Search Hints

This page will help you to choose the queries that will give you the best results. Two kinds of searches are possible: concept and keyword.

Concept

Unlike Boolean systems that search for just those documents containing all the words in your query, a concept search will identify documents that are a best match for the words in your query. Sometimes articles that don't mention any of the words in your original query will be found, if the search engine can identify a conceptual link based on your phrase.

What this means is that your query can be as detailed as you like. Don't worry about providing too many words; the more words, the better. Additional words in your query will help the search engine figure out what concepts you're really interested in.

For example, let's say you're searching for information on the Bay of Fundy. A good starting point would be

        Bay of Fundy

If your question is a bit more specific, you might choose a query like

        highest tides in the Bay of Fundy

Even if there are no documents that are actually about the highest tides in the world being in the Bay of Fundy, the search will still show you pages about the Bay of Fundy or tides.

Keyword

A keyword search will find only those pages containing all of the keywords you specify. The words do not need to appear as a phrase.

Query Tips

Only use words that are relevant to your query: If you're looking for documents about the Bay of Fundy, don't enter a query like "Find me all documents about the Bay of Fundy". All the words in your query are part of your information need, so queries like the previous example will find all documents about finding all documents about the Bay of Fundy, which may not be exactly what you want.
Specify multiple forms of the same phrases: We distinguish between hyphenated and un-hyphenated words. So, sometimes it might be necessary to explicitly say that you want both versions, for example "sea-level sea level". The search engine may be able to figure out that sea-level and sea level are the same, but it never hurts to explicitly specify multiple forms.
Common words are ignored: Common words such as a, and or the and numbers are ignored. Consequently, those words in your query will be ignored.
Change the number of matches returned by the search engine: You will get the best 10 matches to your query by default, but you can change this number in the form you submit.

Architext search engine, and a draft of this hints document courtesy of Excite.