Research Tip - Singular and Plurals

Today's research tip is from Prof. Frank Houdek.

To search for singular OR plural form of a word . . .

• don't need to use either universal character (*) or root expander (!) to get common plurals
• use the singular form of the word because both systems automatically search for both singular and plural form
• if you use the plural form in your query, LexisNexis also automatically searches for both singular and plural, but Westlaw will only search for the plural

To limit search to singular . . .

• On LexisNexis, must use special search command: singular
  • EXAMPLE: To search for documents discussing job discrimination, enter: singular (job) W/5 discrimination
• On Westlaw, place # symbol before term
  • EXAMPLE: To retrieve damage but not damages, enter: #damage

To limit search to plural . . .

• On LexisNexis, must use special search command: plural
  • EXAMPLE: To search for documents discussing Steven Jobs, enter: steven W/3 plural (job)
• On Westlaw, enter the plural form of the word
  • EXAMPLE: To search for documents discussing Steven Jobs, enter: steven W/3 jobs

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Update: Soon after posting this Research Tip, I saw Plurals Lost In Google Dictionary Definitions at the Search Engine Watch Blog. One more reason to use the singular form of words when you are searching.