Persistent Links to Searches and / or Articles in Lexis Nexis  

Two new functions (so new they are still in beta) in Lexis: persistent links to searches and persistent links to individual articles.

Persistent Links to Searches

Lexis Nexis now has the ability to create persistent links to searches, e.g. links that will take you or your students to the results of an entire search. This function is still in beta. At this point you can only search 6 months into the past. Still, it is a useful feature.

For example, here is a search on the New York Times looking for articles on Greece and debt published in the last 6 months: http://bit.ly/cthmrM

For those of you who use current events, this functionality allows you to link students to specific content.

• How to do this:
• Go to http://www.amdev.net/lna_bookmark.php
• Create your search
• Copy the URL that Lexis creates and paste it into the Link Converter. This will add the proxy information that will allow students to access the link off campus).
• Link Converter: http://www.wiu.edu/library/databases/persistent_links/converter/
• You can now use the link. If you want to shrink it for e-mail purposes go to http://bit.ly/ and do that.
• Below is an image of the form used to create the URLs

Persitent Links to Individual Articles

You can also create links to individual articles. For example, here is one to the May 14 review of Robin Hood in the NYT http://bit.ly/d3aeA1

As far as I know, there is no time limit to this function, e.g. you can link to very old articles.

• How to do this:
• First search Lexis and locate the article you need. You will need author, title, etc.
• Go to http://www.amdev.net/lna_article_link.php
• Test the resulting URL. You may have to tweak it once or twice. Try using the author's last name only, for example. Cut and paste the entire title, etc.
• Once the link works, cut and paste into the Link Converter http://www.wiu.edu/library/databases/persistent_links/converter/
• Shrink the URL if you like. Otherwise, you are finished. Below is an example of what the form that creates the links looks like when it is filled in.

Questions?

Please e-mail William Thompson