Document Search User Guide

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Search fundamentals for both simple and advanced search

This section applies to both simple and advanced search. In advanced search there generally must be at least two terms entered. To search one term, use the simple search.

Basic keyword searches

Singular and plural: a basic search returns the singular and regular plural forms of nouns; for example, searching "court" also returns "courts."

Verb forms: a basic search returns regular forms of verbs; for example, searching "mistreat" also returns "mistreats," "mistreated," and "mistreating" and other variations on the term such as "mistreatment." See also the section on stemming under Query building in advanced search, Query term options.

Search is not case specific; upper case (capitals)/lower case does not affect the search.

Wild card (*, ?) searches

The asterisk (*) represents any letters, so a search with wild cards includes text strings that have letters before or after.

Example:

Type:	*forest*
Returns:	forest, forests, foresters, forestry, deforested, and so on

The question mark (?) represents only a single letter. It must be combined with the asterisk to return multiple forms of a noun or verb.

Examples:

Type: Returns:	write write, writes
Type: Returns:	wr?te write, wrote
Type: Returns:	wr?t* write, wrote, writing, writer, written, writ, and so on
Type: Returns:	wr*t* write, wrote, writing, and so on, but also Wright, wreath, wrestle, and so on
Type: Returns:	cris?s crisis, crises
Type: Returns:	cris*s crisis, crises, criss-cross

Numbers

Numbers and single letters are searchable.

Examples:

4-H clubs

Bill 3

A search for a number does not automatically include an ordinal suffix in the search; that is, a search for 5 will return documents that have a stand-alone 5, not 5th.

To include the suffixes in a search, use, e.g., 5*. See also the section Wild card (*, ?) searches.

Nonsearchable words

For a number of reasons, a few terms cannot be searched. While you can enter them in the search fields, results will not be as expected.

• Reserved symbols (Boolean operators): and, or, to, but, not
• Determiners and pronouns:
• Examples of determiners include: a, an, that, the, there, these, this, those, what, which, and who.
• Examples of pronouns include: he, I, it, she, they, we, you, and variations on these words such as I'm, we've, or you're.

Examples:

Simple search: with all the words
In With all the words box type:	before the court
Returns:	all documents containing both "before" and "court," "courts," and so on, anywhere in file

Simple search: with the exact phrase
Type in With the exact phrase box:	before the court
Returns:	before the court, before the courts, before any court, and so on
	Also returns some possibly less useful hits; for example: "As I said before, the courts ..."

Advanced search: Before/2/court (see also the section Query building in advanced search)
In Query Term box type:	before
Select operator:	within 10 WORDS of
	Change 10 to 2 in the Query Builder
Type:	court
Returns:	before the court, before the courts, before any court, court before us, and so on
	Also returns some possibly less useful hits; for example: "As I said before, the courts ..."

Phrase searches

Phrases can be entered with or without signs such as hyphens or slashes and with or without punctuation such as commas.

Examples:

low-income or low income

federal/provincial or federal provincial or federal-provincial or federal, provincial

However, the search does not ignore spaces between words, and it treats a hyphen like a space.

Examples:

Searching “backcountry” will not return transcripts containing the phrase “back country”

Searching “email” will not return transcripts containing the word “e-mail”

If a simple search returns no results, try alternative spellings or an advanced search.

Date searches

To search for references to a particular date (for example, the September 5th Accord) or to search for a particular sitting date (especially in previous years), type the month and day in ordinary text. As noted previously, numbers are searchable.

Example:

Type: september 5*

This returns documents dated September 5 but also those where that date was mentioned in the text.

Displaying and downloading search results

The search returns a web page listing documents returned and the number of hits in each document. Excerpts of text with the search terms provide context to make it easier to determine whether a document might be useful. A bar graph at the top of the page gives an overview of the dates of documents returned.

Example:

traffic safety AND which ALSO contains regulation

• Click on the document to access the HTML file.
• Follow the ribbon menu to download the file: original (typically the original PDF file), text, HTML5, PDF file generated by the search engine, or TIFF. The original document PDF contains more features than the PDF generated by the search engine. For example, the original includes bookmarks and links, if any, in the document.
• You can also scroll through the hits and move from document to document.
• Select Close to return to the search results list.

To print the HTML search results properly, in the print dialogue box select More settings and check Background graphics.

