LexisNexis Web Services API: Getting Started with the API
Getting Started with the API
Optimizing Search Requests
Before diving into the LexisNexis API, we recommend the following steps for developing your queries and optimizing your search requests for the best results possible. Due to the University-wide usage limits imposed on our API access agreement, we strongly encourage you to review and undertake these approaches so that you make the most efficient use of the API.
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PreSearching in Nexis Uni
The Nexis Uni platform is a great way to start diving into LexisNexis content. When you limit your results to "News" and "Legal News" you will browse through the results on a user friend platform to determine if the LexisNexis API will have content relevant to your research query. If you aren’t able to find useful or relevant results in Nexis Uni, then you aren’t going to find accessing the API useful.
Follow this Nexis Uni Quick Guide to evaluate Lexis Nexis content.
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Building Queries with the LexisNexis Web Services API (WSAPI) User Interface
If you have been granted LexisNexis credentials, you can use them to build your API query using the LexisNexis Web Services API User Interface (WSAPI). This platform mimics the results from the API, but does not provide them in a machine readable format. Because of this, using WSAPI does NOT count against our usage limits. Additionally, the WSAPI platform also displays the full API request string that you develop while using the platform, which can be copied into your scripts. Therefore, it is an extremely valuable tool for developing your final API queries and browsing through results since you can explore options using trial and error without worrying about limitations.
Follow the LexisNexis Web Services API User Interface Guide to learn how to use this powerful tool.
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Review Tips & Tricks
Querying the API is not always straightforward, use the list of tips and tricks to improve your search experience.
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Review Documentation
Links to the full documentation and support sites from LexisNexis, along with video tutorials, and discussion forums.
