Foreign Case Laws, International Material, and Law Reports. Furthermore, huge amount of data from the courts, the government, and other sources are constantly being contributed to the database. SCC Online also provides coverage of articles in addition to cases.
Westlaw: For lawyers and legal professionals, Westlaw Asia is one of the most important online legal research services. The primary legal materials are available for jurisdictions in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other Commonwealth countries. Furthermore, it offers proprietary database services. More than 40,000 databases of case law, state and federal statutes, administrative codes, newspaper and magazine articles, law journals, treatises, legal forms, public records, law reviews, and other information resources from India, Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union are available through Westlaw. There are almost more than 1600 academic journals in the Westlaw Collection.
Now let’s go ahead to understand how can we use these databases to our advantage for more effective research.
- Funnel search: As a general rule, start with a broad search and then narrow it down to more specific search. That is to say, instead of starting with a complex search query containing more than 10 keywords, start with 3-4 keywords. Examine the outcome to determine whether it answers your question. Then, add more relevant keywords and search operators to fine-tune your results to what is most useful.
- Boolean search: The use of Boolean operators helps us to a great extent in narrowing down our research. While each database may have its own unique way of doing things, several of the boolean operators are nearly common. The basic ones are- and, or. It allows us to combine keywords to find exactly what you’re looking for. For example, if we search equity and shares or debt- then the database will find us all cases containing the word equity, as well as at least one of the words from shares or debt.
Consider one more example:
- If our query reads, “In the absence of a Statement of Claim, is an Arbitral Tribunal allowed to give relief under Section 17?”
- Then, our search bar could state: “Statement of Claim” and “Arbitral Tribunal” and “Section 17.”
In this one search phrase entered in the search bar, all three critical aspects of the query is targeted. If the result becomes too limited, then the quotation marks or one of the terms can be eliminated.
- Quotation search: Quotation marks work in the same way just as they are used in Google. If you are searching for“culpable homicide”with quote marks, this will lead you to results where the words culpable and homicide pops up right next to each other. Byputting it into quotation marks in the search bar, you’ll have good odds of finding the judgment in the database.
- Proximity and bracket search: Another useful feature is proximity search, which allows us to set the distance between keywords. Each platform has its own version of this feature. Further, to ensure the search is done properly, put searches that you want done first in brackets.
The YLCC team hopes that after reading this article, you got some insight as to how to refine your research process through databases. That being said, Happy Researching!
YLCC would like to thank Shivani Bharti for her valuable insights in this article.
