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The use of sequential searches is important in legal research. A sequential search is a series of searches one after another. The searches are related to each other. The goal of sequential searches is to find the best possible results to your legal research.
A sequential search usually involves nested search queries which follow one after another. The changes in the search queries, one after another, usually change a search term in one of the search query fields – along with adding or modifying logical operators.
1. Adding a search term to a later search with an OR logical operator when it’s determined that something can go by two names
You are searching for something and you realize that something in that search can be called something else, then you can add a search term with an OR logical operator to the search query.
Example:
So you may be searching for patents with the technology of an electrical wall outlet with electric shock prevention.
So you may search in a patent database for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention
Then you look through some of the results and notice that an electrical wall outlet can also be called an “electrical wall plug”
Then in your next search you can search for: (“electrical wall outlet” OR “electrical wall plug”) AND “electric shock” AND prevention. This new search query will include the results which will encompass more of what you are looking for because your search results will include patents which call what you are looking for by either name.
2. Adding a search term to a later search with an AND logical operator when it’s determined that an added search term will likely give better results
If you are searching for something and you realize that adding a search term will give better results because that additional term is associated with better results you’ve already found.
Example:
Using the above example again, you may be searching for patents with technology of an electrical wall outlet with electric shock prevention.
So you may search in a patent database for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention.
Then you look through some of the results and notice that all your best results include the word of insulation.
Then in your next search you can search for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention AND insulation. This new search query will include the results which will encompass more of what you are looking for because your search results will include patents which include the word insulation.
If you are searching for something and you realize that removing a search term because it will likely give better results because when that particular search term is included in a result that result is usually irrelevant.
Example:
Using the above example again, you may be searching for patents with technology of an electrical wall outlet with electric shock prevention.
So you may search in a patent database for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention.
Then you look through some of the results and notice that there are many irrelevant results about technology which is about hairdryers which mention a plug into an electrical wall outlet and the hairdryer has an internal mechanism to prevent an electrical shock but the electrical wall outlet is not the element which has the electrical shock prevention technology.
Then in your next search you can search for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention NOT hairdryer. This new search query will exclude results which include hairdryers so you don’t have to look at those irrelevant results and waste time.
(Outside Example from the USPTO of removing irrelevant results with a NOT operator)
4. Removing previous search results so you don’t have to review them twice
If you've searched through all or most of the results of a search query and you want to alter the search query in new search, but with the new search query you would re-review results already reviewed, so you exclude the previous results which were already reviewed.
Example:
Using the above example again, you may be searching for patents with technology of an electrical wall outlet with electric shock prevention.
So you may search in a patent database for: “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention.
You look through all the results for that search query and you determine that “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND “damper” would be a good next search.
But, you’ve looked through “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention so adding damper with an AND operator at the end of your query may cause you to re-review some of the results with prevention which you’ve already reviewed. Or, by just not including “prevention” in the search query, you will avoid re-reviewing results which had “prevention” and “damper”. So a possible time saving search is “electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND “damper” NOT “prevention” so you don’t have to re-review some results.
5. Extracting Trends From Government Databases
You may want to understand different questions about trends such as: (a) How Long Will It Take for a Trademark Application to Be Approved? - Amount of Applications Approved in Each 3 Month Period After the Application Submission Date; or (b) Number and Type of Trademarks Filed in Connecticut in 2020.
You can do multiple searches changing one part in each search to gain data and observe a trend.
Example:
You want to understand how many trademark applications are registered for a certain filing date. This will give you an idea of the time to obtain a registration.
Therefore, you can do multiple searches which have the same information for the application with a change in each search to obtain results for a different registration date.
“electrical wall outlet” AND “electric shock” AND prevention
“electrical wall outlet” AND (“electric shock” OR electrocution) AND prevention – you see electric shock and electrocution are good synonyms for the same thing
“electrical wall outlet” AND (“electric shock” OR electrocution) AND prevent$ - you see that $ wildcard operator at the end of prevent will include prevent, prevents, prevented, prevention, which will give better results
“electrical wall outlet” AND (“electric shock” OR electrocution) AND prevent$ NOT hairdryer – you see that you are looking at a lot of results which include electric shock prevention as an internal mechanism of a hairdryer but not an electrical wall outlet itself
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