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Searching UKOP
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How do searches work?
Which search should I choose?
How do I find information quickly?
There are two options on the Advanced Search page. Which
should I use?
How can I specify how I search UKOP?
How can I search for variations on a search term?
How can I search for related meanings and
similar spellings at the same time?
How can I use the search boxes to help my search?
How can I limit my search by date?
How do I use boolean operators?
How do I do a command line search?
Example searches
Tips and hints |
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| UKOP searches work like an index. You simply type in what you would
like to search for, and UKOP will search through its database of information
for records which include the words you have typed in. |
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| Which search should I choose? |
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Use the search in the search bar if you want to find information
quickly.
Click on
Advanced Search
from the search bar if you want more control over how your search is performed.
For example, you can restrict your search by issuing body, or to a particular
date or range of dates. You can also perform Boolean and command line
searching.
A summary of the records retrieved by your search is displayed on the
Search results page. |
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| How do I find information quickly? |
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Type the word(s) or phrase you want to search for in the search box in the
search bar and click the
GO!
button.
Any records containing the words you typed are displayed on the
Search results page.
How do I start a new search?
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Click the Advanced search link in the search bar.
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| There are two options on the Advanced Search page. Which
should I use? |
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The Advanced Search page has two radio buttons that allow you to
switch between two methods of searching: flexible and Boolean.
| Flexible searching |
lets you retrieve records that either match the meaning of your
search terms or contain variations on the spelling of your search terms. It
also finds records that contain any of the search terms you have chosen in any
of the search boxes. |
| Boolean searching |
allows you to combine search terms using Boolean operators, and to
perform command line searching. It also allows you to limit the records
retrieved by UKOP to those that contain all of your search terms. |
The Flexible search options are displayed by default when you open the Advanced
Search page. To switch between the Flexible and Boolean search options:
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Click the appropriate radio button at the top of the search boxes.
NOTE:
You can only use one type of search at a time. You can't fill in some of the
search boxes on the Flexible search followed by some on the Boolean search. |
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| How can I specify how I search UKOP? |
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UKOP lets you choose how to use your search terms:
- Either:
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it can either find records that contain your search term plus records
containing words that are similar in meaning.
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For example, if you have entered the words
asylum seeker
into the
Keywords
search box and chosen the
include meanings
option, then UKOP will find any records containing the words "asylum seeker",
as well as those records containing the words "refugee" and "immigration".
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You can also specify how close in meaning the results retrieved should be to
your search terms:
Directly related
will find exact matches and words that are very similar in meaning.
Closely related
will find all the directly related words, plus other variations and strong
synonyms. This is the default option for searches from the Flexible tab of the
Advanced Search page and from the Home page.
Generally related
will find all the directly and closely related words, but will also find
synonyms, strong antonyms, related terms and contrasted terms.
- Or:
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it can find records that contain your search term plus records containing words
that are a variation of the spelling of your search term. This option is
particularly helpful if you're not sure how to spell a word.
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For example, if you have entered the word
government
into the
Keywords
search box and chosen the
include variant spellings
option, then UKOP will find any records containing the word "government", as
well as those records containing the words "governnment",
"governments" and "governmental".
NOTE:
The option you select will be applied to all the search boxes on the page.
How should I enter my search terms?
By using its thesaurus to intelligently relate the words in your search terms
to those that are similar in meaning, UKOP ensures that pertinent results are
retrieved.
To get the best results from the UKOP thesaurus, we advise you to:
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Omit commas to ensure that records other than those that match your search
terms exactly will be found. For example,
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food
will find
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
as well as
MAFF.
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Use a space character instead of a slash. For example, enter
DARESBURY RUTHERFORD APPLETON LABORATORY
instead of
DARESBURY/RUTHERFORD APPLETON LABORATORY.
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Omit apostrophes to ensure that records containing your search term with
apostrophes in any position will be found. For example, enter
Lord Chancellors Department
to find all records containing the phrase "Lord Chancellor's Department"
(singular possessive) or "LCD", or enter
Magistrates Courts Committee
to find all records containing "Magistrates' Courts Committee" (plural
possessive) and "MCC".
Note that you can use apostrophes in names. For example, O'Brian.
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Omit quotes from a search phrase if you want to find records containing your
search terms and words related to them.
