Using LEXIS®-NEXIS® Academic Universe

Start by connecting to the LEXIS®-NEXIS® Academic Universe · Main Menu (home) page. You'll see a list of available search forms.

[Note:  You can only access Lexis from campus or from home using a direct line to SFSU. You cannot connect to Lexis by using another Internet provider (e.g. AOL).

Consult http//www.sfsu.edu/~helpdesk/kits.htm   for information on downloading an SFSU Internet kit allowing you to dial directly to the University with your SFSU Internet Account.]

The link directly below will take you to this page in a new browser window. 

http//web.lexis-nexis.com/universe

1.  If necessary, review the brief description of each search form (located below the search form list). Then, click on the name of the form that best meets your research needs. The Search Form page you selected appears.

2.  Complete the Search Form (Company Name, Industry Type, Additional Terms, etc.). You'll find a collection of Search Form Tips
located below the form to help you with this.

3.  When you finished entering your search criteria, click Search. After a short delay, the Document List page appears listing the most
current documents retrieved that matched your request.

4.  After reviewing the list of available documents, click on the document you want to read. The Individual Document page appears
displaying the full text of the document you selected.

Note: Most Web browsers have built-in features to help you work with your retrieved documents. Almost all support a Print and Save As function so you can save a copy of the displayed page for later use. And, many support a Find function that performs a word search on the displayed page. This is useful if you want to quickly locate a specific area within a large document. Refer to your Web browser's documentation for details.

Working with Search Forms

In general, search forms ask you to identify the specific subject (industry, company, person, and so on) you wish to research. They also let
you specify one or more factors (additional terms, date range, selection of sources, and so on) that limit your search to ensure that you
don't receive more information than you really want.

To use a search form, fill in (or select from the provided list) the required values flagged with an asterisk (* Company name, * Industry
name, * Topic, and so on); fill in or make your selections in the search limiting fields (Date, Source material, and so on); and click Search.

Working with the Document List

This page lists the documents retrieved by your search and available for viewing. Each item in this list provides general information
(headline, source, date, and length) about the document it represents.

You'll notice a message at the top of this page indicating how many documents were retrieved by your search. If the number seems rather
high (in the hundreds for example), you may want to rerun your search using some limiting factors (such as a smaller date range). This
ensures that the documents you receive best represent the topic you are researching.

If your search would retrieve more than 1,000 documents, you will receive the following error message: "This search has been interrupted
because it will return more than 1,000 results. You should edit your search and try again. To edit your search, use the BACK button on
your browser to return to your search form."

The error message also provides some suggestions for amending your search to provide a smaller, more manageable answer set, as
follows:

You may want to try one or more of the following:

-Add more search terms.

-Use less common search terms.

-Use a more specific date.

-Use OR and AND connectors between your search terms. Adjacent words (for example: cellular phones, automobile accidents, etc.) are searched for as a phrase rather than as individual words.

-After reviewing the document list, click on the appropriate link to view the full text of the document you want to read.

Working with the Individual Document Pages

These pages display the full text of the document you selected. Use the scroll bar to browse through the document. If you want to save a copy of this document, use the functions of your browser to print it or save it on disk.

Note: Once you submit another search, the current selection of documents is deleted from the system and replaced by the new search results. Therefore, we recommend that you save a copy of those documents you may wish to refer to later.

Also, retrieved company financial information contains tabular data that is best viewed in a mono-spaced font (for example, Courier New 10pt. ). We recommend changing the default font in your browser when viewing this type of information.

When you're ready to read another document, click on [Next Document] from the menu bar at the top or bottom of the document to read the next document or click on [Results List] from the menu bar or use your browser's Back function to redisplay the Document List page so you can select and view another document.

If you wish to see only the portion(s) of the document containing your search terms and 15 to 25 words on either side of your search terms, click on [KWIC View] after you have viewed a document in [Full View]. Successive documents will be displayed in the same viewing format, until you choose another viewing option.

If your search has found more than 25 documents, they will be displayed in the Document List in groups of 25. To display the next 25 documents, click on [Next] when in the Document List.

Note: The [ Main Menu] link redisplays the Main Menu page so you can select a form and begin researching another topic. The [Last Form] link takes you to the last form used, while retaining the terms you entered and your Source Material selection. This is a time saver should you wish to rerun the same search in a different Source Material selection or use a different date range, for example.