USER GUIDE
Search and Browse
Parliamentary Publications Directorate
Information Management

The User Guide is designed to help you do a search using either of the two main options: Search by keywords or Browse the index. It gives a brief description of the available features which should make your search more efficient.

Search by keywords

To do a search using the Search by keywords option:

1. Type the search string in the Terms text box.

   (Note: a narrower subject will bring better targeted results, e.g. “tennis” will yield less occurrences than “sport”, therefore your search is more effective.)

2. Access the Parliament or Session drop-down menu and choose the pertinent Parliament or Session.

   (Note: Although the dates corresponding to your selection will be shown by default, they may be changed. The dates entered in steps 3 and 4 will apply if they extend beyond the Parliament or Session selected. You may also search all Parliaments available. However, the search tool covers the 39^th Parliament and onward only).

3. Type the date from which you think the subject came up for discussion in the From box.
   -OR-
   Click on the calendar in the From area to choose the date from which you think the subject came up for discussion.

4. Type the date after which you think the subject was no longer discussed in the To box.
   -OR-
   Click on the calendar in the To area to choose the date after which you think the subject was no longer discussed.

5. Choose which publication you want to search in the Source box. The Retrieval tool defaults to the publication site from which it was accessed.

   (Note: The search tool will display a list of the committees that existed in the Parliament or Session selected in step 2. However, a committee’s name may change as an example from one Parliament to another. Therefore, if you selected All Parliaments in step 2, only the current committee name will appear on the list. However, the search tool will automatically search for results using also the committee’s previous names. Only legislative committees will be identified in the list for each Session and Parliament.)

6. Indicate the number of occurrences per page in the Results per page box.

7. Choose an option in the Sort by box;

   The Publication Date option will sort results by publication starting by the most recent ones.

   The Relevant option will sort the results by degree of relevance in decreasing order.

   The Person option will sort the results by member’s name, in alphabetical order of first name.

8. Choose Boolean search option and use quotation marks if you want the Retrieval tool to treat the search string as a unit (e.g. “Prime Minister”). Use also the options: “and”, “or” or “and not” between different subjects to do an efficient search (e.g. “Prime Minister” and “Harper”; “Prime Minister” or “Harper”; “Prime Minister” and not “Harper”).

9. Hit the Return button; all criterion indicated will be taken into account.

10. Select the desired occurrence with the mouse.

    (Note: Like with other well-known search tools, if the desired occurrence is not on the first page, go to the next page and so on.)

    The Result page enables you to add a related term to your search string. The area “Add a term to your search” gives you two more options to help improve your research.

    The Recently used terms list the most recently indexed terms in relation with the searched subject.

    The Most used terms list the most often indexed term in relation with the searched subject.

    You can choose a supplementary term to add to your search from any of these two lists.

    (Note: Once you have accessed the hit you want, you can access it’s equivalency in the other official language by clicking the Français option in the upper right-hand corner. You can also access the entire publication by clicking the View the complete publication option or (PDF version)option for the paper copy at the start of the text. Please note that selecting the PDF version will bring you to the beginning of the complete document.)

    To start another search, click on the (New search) option.

Browse the index

To do a search using the Browse the index option:

1. Hit the Browse the index tab.

2. Access the Parliament or Session drop-down menu and choose the pertinent Parliament or Session.
   

   (Note: Although the dates corresponding to your selection will be shown by default, they may be changed. The dates entered in steps 3 and 4 will apply if they extend beyond the Parliament or Session selected. You may also search all Parliaments available. However, the search tool covers the 39^th Parliament and onward only.)

3. Type the date from which you think the subject came up for discussion in the From box.
   -OR-
   Click on the calendar in the From area to choose the date from which you think the subject came up for discussion.

4. Type the date after which you think the subject was no longer discussed in the To box.
   -OR-
   Click on the calendar in the To area to choose the date after which you think the subject was no longer discussed.

5. Choose which publication you want to search in the Source box. The Retrieval tool defaults to the publication site from which it was access.

   To choose particular committees from the list, press the Ctrl key and click on the committees in which you want to perform a search.

   (Note: The search tool will display a list of the committees that existed in the Parliament or Session selected in step 2. However, a committee’s name may change as an example from one Parliament to another. Therefore, if you selected All Parliaments in step 2, only the current committee name will appear on the list. However, the search tool will automatically search for results using also the committee’s previous names. Only legislative committees will be identified in the list for each Session and Parliament.)

6. Choose among the options available in the Categories area.

   The Subject option allows you to add analytical subjects to the search filter.

   The Person option allows you to add the name of an MP, a committee member, a witness, or any other person, to the search filter -- for example, the name of the person who was speaking.
   
   The Constituency option allows you to add the name of a constituency to the search filter.

   The Organization option allows you to add the name of an organization to the search filter.

   (Note: By default, all categories are selected, so you have to click on the ones you don’t want. You can select more than one option at a time.)

7. Click on the Search button to access alphabetical and hierarchical lists of the chosen category/categories.

8. Make a choice from the alphabetical list and then make all the other necessary choices in the hierarchical list of terms.

   (Note: A series of cascaded lists is available, to give you a chance to choose a more specific term related to your previous choice. )

9. Repeat steps 6 to 8 to add another category to the search filter if necessary.

   (Note: To refine your search, add more than one category to the filter.)

   All the choices added to the filter will be shown in the Root file. For example, suppose you choose in this order: the category Person, the letter M, the name Milliken, the category Subject, the term Access to information. You will get the following in the Root file:
   

   The Root file text box can also help you find the subject you are looking for. For example, if you use the asterisk (*) as a replacement character and enter the word “motion”: and then click on the Search button; the system will post a list of all terms that include the word “motion”.

   (Note: Don’t use the asterisk if you want to get a list of all the terms that start with the indicated word.)

   The Browse the index option lets you narrow down your choices to the most specific possible. It will then display the occurrences depending on the filter and the search criteria you have indicated.

10. Select the desired occurrence with the mouse.

    (Note: Once you have accessed the hit you want, you can access it’s equivalency in the other official language by clicking the Français option in the upper right-hand corner. You can also access the entire publication by clicking the View the complete publication option or (PDF version) option for the paper copy at the start of the text. Please note that selecting the PDF version will bring you to the beginning of the complete document.)

    To start another search, click on (New search) option.

    For additional information, please consult the FAQ.