Search Tips

To find results with all of the words

use AND between all the words
Example: alternative and measure

 

with the exact phrase

use quotation marks around the phrase
Example: "amber alert"

 

with variations of a word

use the asterisk after the stem of the word
Example: key*
The asterisk will find words with the stem key, for example, keying, keyhole, keyboard

 

with words near other words

use NEAR between your search terms
Example: consultation near family near court
When you use NEAR, your results are ranked in order of proximity: results where the words are closest together will appear at the top of your results page and will have the most stars.

 

with all instances of either
one word OR another

use OR between your search terms
Example: job or career

If you do not put anything between your search terms, the search engine will assume that you want all instances of either one word or another.

Example: job career
produces the same results as
Example: job or career

Stars and results
four star result example

Your search results will display in ranked order with five stars at the left of the records found. The number of yellow coloured stars indicates how closely each result matches the search you entered. In addition, the results will display in descending order, with the best matches at the top.

The search engine compares your search terms with the records stored in the web site database. It scores the records by how closely they match the terms you entered, the closer the match, the higher the score. Search results are weighted by how closely your search terms match the following:

  • title (100%)

  • short description (90%)

  • keywords (90%)

  • long description (50%)

  • full text (40%)