Using the Research Map

The information in this article applies to the following LexisNexis^® products and services: Lexis+^®, Lexis^®

The Research Map research trail displays a series of events linked together for one search session. Each action displays a corresponding Event icon, such as a magnifying glass to signify a Search, with a message bubble providing additional details about that event.

You can access the Research Map using any of the following methods:

• On any page, click History and select Research Map
• While viewing your History, click Research Map

 

Message Bubble

When you click any Event icon, the service displays a message bubble with the information about the Event including the following as applicable to the Event:

• The search criteria
• The name of the results tab, such as Cases or News
• The filters you applied
• Any cases that you Shepardize^® using the Shepard's^® Citation Service
• Any additional actions for the search, such as the following:
  • Rerun search
  • Rerun as natural language (or terms & connectors, depending on the original search)
  • Save search to folder
  • Create an alert
  • Select search to compare search results
  • Select this document to find similar

See below for a legend of the Event icons.
 

Comparing Search Results in the Research Map

The Compare Search Results feature allows you to find documents common to searches. This is helpful if you run multiple different searches for one topic. You can compare up to 3 searches and can only compare across the same content type.

Take the following steps to compare results:

1. Click History.
2. Select Research Map.
3. Under the search you want to compare, click the message bubble for the Category Event icon.
4. Click Select search to compare search results.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to select at least one additional search. You can select up to 3 searches.
   Note: The Compare Search Results button at the top of the map indicates the number of searches you selected.
6. Click Compare Search Results.

Take the following steps to remove the selections for Compare Search Results:

1. Click the Compare Search Results button at the top of the Research Map.
2. Click the X next to the name of the search that you want to remove.

 

Find Similar Documents

The Find Similar Documents feature allows you to select up to 3 documents that you previously viewed and find other similar documents. The service automatically searches through all data to look for the items common to the 3 documents you selected. It uses an algorithm to search the metadata from the documents using topics, keywords, and citations. The results include similar documents to the 3 documents you selected based on the criteria you used.

Take the following steps to find similar documents:

1. Click History.
2. Select Research Map.
3. Click the numbered black box attached to the Category Event icons.
4. Click the name of the document.
5. Click Select this document to find similar.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to select additional documents. You can select up to 3 documents.
   Note: The Find Similar Documents button at the top of the map indicates the number of documents you selected.
7. Click Find Similar Documents.

 

The service opens a new tab that includes the results. The results display as a new item in your History.

Take the following steps to remove the selections for Find Similar Documents:

1. Click the Find Similar Documents button at the top of the Research Map.
2. Click the X next to the name of the document that you want to remove.

 

Using Filters in Research Map

You can remove change the settings to restrict what you view in the Research Map. Under the Narrow By pane, you can do any of the following:

• Search Within History to search for specific searches in your research trails with terms you enter
• Change order of trails to view the list by Last modified date or Original activity date
• Change client to see only the research trails you did for a specific client
• Change date range to see only the research trails you did for a specific timeframe
• Select or remove research trails from the Research Map view under Show Trails

 

You can return to the default view of the Research Map after using any of the above filters by clicking Reset map to default state.

Event Icon Legend 

Click the Search icon to see details from your search.	Click the Search Source icon to see details from your search.	Click the Content icon to see of the search in the identified content type. The number indicates the total number of results.
Click the Apply Filters icon to see details from the applied post-search filters. The number indicates the total number of results.	Click the Remove Filter icon to see details from your search after removing filters. The number indicates the total number of results.	Click the Open icon to see details of the documents opened from your search or additional items to view. The number indicates the number of documents opened.
Click the Shepard's® Search icon to see details of a Shepard's® Citation Service report.	Click the Table of Contents icon to see details of the table of contents viewed.	Click the Download icon to see details about documents you downloaded.
Click the Email icon to see details about documents you emailed.	Click the Print icon to see details about documents you printed.	Click the DropboxTM icon to see details about documents you sent to Dropbox.
Click the Folder icon to see details about items saved in folders.	Click the Alert icon to see details about alerts you have accessed.	Click the Compare Search Results icon to see details about the results from the Compare Search feature.
Click the Find Similar Documents icon to see details about the results similar to the document you selected.	Click the Get It Now icon to see details about the documents you accessed using the Get It Now feature.

Note: The Research Map treats the Search Within Results the same as other filters in the Narrow by pane. These searches receive the same Filter Applied icon. The message bubbles list the search that you ran when you use either of these search features.