Filtering results

Filtering results is an essential part of searching, making sure that you can sort the wheat from the chaff and save research time.

Both the search results and Vincent results pages display a variety of filters on the left side. Use filters to narrow down the scope of your query, and reach more specific results.

This article presents an overview of the filters, but bear in mind that not all of them will be available for every search or jurisdiction.

Search in results

The first filter at the top of the column is an input field marked Search in results. Type here to search for new terms within your results.

Use the Search in results field more efficiently by adding Boolean operators.

Content type

This filter is a list of the types of documents available, and is headed by All content. This list will vary depending on the jurisdiction, and the content available there. The list will allow you to narrow your results down to only one type of result, for example, Case Law or Legislation. If you do not make a selection here, then your results will include all of the available options, ordered by relevance.

When selected, a filter will be greyed out. The number to the right of every content type indicates the number of results it contains. In the following example, searching for copyright law yields 10,202 results for All Content. In the preview, only 2,233 Case Law documents will be shown, as this has been selected in the menu. Also note, the results show 1 document in John's vLex Cloud, allowing you to choose whether to include your own documents in your vLex search results.

Jurisdiction

The next filter is jurisdiction. Here you will see the default jurisdiction, unless it has been amended for your current search. If you wish to see more, click Select more jurisdictions and a pop-up will appear where you can add more jurisdictions to your results. To see all results regardless of jurisdiction, select All countries.

In this pop-up menu:

Toggle Select all countries at the top to check all jurisdictions.
Use the checkboxes to the left of each country to select it. This way you can select more than one jurisdiction.
If you wish to select only one country and uncheck the rest, hover over a name and an ONLY option will appear on the right side of the country for you to select.

Date

Below the cited authorities you will see a Date filter.

It can be shown as a timeline:

Or, the date filter can also be seen as date input boxes:

You can switch between the two ways of filtering by date by clicking Search for exact date or Show timeline.

Content-specific filters

Each content type has specific filters. When you click More filters at the bottom of the left-hand menu, it will take you to the Advanced Search. You can get more information about filters for specific content filters here:

Jurisdiction-specific filters

Court

This filter appears for some jurisdictions when you select Case law as a content type. Click Court to open the pop-up menu.

Use the + sign to add a court from the left-hand column, and the – sign in the right-hand column to remove it.

Reported series

For jurisdictions where we have reported series, you can filter them using this field. Click Report series to see the list. You can only select one at a time, but you can add as many as you like.

Cited authorities

For users in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, there is a Cited authorities filter. Once selected, the following pop-up window will appear:

From this menu, you can click Go to results next to your desired authority to only see documents that cite it. Use the checkboxes to select more than one, and then choose between All the selected values or Any of the selected values at the bottom of the pop-up, depending on your preference.

Click Apply to go back to the results page with your filter applied.