Search Tips
Simple Search | Search Results | Search Results Display
Please note, all searches are performed with case insensitivity so regardless of how you enter the term(s) in the search box or how they appear in the results, relevant resources will be returned.
Simple Search
Type your search terms into the search box. Note that searching the term ‘health’ will find all resources with the word ‘health’, but not compound words such as ‘healthcare’. It is possible to do a search that locates all resources that contain the word ‘health’, including compound words, by using the wildcard character ‘*’. See below for details on using this and other characters in your search.
If you enter 2 or more words in the search box, it will automatically search for results that contain all of your words, but not necessarily together or in the order you type them.
You can use the Boolean terms AND, OR and NOT to combine your search terms together.
AND tells the search to find results with all your terms included (this is what the search does automatically).
OR tells it to find results with any, but not necessarily all of your terms (so you might use it to search for synonyms or alternative spellings, eg hypertension OR "high blood pressure", oestrogen OR estrogen.
NOT excludes any words you specify, eg asthma NOT child
Search for a phrase
To search for a phrase, use quotation marks, for example, "ovarian cancer" will return results that only contain both the words "ovarian" and "cancer" next to each other.
A number of other characters can be added to your search query and can be viewed in the summary below.
Search for a date
When searching for a date, it is not necessary to use a whole date. You can enter a month and/or year or complete date (e.g. 10 August 2005). You can also use the ‘<’ and ‘>’ characters to search on a range of dates.
Summary of characters usable in searching
“” – quotation marks around multiple words will find the exact phrase (e.g. “breast cancer” will find only those results that have the words breast and cancer next to each other in that order).
* - can be used as a wild-card character in two ways. This character cannot appear at the beginning of the word.
- To find variations of a particular word. For example entering ‘hospital*’ would return results that contain the words hospital, hospitals, hospitalised.
- To replace a single character in a single word therefore locating words that have similar spellings, but may be unrelated. For example, enter ‘d*g’ would return results that contain the words dig, dug, and dog.
< - less than for use in searching dates and/or numbers
> - greater than for use in searching dates and/or numbers
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Search Results
How are results found?
Results are found by matching the term(s) you input into the search bar. These terms are matched in the title, description, creator, keywords, and National Public Health Language terms.
In what order are results returned?
Results are returned based on a ranking percentage. The more closely matched a resource is with the search term(s) you input, the higher the rank percentage is. Please note, however, that if you choose to do an Advanced Search using the thesaurus terms as your search criteria, your results will all return a 100% match.
How can I sort search results?
You will be presented with Results displayed in a number of tabs which also indicate the number of items ‘filed’ behind each tab. Click on a tab at the top of the screen to see the most appropriate information for your query. Within each tab you can sort the results on a number of criteria presented in the drop down menu labelled ‘Sort by’.
Why don't I get any search results?
There are several reasons why you may occasionally get zero search results:
- spelling errors in your search term(s)
- search targets you sent the search not being available (e.g. the website is down)
- there are no resources available on your topic
I can’t access a result.
The most likely reason that you cannot access a particular resource is because you are not logged in and the information is only accessible to registered users. Other reasons may be that the resource is currently unavailable (e.g. an external website) or it has moved. If you logon and still cannot access the resource, please contact us <feedback email> to determine the cause.
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Search Results Display
Search WITHIN these results
Too many results? You can reduce the number of results by searching within those that have already been returned. Simply enter an additional term (or terms) and the search will be performed only on the resources already found – not the entire database – therefore reducing the number of resources to view.
Show/Hide Thesaurus terms used
Clicking on ‘Show thesaurus terms used’ will show you a list of the National Public Health Language terms used in the resources displayed. These terms may match exactly those that you entered in your search or may be related to those terms. Clicking on one of these terms will run a search for all items that list the term. Likewise, clicking on ‘Hide thesaurus terms used’ will hide this list of terms.
Show/Hide databases searched
Clicking on ‘Show databases searched’ shows you which PHOs and other sites are being searched. You can choose to search only specific PHOs/other sites by going to your profile <profile link> and selecting/unselecting individual sites. Likewise, clicking on ‘Hide databases searched’ will hide this list of terms.
Show More/Less information
Clicking on ‘Show more information’ at the top of the search results page will display more information for the returned results including a description, creator, published date, file size, etc. Clicking on ‘Show Less Information’ will hide almost all information about the resources displayed and leave a minimum set of information viewable.
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