How vLex Library Ranks Search Results

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

vLex Library sorts your search results by Relevance by default to ensure the most important information appears at the top. This ranking is calculated by a smart algorithm that considers multiple factors beyond simple keyword matching.

Why This is Important

Understanding how results are ranked builds confidence in your vlex legal research. It clarifies why certain documents appear first, assuring you that the ranking is based on legal authority and relevance, not just random keyword hits.

Factors That Determine Result Ranking

Our relevance algorithm is a blend of several key factors:

  • Textual Ranking: How closely the text of the document relates to your search terms.

  • Legal Ranking: The authority of the source. For example, a Supreme Court decision will rank higher than a lower court decision.

  • Citation Frequency: Documents that are cited more often by other authoritative sources are ranked higher.

  • Social Ranking: The algorithm learns from how users interact with documents. Highly visited and utilized documents gain relevance.

  • Personal Ranking: The system considers your followed SmartTopics and documents, giving a slight boost to content that matches your stated interests.

  • Editorial Ranking: For very common searches, our legal editorial team may manually curate the top results to ensure quality.

vLex Library uses a multi-factor algorithm to determine the most relevant results.

You Can Influence Your Rankings : The system learns from your behavior. The more you use vLex Library and personalize your experience by following topics, the better your personal ranking factor will become.

How to Change the Sort Order

While Relevance is the default, you can change the sort order to fit your needs. Use the dropdown menu located at the top-right of the central results column to sort by:

  • Most cited

  • Most recent

  • Oldest

  • Most visited

Sort results by relevance, most cited, most recent, or most visited.

Best Practices & Pro Tips

  • Start with Relevance: For most research tasks, trust the default Relevance sorting to bring the most authoritative documents to the top.

  • Use "Most Recent" for Current Awareness: When you need to see the very latest developments on a topic, switch the sorting to Most recent.

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