House of Commons Parliamentary Papers
Skip the following help tip and jump to main content

You are viewing content in a popup window. HCPP will remain open in the original window. If you are a JAWS user, move between browser windows using Alt + Tab. Go Back one page using Alt + left arrow. Go Forward one page using Alt + right arrow. Refresh the page using Insert + Escape. Close this popup window using Alt + F4.

Help: Boolean and proximity searching


CLOSE WINDOW | CONTENTS

 

To narrow the scope of your search you can use the following special sets of predefined words, called operators, to join together your search terms:

Boolean operators

HCPP allows you to combine your search terms so you can target your search at more specific areas. For example, from the Search page you can list records in HCPP which contain the words employment and children.

You combine your search terms using the following special keywords, called Boolean operators:

AND
The AND operator retrieves all records that contain the search terms it separates. However, this type of search normally retrieves fewer results than if you searched for one of the terms on its own.

e.g. employment AND children

If you have entered search terms in more than one search box, HCPP treats them as if they were combined using the AND operator.

Note that if you want to search for the word 'and' in a phrase, such as 'food and drink', you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes; for example, "food and drink".


OR
The OR operator retrieves all records that contain either or both of the search terms it separates. This type of search retrieves more results than if you searched for one of the terms on its own.

e.g. Army OR Navy

If you select more than one search term from a list, HCPP automatically combines them in the search box using this operator.


NOT
The NOT operator retrieves all records that contain the first search term but not the second.

e.g. emigration NOT Ireland

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE


Proximity operators

HCPP not only allows you to search for a particular word or phrase, but also enables you to refine your searches by using two proximity operators to look for words that are close to each other:

NEAR
The NEAR operator retrieves records containing terms that have a specified distance between each other, and are in any order.

For example:
treaty NEAR Netherlands
weaving NEAR.3 lancashire


FBY
FBY retrieves records containing terms that have a specified distance between each other, and are in a specified order.

For example:
domestic FBY servants
health FBY.4 housing

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

Wildcard character

HCPP allows you to use the * (asterisk) wildcard character to find variations on a word ending.

e.g. work* finds work, works, working, worker, workman, workmen

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE