Use the AND connector to find words that are far apart from one another or in different sections. Searches using AND usually find more documents than searches using the W/n connector. As a general rule, use AND when it doesn't matter where your search words appear in a document. Use the W/n connector when there is a connection between your search terms and you need to find the terms near each other.

If your search terms are fairly unique, the AND connector can find documents that are related to your research. Using the AND connector can also help you get started on your research, until you begin to find more specific concepts and terms for your search. For example, if you would like information about natural justice and fair hearing, you could use this search:

natural justice AND fair hearing

However, to find documents that are relevant when your search terms are less specific, you may need to use the W/n connector. For example, the following search will find more relevant documents than if the AND connector were used:

fiduciary duty W/10 breach

If you're looking for a document in which the same word occurs twice, such as a court case with Sullivan v. Sullivan as respondents, do not use the AND connector. The following search would find many unrelated documents:

sullivan AND sullivan

Instead, use the W/n or W/s connector, such as:

sullivan W/5 sullivan

sullivan W/s sullivan

Finding Phrases Containing the Word "and"

If you're searching for a phrase that contains the word "and," place "and" inside quotation marks. Otherwise, it is interpreted as a connector instead of a literal word. For example, if you're looking for landlord and tenant information, your search request should be:

"landlord and tenant"

or

landlord "and" tenant

If you place the entire phrase in quotes, as in the first example, the system only returns documents that contain the exact phrase "landlord and tenant". If you place only the word "and" in quotes, as in the second example, the system returns documents that contain the exact phrase "landlord and tenant", as well as variations such as "landlords and tenants".

Because abstracts are usually short, the AND connector is a good choice when searching for multiple terms. The following search in an abstract file finds a large number of documents, but the chances of document relevancy are great:

satellite AND launch!