When should I use LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe?
It is appropriate to use LEXIS-NEXIS when:

• you need very current information from the last few days, weeks, or last month or two
• you need information from sources the Library doesn't have access to through other means
• you need specialized information, e.g. an annual report, especially for non-Fortune 500companies; information about current events occuring in other parts of the world; current directory information
• you have utilized other appropriate sources first

When is LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe NOT appropriate to use?

• when you need scholarly journals (except in the fields of accounting, medicine and law)
• when you are not certain where to begin your research; check with a reference librarian

1. To Access the Database
At the Blume Library Local Area Network (LAN) on the 2nd (Main) Floor click on the Netscape icon. Once the Blume Library’s page of "Interdisciplinary Databases" has loaded you will see a list of databases on the right hand side of the screen. Click on Lexis-Nexis and you should get connected.

This database is accessible through the Web on the St. Mary's University campus at:
<http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/indexes/inter.htm> or
<http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic>.

To access this and other databases from your home or off-campus office (restricted to current students, faculty, and staff), see the instructions at <http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/indexes/plugin.htm>. Once you have followed these instructions, you will need to access the database from <http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/indexes/restrictall.htm>.

2. To Search
1) Click on a category, then click on an appropriate sub-category.
2) Type your search statement.
3) Select an appropriate source category.
4) Select an appropriate time period.
5) Click on Search.
6) View your Results (list of citations).
7) Click on a linked title to view an individual document. (See other side for information on saving or downloading individual documents to a diskette.)
8) To modify your search statement, click on the Last Form icon (link) at the top or bottom of the screen or on the Back tile of your browser until you are back at the search form.
9) To change categories, click on the Main Menu icon (link) at the top or bottom of the screen.

Boolean connectors:
    AND             Finds both terms in the document
                                Clinton and health plan
    AND NOT    Finds first term, but not the second term in the document
                                oil and not Exxon
    OR                Finds either term; use for synonymous or closely related terms
                                women or gender
    W/#            Specifies that terms must appear within specified number of words of each
                          other; useful for searching personal names
                                Boutros w/3 Ghali
                                channel w/5 tunnel
    W/s               Finds both terms in the same sentence
                                sanction w/s frivolous
    W/p               Finds both terms in the same paragraph
                                oil w/p antitrust
    PRE/#           Specifies that the first term must precede the second term within the
                          specified number of words
                                cable pre/2 television

Truncation:
    !        Use ! (exclamation point) to retrieve various forms of a word
                             mexic! retrieves Mexico, Mexican, Mexicans, Mexicano, Mexicanos
    *       Use * (asterisk) as a wildcard to replace one letter; retrieves different forms of a word
                            wom*n retrieves woman, women

* Note: If your search retrieves no documents, try broadening your search by using connectors, truncation, fewer terms, synonymous or related terms, or searching a longer time period; you might also try another source category or information category. If your search retrieves more than 1,000 documents, try narrowing your search by including additional terms, using a limiting connector, or restricting the dates searched.

To Save (Download) a document:
As with other files accessed via Netscape, to save a document to disk:
1) Click on File.
2) Click on Save As.
3) Make sure the appropriate Drive is selected (A: for a diskette).
4) To save the document as plain text, select Save file type as and select Plain Text (*.txt).
5) Under File name, be sure the file has a .txt extension. You may rename the file; if you are saving more than one file, make sure each file has a unique name.
6) Click on OK and the file should then be saved to your diskette.

Where can I get more help?

• Select an information category, then click on the Help icon for search tips and some information on links.
• Click on Sources to learn more about which publications are included in a specific information or source category and dates of coverage.
• For an alphabetic list of all publications included go to "Titles Included in Academic Universe" or<http://cisweb.lexis-nexis.com/marketsource/productTitles.asp>
• Ask a Reference Librarian (phone 210 436-3508) or e-mail us at <reflib@stmarytx.edu>.