How to Navigate and Filter the Search Results Page
I've run a search and have a long list of results. How do I understand this page and use the filters to find the specific documents I need?
Summary
The Search Results Page is where you can analyze your findings and use powerful filters to narrow down to the most relevant documents. Understanding this page is key to an efficient vlex legal research workflow.
Why This is Important
Effectively using the results page saves critical research time. By applying filters and understanding the document previews, you can quickly discard irrelevant information and pinpoint the exact case law or legislation you need.
Understanding the Results Page Layout
The results page is organized into three main columns:
Left Column (Filters): This is your primary tool for refining results.
Center Column (Document List): This shows the list of documents matching your query.
Right Column (Additional Information): This may display relevant news articles or other contextual information depending on your search.
How to Filter Your Search Results
Use the filters in the left column to narrow your results.
Search in results: Enter new keywords here to search only within your current result set.
Content type: Select a document type (e.g., Case Law, Legislation) to see only that type of content.
Jurisdiction: Click Select more jurisdictions to add or remove countries from your search.
Date: Use the timeline slider or enter a specific date range to filter by publication date.
Content-specific filters: Depending on your search, you may see other filters like Court, Cited authorities, or Category.
Pro Tip: Use Search in results for Multi-Step Queries Start with a broad search, then use the Search in results field to add more specific terms. This is often faster than building a complex Advanced Search from scratch.
Understanding Document Previews
Each result in the list provides a rich preview to help you assess its relevance quickly.
Title and Metadata: You will see the document title, court, publication date, and any parallel citations.
Treatment Indicators: For case law from the UK, Ireland, and the US, you may see colored indicators (e.g., green/red treatments or Cert™ flags) that show the case's citation status at a glance.
Snippet of Text: A snippet of text is a short excerpt from the document that shows your search terms in context. This allows you to quickly understand how your keywords are used in the document without having to open it.
Understanding Document Previews
At the top of the document list, a toolbar provides several actions:
Visualize top results: Click the statistics diagram icon to open a visual map of the top results. This diagram displays each document as a circle, showing its relevance, publication date, and relationships to other key cases, helping you spot important precedents at a glance.
Add to folder: Organize selected documents into a research folder.
Create an alert: Get notified when new documents match your current search query.
Share: Send a link to selected documents to a colleague.
Download: Save selected documents to your computer.
Best Practices & Pro Tips
Change Sort Order: By default, results are sorted by Relevance. Use the dropdown menu at the top right of the document list to sort by Most cited, Most recent, or Most visited.
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