Searching Tips
- Does the search engine allow wildcard searches?
- How does the University’s website search work?
- How do I find exactly what I am looking for?
- What if I don’t know the exact spelling?
- How can I refine my search?
- Are common words recognised in the search?
- Is the search case sensitive?
- Will the search automatically include all variations of the word I am looking for?
- More >
Does the search engine allow wildcard searches?
Yes. An asterisk (*) can be used as part of an incomplete word ie book* would return bookcase and bookends. It can also be used to substitute for whole words eg "tennis *" would return tennis court and also tennis racquet. A * substitutes for exactly one word, so "tennis * hire" would return tennis court hire, but "tennis * * hire" would not.
Another useful search includes, providing back quotes in any order, within 15 words of each other. `George Bush` will match "George Dubya Bus" and "Bush, George".
How does the University’s website search work?
Searching for information on the University website is easy. Simply type the word/s or phrase you are looking for into the search window and hit the 'enter' key or click on the 'search' button. The search engine will try to find pages which contain all of the words you have entered (there is no need to include the word 'and' in your search).
A list of results will be returned and ranked in order of relevance. Documents which contain all of the query words will appear in the top tier of results. Click on any of the results (underlined items) to take you to the associated web page.
How do I find exactly what I am looking for?
The key to achieving the best search results is to be specific about the information you are trying to find. Try to use words or phrases that are likely to be found only in the documents you seek. Using multiple query terms (the words which describe what you are looking for) is usually more effective than using just one word in your search.
For example, if you are an international student seeking information about enrolment, searching for international enrolment would produce better results than simply searching for enrolment.
What if I don’t know the exact spelling?
The search engine provides links to the search results of suggested terms based on an English British dictionary as well as commonly used words within the collection being searched.
How can I refine my search?
Phrase searches
If you are searching for an exact phrase, simply enclose the phrase with double quotation marks. For example, "Gavin Brown" (with quotes included) will return a list of pages in which both those words appear next to each other in that order. Phrase searches are helpful when searching for proper names or phrases.
Inclusions and exclusions
You can ensure a word is included in your search by putting a "+" sign in front of it. For example, important +dates will include the words important and dates, with every result containing the word dates.
Sometimes you may wish to avoid certain words in your search. You can do this by attaching a "-" sign to the word you wish to avoid. For example, employment -conditions will return results which include the word employment but no occurrence of the word conditions.
It is also possible to search for words which appear within 15 words of each other, in any order, by using backquotes. For example, `George Bush` will match George Dubya Bush and Bush, George.
Are common words recognised in the search?
Words such as a, the and of are ignored by the search engine, because they occur frequently in documents and can slow down the search process without improving the quality of results.
If, however, you want a common word included in your search, you can conduct a phrase search. To do this you need to include quotation marks around the words in the phrase, for example "to be or not to be". You can also ensure a common word is included in your search by putting a "+" sign in front of it.
Is the search case sensitive?
The University of Sydney search engine is not case sensitive, it does not distinguish between upper and lower case. The same results will be returned whether you search for Medicine, medicine or mEdiCiNe.
Will the search automatically include all variations of the word I am looking for?
Variations on the words you use in your search will not be returned unless you ask for the words to be 'stemmed'. You can do this by attaching a cross-hatch ('#') to each word you wish to stem. For example, the query economic# policy# will match economic policy, economics policy and economic policies.