Forming effective search queries using the general search or search forms

The search panel in the button bar can be used to locate single words or phrases, a combination of words or phrases and word variations. You can also improve your search effectiveness by understanding how to use brackets in your queries and the properties of reserved words. Another way of searching the content is to use the Advanced Search .

Combining words or phrases using connectors

1. Using the and connector. In the search panel, use the word and to search for words or phrases within 20 words of each other, eg agreements and contracts.
2. Limiting a search using the and not connector. Use the and not connector to isolate a word that usually forms a phrases. For example, if you want to find capital but not capital gains, search for capital and not gains. This will search for capital when it is not with 20 words of gains.
3. Locating words using the or connector. The or connector locates every occurrence of each word or phrase. It is useful to locate words with similar meanings. For example, agreements or contracts will find each instance of agreements and each instance of contracts.

Word variations - wildcards

Wildcards help you maximise your search results, when there are a number of word variations to the concept you are seeking, eg company and companies.

• Use * to replace 0, 1 or more characters, eg corporat* searches for corporate, corporation, and corporations.
• Use ? to replace one single character, eg organi?ation searches for organisation and organization.

When to use brackets in a search

Brackets are used to control the order of a search. In a search query, brackets are evaluated first. For example, in the search query (donation or gift) and fundraising the brackets ensure that both donation and gift are searched within 20 words of fundraising. If the brackets are omitted, only gift would be searched within 20 words of fundraising.

Reserved words - when to use inverted commas in a search

1. Check to see if any of the words in your search query is a reserved word (see list below).
2. If yes, enclose your search expression in inverted commas.

1. The words after, before and of are reserved for constructing a proximity search (ie finding words that are near or far from each other in various ways). So the search query "code of practice" will return many hits in virtually all online collections, while code of practice (ie no inverted commas) will return an Search results: failed error message.
2. The words and, or and not are reserved for use with connector searches (see above) that can widen or narrow a search query. So, the search query law and order will produce many more search hits than "law and order" - the first query searches for occurences of either word, while the second searches for the exact phrase.

List of reserved words: after, and, before, cont, containing, directly, in, inside, near, not, null, of, or, with , within, word, words. Back to Help Home