The browser Chrome can be set to download documents directly as PDFs. Since browser editions and installations vary, please search the web for directions or ask IT Support for assistance.

Query building in advanced search

Advanced search involves building a query based on criteria for search terms and types and dates of documents. A query term can contain more than one word.

To focus a search, enter terms in the first field and then specify the relationship between terms.

• Set up the search by
• entering search terms to use,
• selecting operators used to connect search terms, and
• selecting documents to search.
• Under Return files of Legislature the choice is either all sessions or one specific session.
• The Return files updated option permits selection of files posted online within specific time ranges. With the default setting of Any Time, documents retrieved fit the search criteria regardless of date posted.

The next sections contain an overview of how these search criteria work individually and together.

Operators

Operators narrow the search to make it more relevant. In general, to use operators:

In Query Term box type:	search term 1
Select Operator:
In Query Term box (now empty) type:	search term 2
Repeat as often as needed
Click Search

AND which ALSO contains

Use this to find documents containing all keywords or phrases, whether they're sequential or not.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	traffic safety
Select Operator:	AND which ALSO contains
In Query Term box (now empty) type:	inspection

This example finds documents that contain both "traffic safety" and "inspection." However, the two terms might be unrelated.

To increase the likelihood that the terms are related, use one of the following operators:

Within a PARAGRAPH of,

In the same PARAGRAPH as, or

Within 10 WORDS of.

OR which contains

Use this to find one or more search terms anywhere in a document. It is useful for topics referred to using a variety of terms, such as AER and Alberta Energy Regulator.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	physician
Select Operator:	OR which contains
In Query Term box type:	doctor
Select Operator:	OR which contains
In Query Term box type:	medical profession

This sample search returns documents that contain one or more of the terms "physician," "doctor," or "medical profession."

BUT does NOT contain

This function returns documents containing one search term but not a second.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	tuberculosis
Select Operator:	BUT does NOT contain
In Query Term box type:	livestock

This search will return documents with the term "tuberculosis" but not "livestock."

Note: one document can contain discussion or information on many topics, so although this search can eliminate unwanted documents such as bills related to health but not animal health, it might also eliminate some useful ones. For example, housing and low-income housing or low-income seniors might both be mentioned in one document, so eliminating "low-income" from a search might also eliminate documents that contain information on housing.

Within a PARAGRAPH of

Use this to locate keywords or phrases either in the same paragraph or within one paragraph of each other in any order. Terms that are close to one another are more likely to be related. This search can also be useful for finding specific passages where one person speaks immediately before or after another.

Examples:

In Query Term box type:	traffic safety
Select Operator:	Within a PARAGRAPH of
In Query Term box type:	regulation

This will find instances more likely to relate to both regulations and traffic safety (such as a tabling or speech in the Legislature) than if AND which ALSO contains had been used.

In Query Term box type:	rodney: (with colon)
Select Operator:	Within a PARAGRAPH of
In Query Term box type:	abbott: (with colon)

This will find short interchanges in transcripts between a member named Rodney and a member named Abbott.

In the SAME PARAGRAPH as

Use this search to return documents with two or more search terms in the same paragraph. This is particularly useful when the word order of the phrase is uncertain. For example, a paragraph with information on environmental impact assessments might contain all three words but not the exact phrase.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	bargain
Select Operator:	In the same PARAGRAPH as
In Query Term box type:	right
Select Operator:	In the same PARAGRAPH as
In Query Term box type:	revo*

This example also demonstrates the use of a wild card. The asterisk (*) finds "revoke," "revokes," "revoking," and "revocation." This sample search locates paragraphs containing the terms "bargain," "right," and "revocation."

Within 10 WORDS of

This search is narrower than when using the operator In the SAME paragraph as.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	environment*
Select Operator:	Within 10 WORDS of
In Query Term box type:	impact
Select Operator:	Within 10 WORDS of
In Query Term box type:	assess*

This search, including a wild card, returns the phrases "assessment of environmental impacts," "environmental impact assessment," "assessing impacts on the environment," and so on.

Tip: once the Within 10 WORDS of operator has been selected, the number of words can be edited manually. See also the example under Nonsearchable words.

Followed anywhere by

This search returns documents in which one term is followed by a second term. Although the terms might be far apart in the text, this operator can be useful when Within A PARAGRAPH of does not retrieve the desired documents.

