Using Proximity Connectors
Users can use proximity connectors to search for words within a sentence, a paragraph, or a segment.
Within a Sentence
For example, if you are searching for the word jury and discrimination within a sentence, use the proximity connector w/s or /s. Enter the Law Journal Library and construct these two searches.
These two searches locate the word jury and discrimination within 25 words of each other, as this is the average number of words in a sentence. Both the searches return the same number of results.
Within a Paragraph
Now, search for jury and discrimination within a paragraph using w/p or /p.
These two searches locate the word jury and discrimination within 75 words of each other, as this is the average number of words in a paragraph. Both the searches return the same number of results.
Within a Segment
Lastly, search for jury and discrimination within a segment using w/seg or /seg.
These two searches locate the word jury and discrimination within 100 words of each other, as this is the average number of words in a segment. Both the searches return the same number of results.
NOTE: HeinOnline’s original proximity syntax still works as well. Users can utilize this syntax with two words, but it also comes in handy when searching for more than 2 words. For example, find the words jury discrimination and bias within 20 words of each other using quotations and the tilde symbol (~). See the example below.
