LexisNexis Academic - News Help Guide

The following is a description of how to do a basic search for news in LexisNexis Academic.
Access our printable handout for sample screen images that correspond with the explanation.

Searching

Easy Search in LexisNexis lets you search with limited options from 1980 until today. Here is how to use Easy Search to find an article:

• Enter your search terms in the text entry box under "Search the News."
• Narrow your search in one of the following ways:
  • Source Type: Use the drop down menu under "By Source Type" to choose the relevant news source type for your search (e.g. newspapers, magazines, wire services, broadcast transcripts, blogs, etc.).
  • Source Title: If you have a specific publications in mind, type the title into the text box under "Source Title" (e.g. Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, Salon.com, etc.).

For more advanced searching options, click on "News" from the list of option under "General Searching" on the left-hand side of the page. From the options that appear under "News" select "All News."

• Enter in the text entry box/es next to "Search For" the key words of your topic.
• You may also:
  • Use the drop down menu next to each text entry box to specify where you want to find your search terms (e.g. headline & lead, author, subject terms, etc.).
  • Narrow your search by date using the drop down menu next to "Specify Date."
  • Narrow your search by source type under "Select Source." Use the drop down menu next to "By Type" to choose the relevant news source type for your search (i.e. newspapers, magazines, wire services, broadcast transcripts, blogs, etc.).

Results List

Once you have entered the search information you desire and hit the "Search" button, the following information and options will appear:

• You can sort your results by "Relevance," "Newest to Oldest," or "Oldest to Newest." To do this, click on the drop down menu next to "Sort" near the top of the page to select which sorting method you prefer.
• To see one of the articles listed in your search results, click on the title of the article.
• You can narrow  your search by publication type. To do this, click on "Sources by Category" found on the menu on the left-hand side of the page. From the options listed, click the desired type of publication (i.e. newspapers, newswires & press releases, statistics, etc.).
• You can search within the results list by entering a keyword in the "Search within results" text entry box found on the top right-hand side of the page.

Article Record

Once you select an article title, the following options and information for the article record appear:

• The publication name and date are located on the top center of the article record.
• The article title is enlarged on the top left.
• The article author is listed after "Byline."
• You can either print or e-mail the article to yourself by clicking on the respective icon found on the top right side of the screen.

General Tips for Searching

• Truncate your terms with an asterisk (*) to find more results.  For example, type comput* to find the words computer or computing.
• Search for exact phrases with quotation marks (“”).
• Use just a few key words in your search.  The database will not look for common ‘stop words’ like: been, however, so, or, in, etc.
• When a singular word is searched, the plural and possessive forms of that word will also be searched as long as you do not put your search term in quotation marks (“”). For example, a search for the phrase alley cat could also search for all of the following: alley cat, alley cat's, alley cats, alley's cat, alley's cat's, alley's cats, alleys cat, etc.

Need additional help?
Ask a Reference Librarian!

• Des Plaines Campus Library, 2nd floor, 847.635.1644
• Ray Hartstein Campus Library, Room A200, 847.635.1474