First Principles of Business Law

Finding law online

6. Advanced search techniques

6.1. Difficulties caused by 'adjacency'

 

 

THOMPSON v SMITH
MANZI v SMITH
SMITH v THE QUEEN
BEAUDESERT SHIRE COUNCIL v SMITH
SMITH v JENKINS
L W SMITH PTY LTD v McERLANE
OSBORN v SMITH
WILLIAMS v SMITH
RADAICH v SMITH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample documents in a database

 It is possible to use a phrase as a search term by putting the words of the phrase in double quotation marks. A good example of this is using part of the name of a reported case as a search term. Suppose a database contained all the cases shown opposite. You want to find the case Smith v Jenkins. Using the phrase "Smith v Jenkins" as the search term would achieve the result you want.

However, the principle of 'adjacency' may cause difficulties when using phrases to find documents. It is only when the words in the phrase are found in the document next to each other and in exactly the same order as they are in the search term, will there be a match and the document found.

So, if you mistakenly reversed the names in your search, typing in "Jenkins v Smith", the case Smith v Jenkins would not be found.  In such circumstances, 'Boolean' searching may help  

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