Search

Entering a search term or search phrase in the search box (available in the top right corner of each page on the site) will return a list of corresponding web pages and documents available on the site.

Advanced searching options

You can make a search much more specific by using more advanced search techniques, such as Boolean logic, phrase searching and wildcard searching.

Boolean logic

Boolean logic describes the relationship between search terms. By default, if you search using more than one term, and is implied, and the search will return results containing both terms. For example, a search on pest management, would discover records that contained the term pest and the term management, though not necessarily combined in the phrase pest management (see phrase searching).

If you surround search terms with square brackets, the search will return results containing either or both terms, thus returning more results. For example, a search on [pest management], would discover records that contained the term pest, those that contained the term management, and those containing both terms.

You can also limit a search by including a hyphen in front of the search term you want to exclude. For example, a search on water -recycled would include pages or documents containing the term water, but eliminate those also including the term recycled.

Phrase searching

Including search terms in double inverted commas will return only results that include the delimited phrase.

For example, a search for "Chinese cooking" will return only results that include the phrase 'Chinese cooking'.

Wildcard searching

To extend a search to include different word endings and beginnings, the wildcard symbol (*) can be used.

For example, a search on fatal, would return only documents or pages including that term. A search on fatal* would also return documents or pages including terms such as fatality, or fatalism. A search on *climax will return documents or pages that include the terms climax, anticlimax, etc.

Note, the wildcard symbol can be used at the beginning or end of a search term, but not in the middle.

Last reviewed 21 December 2011
Last updated 7 June 2010