Example:

In Query Term box type:	third reading
Select Operator:	Followed anywhere by
In Query Term box type:	real estate

This search can find a bill with the words "real estate" in its title that went through third reading. It might also return documents that are not relevant.

In searches of Hansard transcripts it can be used in conjunction with the head: field (see Using the head marker in Hansard transcripts, under Hansard documents (Assembly proceedings, committee transcripts, and indexes)).

Query term options

The three options to the right of the Query Term – Stemming, Sounds Like, and Thesaurus – assist by showing variant search terms, but they do not limit the search to those terms.

For these options to work, you must first enter a search term and make a selection under Select Files from Document Type.

Example:

Type:	Dog
Select document type:	Hansards
Select operator:	Stemming
Returns:	clickable list of possible search terms that contain "dog" and the number of times	the term occurs in total (not just the selected session)

This list can be used to eliminate some unwanted hits or narrow the search to specific terms.

Using the simple search interface for complex searches (single-word terms)

Some complex searches can also be built using the simple search function when terms searched are single words. The following two searches return the same results.

Advanced search:

In Query Term box type:	physician
Select Operator:	OR which contains
In Query Term box type:	pharmacist
Select Operator:	BUT does NOT contain
In Query Term box type:	nurse

Simple search:

With at least one of the words:	physician pharmacist
Without the words:	nurse

Hansard documents (Assembly proceedings, committee transcripts, and indexes)

Members' speeches

A member's name followed by a colon (:) finds only those documents containing instances where that member actually speaks.

Example:

rodney:

Refer to speaker indexes for lists of debates and statements made by MLAs.

Using the head marker in Hansard transcripts

In Hansard transcripts headings for House business are marked with the hidden identifier head:. The advanced search is best used for this option. The qualifier With the exact phrase can also work in the simple search as long as you enter the first word or two of the heading title immediately after "head:" (see below).

Example of an advanced search:

In Query Term box type:	ministerial statements in head:
Select type of document:	Hansards
Return files of Legislature:	select Legislature and session from drop-down menu
Click Search

Or in the simple search:

In With the exact phrase box type:	head: ministerial statements
Select type of document:	Hansards
Return files of Legislature:	select Legislature and session(s) from drop-down menu
Click Search

If the heading contains nonsearchable words, then the query must be built on the advanced search page.

Here is the list of headings:

Sample searches

Throne speeches

Each session begins with a Speech from the Throne. In most years there is one, but there can be more than one, depending on the start dates of the sessions.

To find all throne speeches using advanced search:

In Query Term box type:	throne in head:
Select document type:	Hansards
Return files of the Legislature:	All sessions
Click Search

Or in the simple search:

In With the exact phrase box type:	head: speech from the throne
Select type of document:	Hansards
Return files of the Legislature	All sessions
Click Search

Members' statements

To find a member's statement made by Mrs. Nelson using advanced search:

In Query Term box type:	members' statements in head:
Select Operator:	Followed anywhere by
In Query Term box type:	Nelson:
Select document type:	Hansards
Select Legislature and session(s), and complete search

The operator Followed anywhere by was used because on a given day several members might make members' statements, so the name of the member you are searching for might be far from the heading. The search might also produce documents that are not relevant if, for example, Mrs. Nelson speaks to a bill following members' statements. The document preview provides context that might help, but it might be more efficient to search the speaker indexes that cover the member's dates of service.

Divisions (recorded votes)

In a division members' names are printed in Hansard and in Votes and Proceedings as voting either "For the motion" or "Against the motion." Divisions are always preceded by the phrase: "The division bell was rung at ..."

To find how Mr. Abbott voted in divisions using advanced search:

In Query Term box type:	division bell
Select Operator:	Followed anywhere by
In Query Term box type:	abbott [with no colon]
Select document type:	Hansards and/or Votes and Proceedings
Select Legislature and session(s), and complete search

Indexes

Indexes for Hansard and all standing and special committee meeting transcripts are particularly useful when a search returns many irrelevant entries or when search terms contain common words with multiple meanings.

For example, the index has one heading for "privilege" whereas a keyword search would find the word in all contexts (e.g., "Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise ...").

Subject and speaker indexes are posted online in HTML, with links to the page numbers, and as PDFs with a preface containing links to the transcripts. Speaker indexes are particularly useful for researching speeches by specific members.