Search

The following topics are covered in this document:

  • Standard Search: how to perform simple searches (including using search connectors) to find the information you need
  • Reviewing Search Results: how to use the search results page
  • Advanced Search: how to construct complex queries using Boolean operators and the advanced search form

In this document, example search terms are shown in a different font, like this: floating charges or like this easements "right to light". This makes it easier to distinguish example searches from the explanatory text around them.

You may also find these additional documents helpful:

  • Content filters
  • Recent Content and Searches

Standard Search

For many users, a standard "Google" style approach to searching will meet their needs. Power users may wish to skip ahead to coverage of Advanced Search topics.

The standard search box is located at the top right of the screen and is always visible.

To perform a standard search, type one or more words into the Search box and either click the "Go" button or press "Enter" on your keyboard.

For example, to search for documents containing the words floating charges, simply type those words into the search box just as you would if you were using Google.

As you start typing, you may notice that the site displays some predicted search terms based on what you have typed so far. Again, this behaviour will be familiar to many users from Google.

To search for an item shown in the list of predicted search terms, click it once with the mouse.

A number of search connectors are supported within simple search, as follows:

  • term1 AND term2 (e.g. law AND practice) - both terms must be found for result to be returned (you can also use Advanced search for more complex AND searches - see below)
  • term1 OR term2 - either term must be found for a result to be returned (you can also use Advanced search for more complex OR searches - see below)
  • term1 NOT term2 - term1 must be found, term2 must not be found for a result to be returned (you can also use Advanced search for more complex NOT searches - see below)
  • “phrase” (e.g. Inheritance Tax Act) - exact phrase must be found for a result to be returned
  • wildcard search using an asterisk - for instance, comp* will return documents with complete and company and any other word that starts with ‘comp'.

Reviewing and Refining Search Results

When a search finds one or more documents, the Search Results page is displayed. Click on the different parts of the image below to find to out more about working with search results. For example, to find out how to Email a set of search results, click on the word "Email".

Search Within Results

It is possible to perform a further search which is limited to just those documents which match some search terms. This may be contrasted with the standard search, which always searches across all the products in your subscription.

For example, if you have performed a standard search for floating charges, you may then wish to search only within the documents which contain the words floating charges for the additional word invalid.

To do so, type invalid into the "Search within results" box and click "Go" or press Enter on your keyboard.

When you run that search, the total number of hits in this example is reduced from 1,323 to 194.

Note also that the Search Results summary now shows two separate elements: the original search for floating charges; and the new search within results term, invalid. It is possible to remove one (or more) elements from the search by clicking the red "x" next to the search term. So, clicking the red "x" next to invalid would restore the unfiltered search for floating charges. Similarly, clicking the red "x" next to floating charges would remove those terms from the search and run a new search for the single word invalid.

It is possible to continue searching within results by adding new terms. So, for example, where you originally searched forfloating charges, and then searched within those results for invalid, it is also possible to search within just those results for a new term, such as "winding up", for instance.

Click "Go" or press Enter on the keyboard to run the new search.

There are now three different elements to this search. It would therefore be possible to remove invalid from the search, by clicking the red "x" beside it so that search then finds documents containing floating charges and "winding up". This makes constructing and refining searches extremely flexible.

Refining Results

Sometimes, when a search returns a large number of hits, it is helpful to be able to filter those results if you have a particular type of document or publication in mind.

Bloomsbury Professional Online provides a number of different methods of filtering search results. Each method may be used on its own or in conjunction with other filtering methods. The filtering methods currently available are:

  • Books
    • i.e. limit the results to a particular book
  • Services
    • i.e. limit the results to particular service, like Irish Tax or Irish Company Law
  • Jurisdiction
    • i.e. limit the results to a particular jurisdiction.
  • Date
    • i.e. limit the results to the year of publication of a particular titl

 

Books

The Books filter enables you to narrow the search results to show hits from a single book only. So for example, after performing a Standard Search for floating charges, clicking "Acquisition Finance" in the Books filter will narrow the search results to show only hits which occur in that book. The number shown in brackets next to each book indicates how many hits for the search term floating charges within the book.

It is possible to remove a filter from the search by clicking the red "x" against it in the Search Results summary.

Services

The Services filter enables users who subscribe to multiple services to see the hits from a single service. This can be helpful if the search terms are relatively broad. So, for example, after performing a Standard Search for floating charges, selecting the Irish Tax service will narrow the results to show only hits which are relevant to tax.

Jurisdiction

The Jurisdiction filter enables users who subscribe to multiple services covering multiple jurisdictions to show only hits which are relevant to that jurisdiction. For example, a user who subscribes to the Irish Tax and UK Core Tax services who performs a Standard Search for floating charges can show hits which are relevant to either Ireland or to the UK by using the Jurisdiction filter.

