Choosing the Most Cost- Effective Database

Choosing the Most Cost-Effective Database Use the smallest database that contains the documents you need. ALL as part of a database identifier indicates a large database that contains more than one smaller database. (Both hourly and transactional rates are higher in the larger databases.) Use Idaho Cases (UT-CS) database rather than All State Cases (ALLSTATES) if you need only Utah cases. Use Environmental Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals (ENV-TP) database rather than All Texts & Periodicals (TP-ALL) if you need only environmental articles. Use The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) rather than the All News (ALLNEWS) database if the article you need was published in the Wall Street Journal.

Choosing the Appropriate Database Use Scope to find out what materials or information a database covers and to get helpful search tips. Under transactional pricing, there is no charge to view Scope information. The Scope icon in the Westlaw Directory and on the Search page of each database indicates that descriptive information for the database is available. Click the icon to view this information.

Here are two pages of Scope information for the U.S. Court of Appeal Cases – Reported (CTAR) database.

Choosing the Appropriate Database Use the SUBSCRIBER database to check the cost of searching in a database using hourly or transactional pricing. You incur no hourly database or transactional charges when you use SUBSCRIBER. Law students cannot run searches in the SUBSCRIBER database.

This is the page in the SUSCRIBER database that shows the pricing for the Criminal Justice - Law Reviews, Texts, and Bar Journals (CJ-TP) database.

Finding the Appropriate Database If you don’t know which database(s) might be appropriate, use the Westlaw Directory. Access the Westlaw Directory by clicking Directory on the toolbar. Browse the Westlaw Directory by clicking the plus (+) or minus (-) symbol next to a section that interests you. Click a blue hypertext link in the Westlaw Directory to access the Search page for that database. Directory

Finding the Appropriate Database You can also find the appropriate database by entering a description of the material of the database in the Search these databases text box on most tab pages in westlaw.com.® A list of possible database names and their identifiers is displayed. Check the database you need and click OK at the bottom of the screen. irs private letter rulings You incur no hourly database or transactional charge for browsing the Westlaw Directory or the Search these databases feature. irs rulings OK