HeinOnline: Research Tools

The Keyword Search Builder is part of the Advanced Search tool that is built into most of the HeinOnline databases. To use this tool, select the Advanced Search link that appears below the search bar. At the next window, select Keyword Search Builder. 

A new window will appear where users can enter search terms and assign weight to each term to rank terms according to level of importance. Users can also set a date range or specify journals of interest by entering a journal title. Multiple journal titles can be selected, and a drop-down menu of all available journals will appear to assist users with locating titles as they type. See below for an example where the terms "globalization," "economics," and "China" were weighted. As part of this example, the journal Foreign Affairs (which is part of the HeinOnline Law Journal Library) was specified and the date range was set from 2021 to 2023.

After specifying the search parameters and clicking Submit, users will be given a list of results. From the list, users can use the menu at the left to refine the search by adjusting the boost factors of the terms, removing terms, adding a new term, or changing the date range. 

Explore This Author is a tool that is informed by metadata, natural language processing, and machine learning. The tool provides an in-depth analysis of an author and can be used to analyze various authors whose research appears in HeinOnline and to identify the relationships between them. The tool provides information that includes the author's most discussed subjects and the journals in which they most frequently publish. 

From a list of search results, click on the author of interest. 

After clicking on the author name, users will be directed to a new page that includes information on the author. This information includes the number of articles where the author has been cited as well as the number of times HeinOnline users have accessed an article written by the author. From this page, users can also see other articles by the author that are available in HeinOnline. 

Users can also click on the Explore This Author button at the top right to be directed to an interactive page that provides more research options. This page includes facets that allows users to analyze the author's work and to discover the author's relationship to other authors or journals (facets include PathFinder Subjects, Cited by, Cites to, Related authors, Co-Authors, Publications). 

• PathFinder Subjects are common subjects that the author has written about 
• Cited By are the other authors that have cited the author
• Cites to are the other authors that have been cited by the author and the specific articles in which these authors are cited
• Related authors are other authors who are similar to the author
• Co-authors are other authors who have co-written with the author 
• Publications are the journals in which the author has frequently published in

Clicking on a facet will expand the facet to provide additional information. As an example, expanding the Related Authors facet will provide a list of authors whose research is similar to that of the author of interest. 

Users can click on the hyperlinked author name to be directed to that author's profile page where they can view information on the author and access articles the author has written.

HeinOnline began as a legal research database but has expanded to become multidisciplinary. The PathFinder tool was developed in response to HeinOnline's expanded content and consists of browse and search tools for subject-specific research. PathFinder includes subjects that are organized by a multi-level subject taxonomy that includes 5 overarching subject categories. These are Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural and Formal Sciences, Applied Sciences and Other Industries. 

Users can browse for content with PathFinder by visiting the Law Journal Library and selecting the PathFinder Subjects icon.

Clicking on this icon will direct users to a new page that lists the 5 PathFinder subject categories and the subcategories within them. Users can view a textual or graphical representation of the subject categories, as illustrated by the diagram below. In the diagram, the innermost circles include the broadest PathFinder subjects (e.g., Social Sciences, Applied Sciences, etc.) and the outer circles include the subject subcategories which are narrower in focus (e.g., Economics, Finance, etc.).

Users can click on the subjects or subject subcategories to view associated subjects and themes and can click on these to be directed to a list of related articles.

The PathFinder tool can also be used from the Advanced Search page. From this page, users can enter search terms in the search bar under Search by PathFinder Subject. If the term entered is one of HeinOnline's PathFinder subjects, it will appear in the drop-down list that will be populated as users type. Multiple search terms can be entered.

After entering the search terms and clicking Submit, users will be directed to a list of content. From this list, users can select PathFinder Subjects from the menu at the left to view subjects related to the search terms specified. As an example, an initial search for the PathFinder subject Economic Policy will include "International Trade and the Law," "Banking and Finance Law" and "Politics (general)" as related subjects. From the content list, users can also view a selection of PathFinder subjects associated with each article. These will be listed under the article citation and subject terms will be hyperlinked. Clicking on the link will direct users to additional articles.