Knowledge and Research Consultant Tip: Lexis Answers® and Interpretable Queries

Researchers are often looking for a quick answer or starting point for their research, but may not be aware that they can enter a query into the Lexis® or Lexis+® service using an explicit question-like format, such as can a municipality be held liable for the actions of its officers under respondeat superior? Often, users simply enter a string of terms. Now, the Q&A capability in the Lexis Answers® feature can predict user intent by treating “interpretable queries” as questions even if they aren’t stated as such.

Examples of queries answered include:

sanction for failing to provide discovery responses

statute of frauds affirmative defense

Examples of queries not answered by this feature:

"rule against perpetuities" and "adopt!" (this is a Boolean query)

shareholder agreement  (the user is looking for a form)

In summary, customers do not have to state a query as a question in order to receive answers from Lexis Answers.

Learn more about Lexis Answers here.