Date

The Date filter enables you to narrow the search results to show the hits from a single year only. In this case, "year" means year of publication of a book included in the service.

Print Results

If you wish to print a page of search results, click the "Print" button in order to generate a printer friendly view of the results.

Save Search

If you have created a personal account, you can save a search to it. Full coverage is contained in the section on Personalisation in this online help resource.

Email Results

You can email a page of search results to a colleague or client. Note the recipient of the email needs to have a valid subscription to the relevant material for links in the emailed search results to retrieve a full view of the document. Users without a subscription will only be able to see the first paragraph of the document.

To email a page of search results, click the "Email" button on the search results page and either email the link or copy the link that is automatically generated.

Hide Search Term Highlighting

Click the "Hide search term highlighting" icon to toggle the search term highlighting on and off. By default the search term(s) will be highlighted in the snippets of text that appear within the search results. Clicking the "Hide search term highlighting" icon will switch off the highlighting. Selecting the icon again will restore the highlighting. 

Items Per Page

You can control the number of hits shown per page of search results by using the Items Per Page dropdown.

Sort Order

The default order in which documents are shown is relevance ranking. You can control the order in which documents are shown in the Search Results by using the "Sort by" dropdown.

Book Order [A-Z] and Book Order [Z-A] will base the sort order on the individual books in the results list.

Doc Title [A-Z] and Doc Title [Z-A] will sort the results on the order in which those documents appear within the original product. This can be useful when working with hits in legislation and other statutory material when it may be helpful for the order of the search results to reflect the order of the section numbers of the source Act.

The "Clear All" button will remove all search terms and return you to the browse all content view.

Results Pages

The search results are arranged into "Pages" of hits when there are more hits than can be displayed in a single screen. It is possible to "skip ahead" to a page by choosing it from this list of results pages. For example, to skip ahead to the fifth page of hits, click the number "5" in this list.

Document Matching Search Terms

Each document which matches your search terms is listed here. To view a document containing your search terms, click the desired document title on the results page. Alternatively, if you wish to browse that product rather than review the hits in it, it is possible to link to the first page of the product containing the hit(s) by clicking the product title on the relevant line of results on the results page.

Hits and Search Terms

The total number of hits and the number of hits is shown at the top of the Search Results page. So, for example, "You are looking at 11-20 of 31 items" means that there are a total of 31 documents which match your search terms and the current page shows hits 11-20 out of that total of 31. The search terms themselves are displayed next to the hit count.

Advanced Search

To use the advanced search functions, click the "Advanced Search" link which is located immediately below the standard search box.

Advanced Searches are constructed from two or more "rows" of information.

First row

The first row presents the following options:

  • Full text
  • Book
  • Author/Editor
  • Case Date
  • Case Name

n.b. Please note that some of these options may not be available to you depending on the products you subscribe to. For example, if you subscribe to a product which does not contain any legislation, then a search using the legislation filter will always produce zero hits.

Full text

Choosing Full Text means that any search terms you enter will be matched against the full text of the publication(s) you are searching in

Book

Choosing Book will pre-populate a dropdown list of all the books within your subscription. Select a book from this dropdown list.

Author/editor

Choosing Author/editor means that any search terms you enter will be matched only against the names of authors and/or editors who have written or contributed to the publications included in your subscription

Case name

Choosing Case name means that any search terms you enter will be matched only against the names of parties in full text case reports. Note that your subscription may not include full text case reports.

 

Second row

The second row reproduces the options shown on the first row but adds a further drop down listing the following options:

  • And
  • Or
  • Not

These three Boolean operators are doubtless already familiar to advanced users.

And

Choosing "And" means that the search terms entered in the first row MUST also appear in documents which contain the search terms entered in the second row to be treated as a search hit.

For example

  • First row: Full text: Fish
  • Second row: AND: Full text: Chips

matches a document which contains the phrase "fish and chips" or "when the chips were down, the fish were up" and so on. A document which mentions only "fish" or "chips" but not both would not count as a hit.

Or

Choosing "Or" means that EITHER the search terms entered in the first row or the search terms OR the search terms entered in the second row must be present for a document to be treated as a search hit.

For example

  • First row: Full text: Fish
  • Second row: OR: Full text: Chips

matches a document which contains the word "fish" or "chips" (or both).

Not

Choosing "Not" means that documents which match the search terms entered in the second row must not contain the search terms entered in the second row.

For example

  • First row: Full text: Fish
  • Second row: NOT: Full text: Chips

matches a document which contains the word "fish" but does not contain the word "chips". Any document which contains the word "chips" would not be treated as a hit.

 

Type

In this section of advanced search you can restrict a search to any one or multiple of Legislation, Newsletters, Cases, Precedents, Post, and Commentary.

Refine By Date

Here you can select a date range of years or select a single year to search across content published within those years.