1. Keyword Search or Browse Resources?
Users can search the Online Resource Center in two ways: by keyword or by browsing topics, both of which are found on the home page under Resources & Updates. Clicking on Browse Resources will take you to a page where you can choose to Browse by Topic or Browse by Type (cases, statutes, links, etc.) and click on the first letter of your topic.
- If you cannot find your topic in the alphabetical Browse list, use keyword search.
- If you are looking for one particular case, article, or statute, and you know the exact name, use keyword search with quotation marks (for example: “Holley v. Adams”.) If you want all cases that discuss the topic “reasonable efforts” specifically with regard to the (N) abandonment ground, it may be better to use Browse by Topic, R, Reasonable Efforts: Abandonment (N), Cases.
- Keyword search is searching cases, statutes, articles and papers, practice tips, and links.
2. Searching
- For tips on searching specific resource types, see below.
- On the TLC home page, go to Resources & Updates, Search Resources by Keyword.
- Enter a search term in the box. Use the suggested functions (see Table of Search Functions below) to help narrow your search.
- Use the Filters link to narrow your search to one or more specific resource types. Filters also has an option to narrow the results to one particular year, but it is not required. It is best not to restrict the date when searching for cases and date restrictions are unavailable when searching statutes.
- Click the blue Search icon and the Search Results list will appear.
Table of Search Functions
| Function | Sample | Results |
|---|
| AND | child AND abuse | Resources containing both child and abuse. |
|---|
| OR | child OR abuse | Resources containing either child or abuse. |
|---|
| NOT | child NOT abuse | Resources containing child but not abuse. |
|---|
| " | "child abuse" | Resources containing the exact phrase, child abuse. |
|---|
| /n | child /10 abuse | Resources containing child and abuse within 10 words of each other. |
|---|
| * | psych* | Resources containing words that begin with psych, such as psychology or psychologist or psychological. |
|---|
| ? | wom?n | Resources containing the word woman or women. |
|---|
3. Results List
- On the Search Results page, sort the list by Relevance, Date, Resource Type, or Title in dropdown menu.
- The list of search results will continue to load as you scroll down the page.
- If searching for a word that is commonly misspelled or has two spellings, use both spellings with the OR connector. Examples: judgment OR judgement; acknowledgment OR acknowledgement.
4. Specific tips for searching cases:
- The results list may have more than one result with the same case name. Cases are entered in the Online Center by point of law. If a case has three points of law, then it will have three descriptions and will appear three times in the results list. Clicking on any of the three will take you to the same opinion.
- Search for a specific case by entering the case name. Example, Holley v. Adams. The results list will have that case at the top, followed by cases that cite that case.
5. Specific tips for searching statutes:
- If you know the citation for the statute, enter it in the Search box in this form: Tex. Fam. Code 161.001 or Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 5.01 (without quotation marks.) The statute will appear at the top of the search results.
- In a statute search for words (not the citation), only the title of the statute and the short description are searched. The statute itself is on the capitol.texas.gov page, which is not searched.