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| How can I search for variations on a search term? |
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UKOP allows you to list records containing variations on a word or
number by using the following characters, referred to as 'wildcard operators',
to represent one or more characters in a word or number:
| Wildcard |
Description |
Example |
| @ |
matches one alphabetical character exactly |
l@st will find last, lest, list, lost |
| # |
matches one numeric character exactly |
#600 will find 1600, 2600, etc. |
| * |
matches any character(s) |
polic* will find policies, policing, policy,
policyholders |
| ? |
matches one character exactly |
la?er will find later, laser, la3er, etc. |
| [] |
matches only one character specified within the
brackets; a hyphen can be used to indicate a range of numbers or letters |
199[1-6] will find 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 |
| [^] |
matches any character except the next character |
199[^1-3] will
not
find 1991, 1992 or 1993, but will find 1994 etc. |
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Type the first few letters (or stem) of the word in the search box followed by
the wildcard operator and click the
GO!
button.
Any records that contain variations on the word you typed will be listed.
NOTE:
If you use a wildcard in one of your search words, UKOP does not expand the
search word to include related meanings or variant spellings, it only
implements the wildcard operator. |
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| How can I search for related meanings and similar
spellings at the same time? |
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To search for a word of similar spelling when you have selected the
related meanings option on the Flexible Advanced Search page, or are doing a
Boolean search:
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Type a ~ (tilde) symbol immediately in front of the word (e.g. ~government).
To search for a word of similar meaning when you have selected the variant
spellings option on the Flexible tab of the Advanced Search page, or are doing
a Boolean search:
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Type an ! (exclamation mark) immediately after the word (e.g. monarch!).
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| How can I use the search boxes to help my search? |
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| You can use the search boxes to limit your search to the areas you
are interested in. The most frequently used ones,
Title
and
Issuing body, appear at the top of the page. |
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| How can I limit my search by date? |
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If you want to search for records from a particular day or date
range:
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Enter the start date of the range in the
From
boxes.
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Enter the end date of the range in the
To
boxes.
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Click the
Submit
button.
You can search for information produced between:
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Years; e.g. 1997 to 1998.
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Years and months; e.g. January 1998 to June 1998.
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Specific dates;e.g. 07 January 1998 to 25 March 1999.
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| How do I use boolean operators? |
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Click the
BOOLEAN SEARCH
radio button at the top of the page to display the Boolean search options.
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Enter your terms separated by the Boolean operators you wish to use.
If you do not include a Boolean operator between keywords you are searching on,
then UKOP will automatically use the AND operator between your search terms.
This means that if you want to search on a phrase using the Boolean search
screen, you should enclose it in quotes. For example:
racial NOT "Stephen Lawrence"
NOTE:
If you have used quotes to enclose phrases on the Boolean search tab it is not
possible to look for related meanings or spellings using the ~ (tilde) and !
(exclamation mark).
Boolean searching allows you to use the following Boolean operators to retrieve
exact matches for your search terms:
AND
The AND operator retrieves all entries that contain all of the terms entered.
This normally retrieves fewer entries than searching one of the terms on its
own. You can also use the symbol & instead of the word AND.
If you wish to search for the word 'and' in a phrase (and therefore do not want
it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and
enclose it in double quotes. For example "crime and drugs" will find the whole
phrase 'crime and drugs'.
OR
The OR operator retrieves all entries which contain one or more of the terms
entered. This retrieves more entries than searching one of the terms on its
own. You can also use the symbol | instead of the word OR.
If you wish to search for the word 'or' in a phrase (and therefore do not want
it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and
enclose it in double quotes. For example: "army or navy" will find the whole
phrase 'army or navy'.
NOT
The NOT operator retrieves all entries that contain the first term entered but
not the second. You can also use the symbol ^ instead of the word NOT.
If you wish to search for the word 'not' in a phrase (and therefore do not want
it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and
enclose it in double quotes. For example: "love not war" will find the whole
phrase 'defence not ministry'.
( )
The ( ) operator allows you to give greater precedence to the search terms
within it. For example, the search term:
(law OR crime) OR police
will retrieve all records that contain the any of the words 'law', 'crime' or
'police', but will give precedence to those records that contain the words
'law' or 'crime'.
BUT
The BUT operator lets you specify one word and exclude another. For example,
the search term:
football BUT NOT violence
will retrieve all records that contain the the word 'football', but not those
that contain the words 'football' and 'violence'.
BETWEEN
The BETWEEN operator lets you search for a word between two others. For
example, the search term:
sharp BETWEEN short AND shock
will retrieve all records that contain the the words 'short', 'sharp', 'shock'
in that order.
