TIPS ON SEARCHING

We use Verity search engine.  This supports both simple word searches and boolean queries - meaning that you can refine your queries using logical operators such as "and", "or" and "not". 

What is searched?
The search extends to all of the major content areas of the site.  Search indexes include all of the major fields associated with each resource (Title, Organization, Description, Location, etc.), and includes the body of file attachments in most common file formats, including Word, WordPerfect, Excel, HTML and most PDF files.

Basic Queries 
Most queries can be written by entering the words and phrases you are interested in.

Words:  If you want to see documents dealing with custody you can start with a single-word query, such as:

protection

Your query finds all items that include the word "protection."

Phrases:  To see documents that refer to a series of words that occur in a specific order, such as "order of protection" or "in forma pauperis," enter the whole phrase:

order of protection

Your query finds only items that include that exact phrase in that exact order.

Note: Searches will be case-insensitive unless you use uppercase. The query apple will return Apple, apple or even aPpLe, whereas the query Apple will return only Apple. This means that all search words should be in lower-case, unless you are searching for a word that always has the same capitalization.

Refining Queries 
You can make your queries more specific by combining the words you used for basic queries with operators. Operators are special words that are used to indicate logical relationships between the descriptive terms that make up your query.

and	Returns results containing all specified words regardless of order.
or	Returns results containing any of the specified words, regardless of order.
not	Eliminates results containing a specified word. Ex:  "support not spousal"
<near>	Returns results containing specified search terms in proximity to each other. Ex:  "Aker <near> Kennedy" returns results with the case name Aker v. Kennedy
<sentence> <paragraph>	Returns results where the word before and after the operator must be in the same sentence or paragraph. Ex: "custody <paragraph> protective order"
" " (double quotes)	Use quotes to make sure that only the specific word is found. (Can also be used to find phrases.) Ex: "bank" will only find the word bank and not banking, banked or banker.
?	Wildcard operator that represents any one character. You can use  a ? to specify the first letter of a word.  Ex:  "mari?uana"
*	Wildcard operator that represents one or more characters. You cannot use a * to specify the first letter of a word. Ex:  "bank*"  (finds bank and bankrupt)

Search Results 
Search Results are displayed by content area, with the first 3 results for each area visible on the default results page.  Click on the "more..." link below any set of results to see additional resources