Search Tips

• What can I do to make my search more specific?
• What are Boolean operators?
• How do I use Boolean operators?
• How do I search for an exact phrase?
• Why do I get an error message when I search?
• Should I use lowercase text?
• How should I choose my search words?
• Are there other ways I can improve my search?

What can I do to make my search more specific?

You can use the list of drop-down boxes on the search page to get more specific results. For example, using the drop-down boxes, you can limit your results to English-only pages created in the last three months, relating to the life event "Birth".

You can also use Boolean operators to get more specific results.

What are Boolean operators?

Boolean operators are words such as "and", "or", "not" and "near" that tell the search tool which keywords you want your search results to include or exclude, and if you want your search words to appear close to each other.

How do I use Boolean operators?

Boolean operators can be lower or uppercase, but must be enclosed by angle brackets.

• To search for two or more specific words use <AND>.
  For example, type Canada <AND> pension;
  
  
• To find documents containing words with similar meanings use <OR>.
  For example, type pension <OR> benefits to find documents that contain the word pension and/or the word benefits;
  
  
• To find words that appear close together in the text use <NEAR>.
  For example, type employment <NEAR> youth to find documents where the word employment appears within 50 words of the word youth;
  
  
• To exclude words use <NOT>.
  For example, type Canada Pension Plan <NOT> contributions to get results that contain the words Canada Pension Plan but not contributions.

How do I search for an exact phrase?

To search for an exact phrase, type the entire phrase in the search field and make sure you have selected "this phrase" in the "Return documents containing" box.

Why do I get an error message when I search?

You may get an error message if you use punctuation marks such as commas or periods in your search. To avoid this problem, do not use punctuation marks, or enclose your search phrase in quotation marks.

Should I use lowercase text?

If you search for a word in lowercase, the search tool will retrieve all documents containing this word regardless of its capitalization.

• employment will return pages containing employment and Employment

If you search for a word containing capital letters, the search becomes case sensitive and will only retrieve documents that are an exact match.

• Employment will only return pages containing Employment

How should I choose my search words?

You should choose your search words based on how broad or narrow you want your search results to be. If you are looking for information on a broad subject such as pensions, simply enter pensions into the search box. However, if you are looking for information on a specific subject such as the Canada Pension Plan retirement pension, enter Canada Pension Plan into the search box for the best results.

Are there other ways I can improve my search?

You can try using synonyms, or words with nearly the same meaning, to improve your search results. For example, you will get different results when you search for the word jobs, than when you search for the word career.