WITHIN
The WITHIN operator lets you to search for terms situated within a specified
distance of each other, and in any order. For example, the search term:
law order WITHIN 4
will retrieve all records that contain the words 'law' and 'order' within four
words of each other, and in any order.
ADJ
The ADJ operator lets you to search for terms situated within a specified
distance of each other, and in a specific order. For example, the search term:
child care WITHIN 2
will retrieve all records that contain the words 'child' and 'care' within two
words of each other, and with the word 'child' appearing first in the record. |
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| How do I do a command line search? |
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You can use the
Keywords
search box on the Flexible and Boolean Advanced Search page to enter a command
line search.
You can use Boolean and wildcard operators, along with the ~ (tilde) and !
(exclamation mark) operators.
When searching on phrases, these should be enclosed in quotes, e.g.
CA="Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service".
NOTE:
If you are performing a command line search and have used quotes to enclose
phrases it is not possible to look for related meanings or spellings using the
~ (tilde) and ! (exclamation mark).
You can also use the following abbreviations to search within UKOP records:
| Field label |
Abbreviation to use |
| title |
TITLE |
| series title |
SR |
| issuing body |
CA |
| personal author |
AU |
| subject |
SU |
| category |
CT |
| series reference |
SR |
| session year |
SY |
| publication date (dd/mm/yyyy) |
PY |
| publication type |
PT |
| publisher |
PU |
| ISBN/ISSN |
BN |
| edition |
ED |
| price |
PR |
| availability |
AV |
| notes |
NB |
| subject/title keyword |
SK |
For example:
CA="data protection registrar"
will find all records that have the Data Protection Registrar as their issuing
body.
TI=accident
will find all records that have the word "accident" in their title.
NOTE:
If you are performing a command line search, UKOP will only search the fields
you specify. |
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I am buying a house, but want to find out about mortgage regulation
before I choose a lender.
Best search to use:
Easy search
Search terms:
Mortgage regulation
I want to find out what the government has to say on GM foods.
Best search to use:
Easy search
Search terms:
GM foods
I have pressures at home, and may need to take time off work to look after my
children, but I am not sure of my rights. Has the government produced any
guidance on parental leave?
Best search to use:
Easy search
Search terms:
Parental leave
I would like to know where to order a copy of this year's Budget Report
Best search to use:
Advanced search
Search terms:
Keyword budget, and narrow the date range to 2000
I am researching equality in education, and want to find out what information
is available from the Commission for Racial Equality
Best search to use:
Boolean Advanced search
Search terms:
Keyword education, and select Commission for Racial Equality from the issuing
body browse list.
I am studying the health service and have a reading list which says I need to
get hold of Cm 4386. Can UKOP help me find anymore details of this publication?
Best search to use:
Advanced search
Search terms:
Expand the search screen using the "more options" tab. Enter Cm 4386 in to the
series field.
I would like to get hold of details of a recent UN statement made by Kofi
Annan, but I am not sure how to spell his name.
Best search to use:
Advanced search
Search terms:
Keywords Kofi Annan.
Select the radio button for variant spellings in the "How do you want to search
UKOP?" section
I am doing some research into asylum seekers, and want to get a broad overview
of what information is available in this general area.
Best search to use:
Advanced search
Search terms:
keywords asylum seekers
Select the radio button for meanings that are generally related in the "How do
you want to search UKOP?" section |
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All searches are case-insensitive, so you don't have to know
whether a word should be capitalised or not. For example, there is no
difference between Ministry of Defence, ministry of defence or MINistry OF
DefeNCE.
Records containing a hyphenated term (and any terms of similar meaning) will be
found whether or not you entered a hyphen in your search term. For example,
Creutzfeld-Jakob disease
or
Creutzfeld Jakob disease
will find all records containing "Creutzfeld-Jakob disease" as well as those
containing "CJD".
UKOP can find records containing terms entered in either singular or plural
form.
To get the best results from the UKOP thesaurus, we advise you to:
-
Omit commas to ensure that records other than those that match your search
terms exactly will be found.
-
Use a space character instead of a slash.
-
Omit apostrophes to ensure that records containing your search term with
apostrophes in any position will be found.
Note that you can use apostrophes in names. For example, O'Brian.
-
Omit quotes from a search phrase if you want to find records containing your
search terms and words related to them.
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