How do I use the Research Center?
What is a simple search?
What is an advanced search?
What is a template search?
What content is included in my search result?
How do I view documents in my result?
How do I edit my search?
How do I use the Research Center?
The Research Center allows you to create your own search and select the types of documents your search retrieves, e.g., only statutes or only regulations. To use the Research Center, follow these steps:
Click the Research Center tab if it is not already displayed.
By default, your search retrieves all laws and regulations. If desired, select a type of document to search. Click the arrow next to Laws and Regulations or Cases and Decisions to select a document type, e.g., Regulations.
Select a search method by clicking Simple, Advanced, Template, or Find by Partial Citation. The search method available depends on the type of document you select.
Type your search in the text box. (If you use the template, you may enter terms in more than one text box and you may restrict your search by date or jurisdiction.)
Click Search.
A simple search allows you to use plain English to retrieve relevant documents. To run a simple search, click Simple if it is not already selected; type a description, such as marketing long-term care insurance, in the text box; and click Search. You do not need to use complete sentences, quotation marks, or punctuation. A simple search retrieves relevant documents based on how often your terms are used and where they appear in the document.
An advanced search consists of key terms and connectors specifying the relationship between those terms. For example, you can specify that terms appear in the same sentence or paragraph. To run an advanced search, click Advanced if it is not already selected; type a query, such as patient /s record /p confidential! private privacy, in the text box; and click Search. An advanced search retrieves all documents that match your search criteria. For more information about advanced search connectors, click Advanced Operators at the Advanced search page.
If you select Statutes, Regulations, or Cases and Decisions, you can use a template to search using specific information, such as the case citation, the name of a party, the docket number, or the statute's or regulation's citation, and restrict your search by date or jurisdiction. Click Template and enter your search criteria using the text boxes provided.
What content is included in my search result?
When you use the Research Center, you can select the types of documents you want to search. If you do not select a document type to search, Westlaw Compliance AdvisorTM searches all federal and state statutes and regulations. To narrow your search to a single type of document, click the arrow next to Laws and Regulations or Cases and Decisions and select the document type from the drop-down list.
You can retrieve the following types of documents using the Research Center:
Laws and Regulations contains federal and state insurance statutes; federal and state insurance regulations; and state insurance administrative materials, such as insurance bulletins, memoranda, directives, orders, and other advisory materials, as described below.
Statutes contains the following types of documents:
federal insurance statutes: documents from the United States Code Annotated® (USCA®) that relate to the rights and liabilities under insurance policies and the regulation of the insurance industry
state insurance statutes: insurance-related documents from the statutes of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands
Regulations contains federal and state insurance regulations (insurance-related rules and regulations from the administrative codes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Bulletins contains state insurance administrative materials (insurance bulletins, memoranda, directives, orders, notices, circular letters, informational letters, and other advisory materials issued by insurance departments in all 50 states and the District of Columbia).
Surveys contains insurance surveys (documents that compare state statutes and regulations pertaining to insurance and include references to the applicable statutes and regulations).
Cases and Decisions contains cases from state courts, documents released by the attorneys general of all 50 states, and documents pertaining to insurance-related matters from administrative agencies in selected states, as described below.
Court Cases contains cases from the state courts of all 50 states and the District of Columbia that relate to rights and liabilities under insurance policies and the regulation of the insurance industry.
Attorney General Opinions contains documents released by the attorneys general of all 50 states.
Agency Decisions contains documents pertaining to insurance-related matters from administrative agencies in selected states.
Dockets contains docket information on active and inactive civil and criminal cases filed in state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, courts of appeals, district courts, and bankruptcy courts.
How do I view documents in my result?
After your search has run, the Results page displays the documents retrieved by your search. A portion of each document containing your search terms is displayed below the document title. To view the complete text of a document, click its title, citation, or number. To hide the search terms or jump to a specific document, select the appropriate option from the Result Options drop-down list at the top of the page and click Go.
If your search retrieves more than one type of document, e.g., both federal and state bills, only the first three documents of each type are displayed. The left frame of the Results page will display a list categorizing the document types retrieved by your search. To view all the documents in a category, click the document type under Result Summary in the left frame, or click View All in the category heading in the right frame. To hide the search terms in the list or jump to a specific document, click Results Options in the left frame and choose the appropriate option from the menu that is displayed.
The current search is displayed in a text box at the top of the Results page. To revise your search, click Edit Search, or type your changes in the text box and click Search.