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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". The information below introduces how to search this
site, and covers:
What is
searched?
Search
indexes include all of the major fields associated with each piece of
content (Title, Organization, Description, Location, etc.), and, in the
case of the Library, 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're
interested in.
Words: If you want to see documents dealing with custody you can
start with a single-word query, such as:
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protection
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Your query finds all items that include the word
"protection."
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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:
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order of protection
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Your query finds only items that include that exact
phrase in that exact order.
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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.
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and
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Returns results containing all specified words
regardless of order.
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or
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Returns results containing any of the specified
words, regardless of order.
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not
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Eliminates results containing a specified word.
Ex:
"support not spousal"
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<near>
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Returns results containing specified search terms
in proximity to each other.
Ex: "Aker <near>
Kennedy" returns results with the case name Aker v. Kennedy
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<sentence>
<paragraph>
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Returns results where the word before and after the
operator must be in the same sentence or paragraph.
Ex: "custody <paragraph>
protective order"
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" "
(double quotes)
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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.
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?
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Wildcard operator that represents any one
character. You can use a ? to specify the first letter of a
word.
Ex: "
mari?uana"
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*
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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)
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Search Results
Search Results are displayed by type of information, with
the first 5 results for each type visible on the default results page.
Click on the "more..." link below any set of results to see additional
returns.
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